A BAND of North-East adventurers who travelled to Nepal in the hope of becoming the first in history to scale an obscure Himalayan summit returned home just relieved to be alive.

The group from Durham-based Fire and Ice Expeditions flew east to conquer the remote Mukot Peak, which reaches 19,970ft in the Dolpo region of west Nepal.

But instead they found themselves hiding in their hotel for fear of being shot by Maoist rebels and, when finally out on the mountain, suddenly hit by a severe snowstorm.

Both of their escape routes were blocked, mules and yaks became virtually useless and snow drifts six feet high and temperatures ten degrees below zero forced the team to evacuate to safety.

However, retired firefighter John Robson, who was undertaking his first expedition since being struck down by the debilitating polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) in March 2013, said the group was not disappointed at not reaching the summit.

“The expedition was extremely interesting, an epic adventure really. The summit was always just the icing on the cake. I was over the moon to reach base camp.

“Yes, we didn’t achieve the summit but we were still happy. We were 95 per cent successful. But the chance we would have been taking in going to the summit was we might not have got off.”

The Nepalese government only recently licensed climbing of Mukot and the first group successfully reached the summit on Saturday, October 17.

However, a member of a Swiss team died after a path collapsed underneath him.

Mr Robson said: “When we arrived at base camp, 5,300m, we believed we had a weather window for the summit, but within a matter of hours the weather changed.

“The only option was to leave 600m of fixed line on the mountain, our food and equipment, and literally evacuated back down to Mukot village.”

Mr Robson said the team enjoyed wonderful hospitality in Dolpo and it had been a humbling experience for all involved.

Over 11 years, Fire and Ice members have climbed the highest mountains in North and South America, Europe and to Mount Everest base camp, raising £114,000 for charity along the way by staging balls and giving talks and presentations about their adventures.

A charity giveaway evening will be held at Ramside Hall Hotel, Durham, on Tuesday (November 17).

For more, visit fireandiceexpeditions.com