Roscrea man first Irish person to conquer giant mountain without oxygen
Roscrea man James McManus is the first Irish person to achieve the stunning feat
Accomplished Roscrea mountain climber James McManus has become the only Irish man to ever summit one of the world’s highest mountains without oxygen.
Lhotse is the fourth-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga and on Wednesday (May 20) James conquered Lhotse with no supplemental oxygen.
At an elevation of 8,516 metres above sea level, the main summit of the notoriously difficult mountain is on the border between the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and the Khumbu region of Nepal.
James is son of well known retired Roscrea Doctor George McManus and Libby McManus (RIP) from Parkmore in Roscrea.
James said his mother's death in January 2010 was a major motivation for him to chase his dream of conquering some of the world's tallest mountains with no assistance.
In 2022 James attempted to conquer Everest without oxygen, but bad weather in the Himalayas canceled his attempt after months of intense mental and physical preparation.
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.
James is currently, on his way back to Everest base camp and in his hometown people are very proud of James, where a hero's return awaits him and local people have been closely watching his progress.