Pharma Nord helps climber conquer world's second highest mountain
Pharma Nord, a manufacturer of nutritional supplements, sponsored an intrepid climber to reach the top of K2 and become the first person from Northern Ireland to achieve the feat.
Noel Hanna from Dromara in County Down completed the six-week trek to the 28,251ft summit in the Himalayas, the 51-year-old adding another successful climb to a lengthy list that includes scaling Mount Everest on eight occasions.
“It has been the hardest climb I’ve done, no question. K2 is a lot steeper and a lot more technical than Everest with more rocks and ice to contend with,” he said.
“The traverse on K2 is very dangerous and the bottleneck section which you reach after camp 4 over 8,000 metres up is probably the most dangerous part.
“However, we were fortunate with the weather window which we had up there. You can go to K2 and be the best climber in the world, but if the weather doesn’t allow you, you won’t be able to make the summit.
“I’ve attempted to climb K2 twice before, in 2015 and 2016, but both times no-one summitted at all because avalanches destroyed all our camps.”
Pharma Nord UK managing director Bent Henriksen, who accompanied Hanna on successful climbs of Mont Blanc and Mount Kilimanjaro in his 70s, said: “We are delighted that Noel has been able to successfully climb K2. It would seem to be a case of third time lucky for him.
“It is well known how difficult and dangerous a mountain it is to climb so this is a terrific achievement for him and a real landmark to be the first person from Northern Ireland to have successfully conquered K2.
“Noel has achieved some incredible things over the past nine years since we have been supporting him in his adventures, but I think this one tops the lot so far.
“It is really rewarding for us as a company to know that the work which we do in producing high quality, pharmaceutical standard supplements is helping people achieve the amazing, in whatever field or stage of life they are in. We can’t wait to see what Noel will be attempting next.”
Hanna is preparing to climb Mount Elbrus, Russia’s tallest mountain, for the ninth time.
August 29, 2018
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