Northern Ireland man Noel Hanna has set a new world record after successfully completing the final leg of his ‘Seven Summits to Sea Level’ challenge as part of a fundraising campaign that has raised £130,000 for the Ulster Cancer Foundation (UCF).
Since 2005, Noel has successfully completed summit to sea level expeditions on Denali, Elbrus, Everest, Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, and Carstenz Pyramid.
In the last of the seven challenges Noel reached the 4,897m summit of Mount Vinson, Antarctica before embarking on a 300km ski over extreme terrain to reach sea level at Hercules inlet.
Noel spent many months preparing for the physical challenges, not just of reaching the summit of Mount Vinson, but also having to pull a sledge with all his equipment, clothing, food and shelter - which weighed in at a hefty 80 kilos.
To date, Noel and his wife Lynne, who climbed Everest with Noel in May 2009, have raised £130,000 for UCF to fund a major new support programme for cancer patients and their families in Northern Ireland.
www.ulstercancer.org
