AN Irish mountaineer who was part of the Irish crew who first successfully summitted Mount Everest in the early 1990s has sadly passed away in a climbing accident.
Meath man Richard O’Neill-Dean, 70, was making a solo descent from the 2,875-metre summit of Mount D’Archaic in the Aoraki/Mt Cook region in New Zealand.
Originally from Stackallen, Co Meath, the climbing expert was reported missing by his family when he did not return from his climb last weekend.
New Zealand cops recovered the man’s body on Tuesday and it was flown to Christchurch for a post-mortem-examination.
Speaking to local paper Star News, the mountaineer’s heartbroken widow Frida O’Neill-Dean described him as “strong” and “inspiring.”
She said: “He was six foot eight and so active.
“He had had a hip replacement, but put so much of his effort into rehabilitating and getting ready for climbing.
“I think he was quite inspiring.”
Richard’s daughter Esme told the paper that the whole family is “in shock” after his passing.
She said: “It was a solo ascent, and he’d wanted to do that mountain for a long time, so he achieved something that he wanted to do.
“We know he summited that mountain on Sunday morning because he rang a climbing friend from the summit.
“But it appears that he broke through the cornice and fell down the south face of the mountain.
“I’m told by the police and the search and rescue team that it was a fall of several hundred metres into rock and would have been survivable.”
A spokesman said police received a report of a person overdue from a climbing trip at Mt D’Archiac about 11.30pm on Monday.
They said: “During the search, police search and rescue were assisted by the Aoraki/Mt Cook Alpine Cliff Rescue Team.
“Sadly, the person was located deceased.”
KEY ROLE IN MT EVEREST CLIMB
The psychotherapist, who moved to New Zealand in the 1980s, had many climbing feats under his belt – including a key role in a successful 1993 Mount Everest climb.
Speaking with the Irish Independent, Dawson Stelfox who took part in the Everest climb paid tribute to O’Neill-Dean.
He said: “In more recent years, he recorded adventurous ski-mountaineering traverses the length of the rugged New Zealand Alps – his home since 1987.
“On the first Irish Everest expedition in 1993, Richard was the first of the team above 8,000 metres, carrying up a heavy load of vital food and equipment in harsh conditions.
“Talking to Richard on the radio mid-morning [May 27, 1993] I realised he was watching our every move through a telescope, and his calm, considered and confident words gave great re-assurance – a watchful eye looking over us.”