Welsh woman on top of the world
Anna:
May 27th, 2007
Tori James became the first Welsh woman to summit Everest this week, as well as the youngest British female ever to reach the peak. Having summitted at 7.30am on 24th May, the 25-year-old returned to Base Camp yesterday where a warm welcome and a celebratory beer awaited.
An accomplished all-rounder despite her young years, Tori has previously completed The Scott Dunn Polar Challenge, a punishing 360-mile race to the Magnetic North Pole. She has also taken part in expeditions to Iceland, Morocco, Kenya and Svalbard.
Having grown up in Wales, and still active in the Welsh hills as an accredited assessor for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a love of mountains is obviously in Tori’s blood. But why was she particularly drawn to Everest, surely the biggest challenge of all? For Tori, it’s all about proving the doubters wrong:
…at barely 5″2, to look at me you would think that “she could never do that”! I thrive on the doubting skepticism that I am given and I want to show people what’s possible…. The opportunity to be both the first Welsh woman and the youngest British female gives me an enormous sense of pride and this is a motivating factor both in my training and on the mountain.
The expedition website, which has charted the progress of Tori and her three team mates, all of whom have achieved success on Everest this May, gives a real insight into the waiting game that characterises all major mountaineering efforts. Bouts of gruelling climbing in rarefied air are interspersed with periods of recuperation and waiting. With an MP3 player in her pack, Tori has passed the time by listening to her favourite Welsh artists. Charlotte Church, Bryn Terfel and the Stereophonics have surely never been heard at such altitude before?
Everest is a fickle mountain, and windows of fair weather and fitness sometimes fail to coincide for even the most accomplished climbers. This makes Tori’s achievements even more astonishing - at 25 she has accomplished a feat which many of us can only dream of. Hundreds have died in their attempt to conquer Everest, and for others it has become an obsession. Good to know, then, that Tori is not losing perspective. She is looking forward to
being able to spend an hour on my hair and make up, put on a pair of tight jeans and a pretty top, grab a pair of heels and head out with my friends for a fun night out.
Reassuring that despite her achievements, when not wielding an ice axe Tori is much like her peers and believes in living life to the full in every possible sense.