Numerous media agencies report that Noel Hanna, a skilled Irish hiker, passed away on Monday while descending a 26,545-foot mountain in the Annapurna mountain range in central Nepal.
Hanna had conquered the daunting mountain, but the BBC reports that he passed away overnight in his tent at camp. Unknown is the specific reason of death. He had not used supplemental oxygen while ascending, according to The New York Times.
The climber, 56, was returning after a successful ascent of the 26,545-foot peak on Monday night when he passed away at Camp 4.
Hanna’s body was found and then evacuated to Kathmandu.
Hanna had reached the top of Everest ten times and had scaled mountains on all seven continents.
“His body has been carried down and airlifted to Kathmandu,” Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks said to AFP from Annapurna base camp.
In 2006, he scaled the tallest mountain in the world before cycling for two weeks to the Bay of Bengal from the base camp of the route in eastern India.
The tenth-highest peak in the world, Annapurna, is technically challenging, avalanche-prone, and has a greater fatality rate than Everest.
Tuesday saw a flurry of activity on the mountain as rescuers and aircraft searched for three more Indian climbers.
According to CBS News, Annapurna, the tenth-highest mountain in the world, has a greater mortality rate than Mt. Everest. Avalanches are quite likely there.
Hanna’s finest achievement, according to Alison Irwin from the Nepal Ireland Society, was scaling the extremely difficult Burke-Khand mountain, which rises to 22,775 feet.
Mountains were his cathedrals, according to Pat Falvey, a hiking companion and buddy. We do these things because, even knowing they are risky, we nevertheless find them to be fulfilling.
Robbie Marsh, a different trekking companion, said to BBC News Northern Ireland that Hanna had motivated him to resign from his position and launch his own mountaineering business. He told the newspaper, “That encouragement he has given individuals is part of his legacy.
According to reports, Hanna’s remains would be flown back to Finnis, Ireland, not far from where he initially started trekking.
Read also about Green Boots, the famous body on Mount Everest
Mourne Mountain Adventures paid respect to Hanna in a Facebook post, stating, “Very grieved to learn of the loss of Noel Hanna this morning…He was such a terrific man and one of Northern Ireland’s top mountaineers; there is some consolation in knowing that he spent his final moments doing what he loved the most.
According to accounts, two climbers were saved from the same peak on Tuesday, and a third hiker who had fallen into a crevice was also saved.
Irene Hunter, Hanna’s sister, told the BBC that her brother was “a legend” and that he “loved a view and just loved people.”
Another Indian climber, 34, who fell into a crevasse on Monday hasn’t been located.
Three Nepali climbers died on Everest last week, marking a terrible beginning to the spring Himalayan climbing season. As part of a supply expedition, the group was traversing the perilous Khumbu icefall on Wednesday when a block of glacial ice dropped and sucked them into a narrow chasm.
During the spring climbing season, when temperatures are pleasant and winds are normally calm, Nepal, which is home to eight of the world’s ten highest peaks, attracts hundreds of explorers.
This season, the government has awarded more than 700 climbing licenses, including 319 for Everest, for various Himalayan peaks.
Heartbroken wife travels to Kathmandu to bring Hanna’s body home.
The famous Co Down mountaineer Noel Hanna’s widow paid homage to her husband after traveling to Kathmandu to bring back his body.
His wife Lynne said on social media: “I have arrived in Kathmandu to bring Noel home.”
See: How David Sharp met his tragic death on Mount Everest.
The Duke of Edinburgh Awards Northern Ireland said in a statement that they were “devastated” to learn of the death of Northern Irish mountaineer Noel Hanna while descending the Annapurna in Nepal, the tenth-highest peak in the world. On several occasions, including in 2012, Noel and his wife Lynne gave out Gold Awards for the DofE. Noel climbed Mount Everest with a DofE flag.
As the first married pair to ascend Everest from both the north and south sides, Noel ascended the mountain ten times with Lynne. Everyone Noel encountered was inspired by his genuine demeanor and extraordinary knowledge.
Noel passed away at Camp 4 on Annapurna after a successful summit. His wife Lynne continued her moving eulogy by saying, “He (Noel) passed away at Camp 4 on Annapurna after a successful summit he returned to the tent, took some hot soup and fell asleep never to awaken again, no drama, no big story, it was his time to go and he died in the Himalayas; what better place for my Mountain Man, sleep well Noel.”
The climber’s funeral arrangements have not yet been disclosed.
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