British Mountaineer and Everest summiter: ALAN HINKES ENTERS THE RECORD BOOKS AS THE FIRST BRITON EVER TO CLIMB THE WORLD'S 14 HIGHEST PEAKS

British extreme altitude mountaineer, Alan Hinkes, has successfully reached the summit of Kangchenjunga.  This marks the completion of Hinkes' Challenge 8000, his attempt to be the first Briton to Summit the world's 14, 8000m peaks.

Hinkes, a leading member of the Berghaus team of climbers, reached the top of Kangchenjunga – at 8587 metres above sea level   Accompanying him on his final summit attempt was friend and climbing partner Pasang Gelu.

As ever, on reaching the summit, Hinkes took out a photo of his daughter Fiona and his grandson Jay to have his summit photos taken.  Hinkes has undertaken this ritual on every one of his successful summit expeditions.

Speaking about his epic ordeal live from base camp at 6000 metres, Alan said: "The final summit push was without a doubt the hardest climb of my life.  We left base camp on Thursday 26 May and began to push up the mountain.  The weather had not been good which meant there was an awful lot of fresh snow to break through.  Risk of avalanche was incredibly high and every step of the way was a matter of physical and mental endurance.

"The snow was so deep that we were unable to make camp three and had to bivvy on the hillside at around 7400m.  We tried for a summit attempt on the 29 May but we were beaten back by the weather.

"A second summit attempt saw us leave at about 1am on the 30 May.  More snow had fallen but we made good time.  My climbing partner Pasang had to stop around 15 minutes short of the summit due to exhaustion.  I reached the summit on the 30 May at around 7pm in driving snow and wind.  It was the worst summit conditions I can remember.  I took the obligatory photo spent around 10 minutes on the summit and then began my descent.

"It was about 9pm when I caught up with Pasang but with no head torch it was difficult to locate him and I honestly thought he was dead.  It was with great elation that I found him and we got back to the bivvy site around 27 hours after setting off on 31 May.

"The next couple of days saw us descending back to base camp through fresh snow with high risk of avalanche.  Getting back to base camp was one of the best feelings of my life.  I sat down in my tent and thought I've finally done it!"

From 2004: Alan Hinkes Summits Dhaulagiri! and Alan Hinkes Summits Dhaulagiri more details and Mountaineer Alan Hinkes returns to Kathmandu following successful summit of Dhaulagiri

Millet One Sport Everest Boot  has made some minor changes by adding more Kevlar. USES Expeditions / High altitude / Mountaineering in extremely cold conditions / Isothermal to -75°F Gore-Tex® Top dry / Evazote Reinforcements with aramid threads. Avg. Weight: 5 lbs 13 oz Sizes: 5 - 14 DESCRIPTION Boot with semi-rigid shell and built-in Gore-Tex® gaiter reinforced by aramid threads, and removable inner slipper Automatic crampon attachment Non-compressive fastening Double zip, so easier to put on Microcellular midsole to increase insulation Removable inner slipper in aluminized alveolate Fiberglass and carbon footbed Cordura + Evazote upper Elasticated collar. Expedition footwear for mountaineering in conditions of extreme cold.  NOTE US SIZES LISTED. See more here.

A cold weather, high altitude double boot for extreme conditions The Olympus Mons is the perfect choice for 8000-meter peaks. This super lightweight double boot has a PE thermal insulating inner boot that is coupled with a thermo-reflective outer boot with an integrated gaiter. We used a super insulating lightweight PE outsole to keep the weight down and the TPU midsole is excellent for crampon compatibility and stability on steep terrain. WEIGHT: 39.86 oz • 1130 g LAST: Olympus Mons CONSTRUCTION: Inner: Slip lasted Outer: Board Lasted OUTER BOOT: Cordura® upper lined with dual-density PE micro-cellular thermal insulating closed cell foam and thermo-reflective aluminium facing/ Insulated removable footbed/ Vibram® rubber rand See more here.

   Ascenders

   Atlas snowshoes

   Atomic

   Big Agnes

   Black Diamond

   Brunton

   Carabiners

   Chaco

   Cloudveil

   Columbia
   CMI

   Crampons

   Edelweiss ropes
   Eureka Tents

   Exofficio

   FiveTen

   Featured

   FoxRiver

   Gregory

   Granite Gear

   Harnesses
   Headlamps

   Hestra
   Helmets

   Helly Hansen

   HighGear

   HornyToad
   Ice Axes

   Julbo

   Kavu Eyewear

   Katadyn

   Kelty

   Kong

   Lekisport

   Life is Good

   Lowa

   Lowe Alpine

   Lowepro

   Millet

   Motorola

   Mountain Hardwear

   Mountainsmith

   MSR

   Nalgene

   New England Ropes

   Nikwax

   Omega

   Osprey

   Outdoor Research
   Patagonia

   Pelican

   Petzl

   Prana

   Princeton Tec

   Primus

   Rope Bags

   Royal Robbins

   Salomon

   Scarpa

   Scott

   Seattle Sports

   Serius
   Sleeping Bags

   Sterling Rope

   Stubai

   Suunto

   Tents

   Teva

   Thermarest

   Trango

   Tool Logic

   Trekking Poles
   Yaktrax
   and more here