ONE of my favourite people is in the news again.
The world’s greatest explorer, Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE, more commonly – thankfully – known as Sir Ran, is off on another quest.
You would think that Ran, the first person to reach both North and South Poles using only surface transport, the first to cross Antarctica in its entirety on foot, the first to run seven marathons in seven days on seven continents, and the oldest person at 65 to climb Everest, would consider hanging up his crampons.
But no. At the age of 72 he is to make one final record attempt: being the first man to reach both poles and climb the highest mountain on all seven continents.
If you think that sounds daunting, consider this: he has survived two heart attacks, major bypass surgery, prostate cancer and suffers from apnea, which makes breathing a terrifying experience above 5 000m.
He also has had serious frostbite and personally had to hack off the tops of several fingers with a fretsaw and thus cannot hold an ice axe – a bit problematic as high mountains are all frozen.
He also suffers from debilitating back pain and needs steroid injections. To top it all, he suffers from vertigo, which is not a load of laughs at high altitudes.
Yet vertigo, lumbago, apnea and hacked fingers are no match for his real ‘problem’ – he cannot refuse a dare.
In a recent interview he said once he had climbed Everest, he considered his job was done.
He was first to bag the Big One; the polar extremes and highest point on the planet.
Then earlier this year, while running the 250km Marathon des Sables in the Sahara Desert, billed as world’s toughest footrace, he heard a group of contestants discussing who would be the first to complete the Big One.
Ran was astonished as he believed he had already done that. So he eavesdropped. The Big One was now no longer only the poles and Everest – it was the poles and highest mountain on ALL continents.
Job not done
So his job wasn’t done after all. Apart from Everest in Asia and Erebus in Europe, he still had five to go.
To say he was dismayed is being bland. This was a challenge he could not refuse as Sir Ran comes from a long line of adventurers and soldiers.
His ancestors arrived here from France carrying swords with William the Conqueror in 1066. Since then, in every war between England and France (and there have been many), Fiennes bloodlines have been locked in bloody battle on both sides.
I have met Sir Ran, although I’m sure I remember the occasion more than he does, and I can tell you that in the flesh he is just as impressive as his achievements.
So to the surprise of no one, starting next month Sir Ran will attempt to climb Carstensz in New Guinea (Australasia); Vinson in Antarctica; Kilimanjaro in Africa, Aconcagua in South America and Denali in North America.
Denali is technically one of the most difficult mountains to climb. Ran has already failed once owing to chronic back pain, and as it is so high (6 190m) and so far north, the extreme chill causes excruciating agony in his chopped fingers.
Last climbing season it only had an 18% summit success rate – and that was with supremely fit climbers a quarter of Sir Ran’s age
Despite health problems, Ran is still as tough as barbed wire and runs for an hour a day.
However, he says with his advanced age, he now grudgingly pays more attention to the advice of his doctor and his wife, Louise.
‘It’s all getting harder,’ he told the reporters. ‘Things are definitely getting worse healthwise. I feel rather geriatric.
You get to a certain age and there are going to be sight problems and deafness and the risk of Alzheimer’s.’
He also is doing this magnificent last quest to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care in memory of his first wife Ginny, his mother and two sisters, who all died from the disease.
So raise a glass to man who refuses to grow old gracefully. Or at all.
