Bad weather in Himalayas cancels Roscrea man's Everest climb

After months of intense mental and physical preparation for one of the most gruelling challenges on earth, bad weather in the Himalayas has put an end to James McManus' attempt to become the first ever Irish person to climb Mount Everest without the aid of bottled oxygen.

Everything appeared to be going very well for James' climb, as people at home in Roscrea and around the world closely followed his updates on social media - a climb which he had been preparing for with 60 days of training in the Himalayas to acclimatise to the altitude.

But the heartbreaking twist of fate at the final hurdle on the ascent of Earth's greatest mountain, robbed James of his chance to conquer Everest this time, which he had planned to summit on Tuesday.

James had successfully made it through the very challenging galciers and plateau of crevasces on the approach to Mount Everest successfully, but intense winds left the seasoned mountaineer without any option but to call off the final ascent on Monday.

Taking the risk to attempt the climb without supplementary oxygen could have tragic results and with the window of opportunity for an attempt to reach the top closing, the Roscrea man made the sensible choice to retreat and perhaps try again someday. 

The permitted climbing season on Mount Everest finishes on May 29 and there are bleak weather forecasts for the coming weeks in the Himalayas. James descended from the 6,400m-high Camp 2 to Base Camp on Monday, and announced he will abandon this attempt for the 8,850m summit.

"Unfortunately, because of consistently high winds between now and the end of the season, we are not going to get a chance to attempt the summit, which is really disappointing", he said on the Instagram feed for his Dublin based adventure travel company Earth's Edge.

"But these things happen, and there's nothing I can really do about it. It was always going to be one of the things that could affect my expedition, and when you try to climb Everest without oxygen you just need perfect conditions, and they're not perfect."

James is son of well known retired Roscrea Doctor George McManus and Libby McManus (RIP) from Parkmore. James said his mother's death in January 2010 was a major motivation for him to chase his dream of conquering the world's tallest mountain with no assistance.  

In his hometown people are very proud of James McManus, where a hero's return awaits him and local people have been closely watching his progress since he arrived in Nepal in March. 

If he were successful, James would have become the 217th climber ever to have reached the top of Everest without the use of supplementary oxygen and the first ever Irish person to achieve the almost inhuman feat of physical endurance and mental fortitude.

James had planned to dedicate the achievement to the Sherpa guides and their families, who risk their lives to make climbing Everest possible. James said the Sherpas and other low-paid workers are exploited for their invaluable skills.

"Over a million people work in tourism in Nepal and around 54,000 of them are employed as guides, porters and cooks during the three-month climbing season each spring.

"Many of them are not being treated fairly, as there's no employment law nor minimum pay. The industry needs to be regulated, so these people are treated and paid properly", James said.