/ 24 May 1999

O’DOWD TO REACH SUMMIT SATURDAY

CATHY O’DOWD and Ian Woodall will reach the peak of Mount Everest on Saturday, if all goes well, Punt Geselsradio reported on Monday. O’Dowd and Woodall will leave for Camp 1 on Tuesday, where they will rest for a day. On Thursday they will try to reach the second camp and on Friday the third camp before they start climbing the peak on Saturday, approaching it from the northern slope, which is very steep this year because of ice deposits. If O’Dowd is successful on Saturday she will be the first woman in the world to have reached the summit from both the northern and southern slopes.