Sir Ranulph Fiennes

Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes has made it to the top of Everest at his third attempt.

He entered the record books just before 1am this morning as the oldest Briton to stand on the highest point on earth. The 65-year-old had been thwarted twice in previous efforts to summit the mountain.

His triumph will help raise cash for charity Marie Curie Cancer Care, whose chief executive Thomas Hughes-Hallett said: “Everyone at Marie Curie is delighted that Sir Ranulph has conquered Everest; we know it meant so much to him.

“We are so grateful to Ran for all his support for the charity and for his determination to personally take the Marie Curie flag to the summit.”

Sir Ranulph said: “I have summited Everest for Marie Curie Cancer Care which has long been a personal goal. I urge everyone who followed my attempt last year to give generously to Marie Curie so that we can at last achieve our £3m target to support its pioneering work in end-of-life care.”

The explorer’s successful summit comes despite his despair at failing last year. He said, on his return: “I won’t be returning to Everest; it’s a seven week trip – last time I had a heart attack, this time bad timing and weather scuppered my chances, I think any third attempt would be bad luck.”

The eccentric explorer, who suffers from vertigo, successfully climbed the north face of the Eiger in 2007 for the Marie Curie charity, in a blaze of publicity. This year’s attempt on Everest has been deliberately low-key.