Daily Mountain
47 years, Australia
Roger Cook who was born and raised in Douglas has broken a British climbing record.
Mr Cook, 68, is the oldest British man to complete a climb to a height of over 8,000m which he achieved during an expedition to the Himalayas which included a climb to the summit of Cho Oyu.
Mr Cook, who is now retired and lives in Wiltshire with his wife Nicola, was born in Douglas and attended Douglas High School for boys.
Mr Cook was worked in the island in the pathology lab at the old Noble’s Hospital before moving to the UK where he continued to work in the field.
He completed the climb with 360Expeditions, who specialise in leading climbing expeditions up some of the world’s highest peaks.
Mr Cook’s son, Andrew, 41, who works in police communications and lives in Lezayre said: ’The family are all very impressed with his achievement.
’Although there were a few scary moments like when he fell 20m down a crevasse but was able to stop himself falling further using his walking pole as a wedge between the two sides.
’Rolfe, the mountain guide, estimated the crevasse to be about 1km deep after he helped Roger back up.’
During the climb, Mr Cook and his fellow ’underdogs on the mount’, as Rolfe described them, battled hurricane force winds and lightning storms which hampered attempts to attach climbing ropes.
The route chosen by Rolfe had also changed, his blog of the climb said: ’The normal route follows a ridge which had altered from being smooth and rounded to being sharp and heavily fractured by deep crevasses.’
As the group climbed, the condensation from their breath froze to their tent and they had to sit out storms before a gap in the weather allowed them the chance to reach the summit.
Rolfe Oostra, who organised the climb, confirmed Mr Cook’s record-breaking achievement: ’Roger at 68 the oldest British man not only to summit Cho Oyu but any of the majestic 8,000-metre mountains on our planet.
’At one stage Roger found a hidden reserve of power and with Pemba trailing him, began pulling away like a tortoise on steroids.’
Tragically, during the ascent, a Sherpa, Chirring Bhota, who was helping the group during their climb, died due to a cerebral edema. He was described by those involved in the climb as ’a great man’.
Cho Oyu, is the world’s sixth highest peak, with its summit 8,188m (26,864 ft) above sea level. It is about 12.5 miles from Mount Everest on the China-Nepal border.
Source: http://www.iomtoday.co.im
Photo credit: https://www.adventureconsultants.com
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