A HIGHLY experienced Southside mountaineer has paid tribute to his fellow climber and mentor, Ian McKeever, who died while climbing Africa’s highest peak last week.
Mr McKeever (42), a well-known adventurer, mountaineer and charity fundraiser died while he was leading an expedition to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
Reports suggest that the expedition was caught up in an intense storm and that Mr McKeever died while being transferred to hospital after he was struck by a bolt of lightning.
The adventurer and mountaineer had previously worked as a broadcaster on RTE’s AA Roadwatch.
He was educated at Clonkeen College but had been living near Roundwood in Co Wicklow in recent years.
Mr McKeever’s family left a message on his website last week saying:
“It is with deep regret, that we, Ian’s family, fiancée Anna and friends, advise of his sudden death on Kilimanjaro
?¦doing what he loved best.
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He was a leading member of the Kilimanjaro Achiever’s Team, which comprised a group of experienced climbers that led first time and novice climbers to the summit of the mountain – often to raise funds for charity.
In August, Mr McKeever led a group of 145 Irish students to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, setting a Guinness World Record for the largest group ever to scale the peak at the same time. The group also raised almost e100,000 for Chernobyl Children International and Crumlin Children’s Hospital.
The ultra-fit Mr McKeever held several world records. He achieved his most notable feat in 2007 when he broke the world record for climbing the highest mountain in each of the seven continents in only 155 days, thereby shattering the previous world record by 32 days.
In 2008, Mr McKeever acted as mentor for Graham Kinch, from Dun Laoghaire, who was preparing for his own attempt at climbing the world’s highest mountain later that year.
Mr Kinch described Mr McKeever as a humble and unassuming man who was very determined to achieve his goals.
“For me he was a very interesting character in that he displayed both humility and drive at the same time, and they are two things that rarely go together in the same person,
? he said.
Mr Kinch also lauded Mr McKeever’s selfless charity fundraising and noted that he had personally raised hundreds of thousands of euros for various charities over the years.
“Every single one of those world records was done for a charity, for the good of somebody else,
? Mr Kinch revealed.
“With Ian it was always for the good of somebody else.
“On that [Seven Peaks] climb he raised about e140,000, but I would say that over the last decade he has raised close to half a million.
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Mr Kinch said his friend’s
‘Seven Peaks’ world record was all the more notable as it was the first time he had attempted to tackle what mountaineers generally regard as the world’s most difficult mountains to climb.
“What makes that exceptional is that when he took that challenge on he had never really set foot on a proper mountain before. He did not have the mountaineering background but had what I would call a healthy disregard for the impossible.
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One of the beneficiaries of his considerable charity work, Adi Roche, the CEO of Chernobyl Children International, said he would always be one of her heroes.
“If I had to think of Ian’s attributes I would list his enthusiasm, wisdom, humour, vibrancy and vision and his absolute living to the letter, the power of the possible,
? she said.
“Ian was a wonderful friend to Chernobyl Children International and worked on many initiatives and events including work with the Alzheimers Association. He was a mentor, a teacher, a guide and an inspiration for thousands of students throughout Ireland.
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