A Scottish mountaineer has become the first quadruple amputee to reach the summit of the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps.
Jamie Andrew, from Edinburgh, lost his hands and feet to frostbite following a shocking ordeal in the French Alps in 1999 when he and climbing partner Jamie Fisher were trapped for five days on the storm-bound Mont Blanc ridge.
The rescue, which was one of the most dramatic in the history of the Alps, came only hours too late to save his partner.
Mr Andrew battled hypothermia and appalling frostbite but days later his limbs were amputated.
Now with the aid of prosthetic limbs and accompanied by two friends and mountain guides, Steve Jones and Steve Monks, Mr Andrew has made history again.
The climbers began their ascent at 5am and reached summit at 11am in perfect conditions.
However on the way the team had to contend with icy rocks and snow, stonefall from other climbing parties and approaching bad weather.
By the time they reached the base of the mountain again at 6.30pm it was just starting to rain and an hour later a storm swept in engulfing the mountain.
Mr Andrew said: “Climbing the Matterhorn is a dream come true.
“When I tried the first time in 2013 it was just so hard and I reached 4200m before turning back.
“I thought then that I would never do it, but I persevered, I trained hard, I worked on developing new techniques for climbing without hands and feet, and I waited patiently for the conditions to be right.
“The two Steves were fantastic.
“I couldn’t have done it without them.
“It was absolutely at my limit and I knew that bad weather was coming so it was important that we move fast in order to be off the mountain before the storms.”
He added: “Ever since losing my hands and feet it has been my mission to prove that anything is possible if you truly set your mind to it.
“With the Paralympics approaching this month I hope that my ascent will do something to demonstrate that people with disabilities can achieve great things in their own right.”
Mr Andrew went on: “After all our planning and preparation and talking about it, in the end it just went so well.”
He said the summit was a “beautiful place”, but "tiny with massive drops on either side of you”.
He added: “Getting up is the easy part.
“The most important thing was to get down.”
He said the descent involved “sliding down on my backside” for some of the time, and being hoisted down at other points.
“I thought the weather was going to turn and we couldn’t spend a night out there on the mountain.”
The deadly climb claimed the lives of two British climbers last week.
For Mr Andrew, the climb represents the next stage of his journey.
After taking part in marathons and triathlons, raising thousands of pounds for charity, he has told his inspirational story in a book and at motivational speaking events around the world.
His climb of the 14,692ft (4,478m) Matterhorn mountain will be another tale to recount, possibly in writing he said.
He now plans to have a rest but after that he said: “I hope to continue with speaking about my story and sharing my story.”
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