On top of the World

William McFatter (43), of Foljambe Drive, Thrybergh, made it to the summit of Everest just three days after setting off up its toughest route.

William became the first man this year to master the mountain via its treacherous north face when he arrived at the 8,848m (29,291 ft) summit on May 15.

But celebration turned to sorrow on the descent when one of his two Sherpa guides suffered a heart attack and died.

“He said he was feeling unwell and had pain in his left arm,” said William. “Then he just keeled over. It was shocking.”

William, Galden Sherpa and Namgyal Sherpa were climbing down the north face — where British pioneer George Mallory died in 1924 — when tragedy struck.

William described the loss of Namgyal, who had reached the top of Everest ten times, as “sudden and surprising”.

William too was slightly injured — at times the temperature plummeted to -40 deg C — and he suffered frostbite in his hands.

“We didn’t set out to be the first team up Everest this year,” he added. “We were just ready. We were trained and acclimatised and we had a weather window, so we went for it.

“We set off from base camp on May 12 and summited on May 15. We had the mountain all to ourselves.”

William’s Everest expedition raised more than £1,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support, as well as fulfilling a lifelong dream.

He hopes to climb the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents during his climbing career.

Read the full story in the Rotherham Advertiser