Fergal and the Examiner on the roof of Europe...

Fergal and the Examiner on the roof of Europe...

He did it! Mullingar resident and mountain climber Fergal Hingerty celebrated a landmark achievement last Friday, after he reached the summit of Europe’s highest mountain, Mount Elbrus – completing a remarkable road to recovery from a chronic sciatica condition which left him barely able to walk a couple of years ago.

Dubliner Fergal, who lives in Ardleigh, Mullingar, reached the very top of the Caucasus peak at 8.07am local time last Friday morning – carrying with him to the top, among other things, a recent front page of the Westmeath Examiner.

The road to the snow-capped peaks of Elbrus is a tale of triumph over adversity for Fergal, who only a few years ago, lay flat on the ground unable to move at his home in Ardleigh after sciatica imposed itself on him with a vengeance. 

Fergal maintains that but for major corrective surgery carried out at Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dublin, he would have been in a wheelchair for life.

Recovering after the operation, he took up hillwalking, which quickly graduated into a hobby which he is passionate about. 

Walking thousands of hills across Ireland, the UK and Europe, he soon moved on to mountains, and has scaled some of Europe’s most famous peaks – including, recently, the historic Mount Olympus in Greece.
Elbrus, however, was the most daunting task yet, and he left Ireland on August 22 to begin preparations for the climb, scaling nearby Mount Cheget (3,711m) as a dry run on August 27.

Fergal and his fellow climbers – a total of 14 made it to summit day – battled through sub-zero temperatures, reduced oxygen, high winds and dense snow to reach the pinnacle on Friday morning. Out of the 14 who completed the climb of the 5,642m peak, Fergal was the eldest.

“It was an amazing day,” he told the Westmeath Examiner via Facebook, from the Caucasian republic of Georgia. 

“Summit day was extremely tough. The cold was savage – it was  minus 18 degrees Celsius at the top, and very windy.

“The professionalism, skill and good nature of all the expedition’s organisers and participants made it an amazing and unforgettable day.

“It’s been a great journey over the last seven years, from using a Zimmer frame to walk again to climbing Europe’s highest mountain.

“I hope that people look at this story and realise that the sky really is the limit.”