Rick Irvine reached the top of the World’s tallest mountain on 24th May 2023

We’re always interested to follow the lives and achievements of Clan members around the world.

Historically, the last ‘Irvine’ to climb Everest was the ill-fated Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine, alongside seasoned climber George Mallory. Sadly, neither climber returned from this trip and though a more recent ascent in 1999 unearthed the remains of Mallory, whether they reached the summit remains a mystery to this day. Read more

We were therefore very interested to read the news of Rick Irvine:

At the top of the world, under a cold blue sky, Rick Irvine, age 60, waved the provincial flag 8,849 metres high atop the summit of Mount Everest, the tallest mountain on Earth.

“Surprisingly, when you do reach the summit … you are just so tired, you know, that you’re not jumping up and down — you’re just happy to have gotten there,”

said Irvine, who’s from Minto, about 50 kilometres northeast of Fredericton, but has spent much of his life in South America.

He reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 24, following years of preparation and one previous attempt in 2021.

Irvine spoke to Information Morning Fredericton about his weeks-long journey to reach the top of the world, in a year that’s already seen 17 other climbers die or go missing trying to do the same thing.

“You’re surviving basically, right? Once you get to 8,000 metres, which is called the death zone, basically, your body can’t live there very long.

Even with supplemental oxygen, you’re fighting, you’re fighting through it. You’re trying to focus, you’re trying to put one foot in front of the other. It’s a struggle.”

You can read the full story here:

Our congratulations to Rick on this pinnacle of achievement.

The Clan Chief
 
 
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