Sir Ranulph, 65, scales Everest: Now let's Talk Ageism!

On Top of The World!
Third time lucky: Sir Ranulph Fiennes becomes the oldest Briton to conquer Everest. A slap in the face of ageism and an example of the enduring spirit all to rarely seen these days. Picture: PA

After suffering a heart attack and undergoing triple bypass surgery, the younger generation and powers behind commercialism and consumerism, would tell you to call it time. Sit down, relax and wait for death. No way!

Yesterday 65-year-old Sir Ranulph Fiennes proved that age is no barrier to achieving challenging ambitions, when he conquered Mount Everest.The veteran explorer reached the summit of the world's highest mountain on his third attempt.He became the oldest Briton to stand at the top of the world. When he arrived at the summit of the Himalayan giant just before 1am yesterday , he also became the first man to cross the north and south poles and make it to the top of Everest.

Speaking by radio from the summit, Sir Ranulph said: "We came to the summit as dawn broke. We're very, very cold. "This is the closest you can get to the moon by walking." Well, if anyone could walk to the Moon, Ranulph Fiennes is the most likely candidate.

Sir Ranulph began his bid to scale Everest in April but kept his expedition low-key after the failure of his previous attempts in 2005 and last year.During his 2005 attempt on Everest, he had a heart attack at 8,500 metres and last year was forced to turn back less than 1,500ft from the summit, after suffering from exhaustion.

After his second attempt, he said: "I won't be returning to Everest. Last time, I had a heart attack, this time weather scuppered my chances. Any third attempt would be bad luck."However, he changed his mind because he wanted to help raise funds for sufferers of cancer, a disease which claimed the life of his beloved wife Ginny in 2004.

His sister and mother also died of cancer.Sir Ranulph used his unique broadcast opportunity from the summit of Everest to add: "I urge everyone who followed my attempt last year to give generously to Marie Curie, so that we can at last achieve our £3 million target to support its pioneering work in end-of-life care."

Sir Ranulph, often described as the world's greatest explorer has demonstrated his indomitable spirit on previous occasions by running seven marathons in seven consecutive days on seven continents – just four months after his triple heart bypass in 2003.

I had the great honour of meeting Ranulph Fiennes in Dundee at a fund-raiser for the Discovery restoration. He has a staggering list of accomplishments and is a magnificent example of a public figure that the younger generation should be looking up to, instead of the superficial and transient 'personalities' that fill the pages of the tabloids.