Irish mountain climber Noel Hanna dies on Nepal’s Annapurna

A renowned Northern Irish mountain climber died this week while descending the world’s10th highest peak.

Noel Hanna, 56, died overnight at Camp Four after summiting Annapurna, the 26,545-foot peak in north-central Nepal, on Monday, RTÉ reported.

While Hanna’s cause of death had not been released, Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks told the outlet that his body had already been transported to Kathmandu.

Over the course of his storied climbing career, Hanna summited Mount Everest 10 times, and had climbed the highest peaks on all seven continents, CBS News said.

In 2006, he capped off one Everest climb with a two-week bike ride from base camp to the coast of eastern India.

According to the BBC, in 2018 he became the first Irish person to successfully summit and descend the world’s second-highest mountain, K2.

Annapurna, however, is considered especially risky because of its avalanche-prone conditions. Accomplished climber Baljeet Kaur, 28, had to be rescued from the mountain on Tuesday after falling ill during her descent, The Guardian reported.

Another climber, Anurag Maloo, fell into a crevasse on Monday and has not been recovered.

Speaking to the BBC News NI’s Evening Extra, Hanna’s sister, Irene Hunter, said her brother “loved a view and he just loved people.”

Hunter added that he “didn’t really say too much” about the dangers he faced while climbing because “he didn’t want to worry us all.”

“[He was] a legend,” she said.

Northern Irish politician Jeffrey Donaldson also paid tribute to Hanna.

“I had the privilege of meeting Noel and hearing about his mountain climbing exploits, including his conquest of Everest,” he told RTÉ.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and his fellow mountaineers at this sad time.”

In addition to his sister and friends, Hanna is survived by his wife, Lynne, who is also a respected mountain climber.