Summit success for Newry mountaineer

By Brónagh Murphy

Famed Newry mountaineer, Banjo Bannon, has successfully reached the summit of his latest expedition climb, it has been reported.

Banjo and his fellow climbers, Brian O’Malley and Jeff Scace, reached the top of the Himalayan peak Ama Dablam on Friday.

The team successfully completed the task unaided despite losing satellite contact for several days.  They also battled back from bouts of sickness during the journey, which began several weeks ago.

Ama Dablam is in the heart of Everest’s Khumbu region and is an extremely hazardous undertaking.

In 2003, Banjo conquered the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest.  Following this success, he was awarded the Freedom of Newry, the first person ever to receive this accolade.

He has also been involved in three attempts to scale K2 – the world’s second highest mountain and the most difficult to climb.  His last attempt in 2006 almost ended in  tragedy when his Limerick co-climber was injured in a rock fall.  After this, Banjo vowed never to return to K2.