A leading British climber who became the first person to scale a remote peak in Asia has named it after his daughter.Alan Hinkes, 56, conquered the then unnamed mountain alone and without any ropes.
As a result, Mount Fiona, standing 5,300ft tall, is now on the map in the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan.
Mr Hinkes, a former geography teacher who became the first Briton to scale the world’s 14 highest peaks, took a picture of Fiona, 26, to the summit, as he does with each mountain he climbs. He said: "I had been guiding an RAF expedition to climb four new peaks and name them after fallen pilots but I fancied having a crack at a fifth on my own.
"It was basically a rocky scramble with a few icy and snowy bits. There were parts where I had to climb - it certainly wasn't a walk - but it was relatively easy and took around seven hours."When I returned I asked one of the other climbers what it should be called and he said I could call it what I liked as I had climbed it lone. I automatically thought of my daughter so Mount Fiona was born.”
In order to complete the 2008 trek, Mr Hinkes, from Richmond, North Yorks, took a flight to Kazakhstan and then used various methods of transport to reach the Tien Shan range.He added: “I always have a picture of (Fiona) with me when I climb. I thought it was much better to have my family with me than be jingoistic and put a flag up.
“It focuses my mind and makes me think about dying or getting killed for selfish reasons. "I think she is quite flattered and has told me since that she wants to go and see it, but the fact it is so remote is takes about three weeks to get there means that could be a problem. But you never know."
Fiona, who has two children of her own, said: "I couldn't believe that in this day and age there were mountains that didn't have names, so when I found out what my Dad had done I was really surprised and incredibly amazed. I was really flattered, proud and felt honoured too.”
Mr Hinkes said that any mountain without a name can be given a moniker as long as the country's authorities do not object. He was told recently that Mount Fiona was now officially on the map.
The climber revealed that his next challenge would be to find two more remote mountains and name them after his grandchildren, Jay, seven and Mia, three.In 1997, an attempt to become the first person to conquer six of the world's 14 great summits in one season ended when he suffered a slipped disc sneezing and had to be airlifted off the mountain.
He was resting during an ascent of Nanga Parbat in Pakistan when flour from a chapati he was eating got up his nose.Mr Hinkes, who was awarded an OBE in 2006 for his climbing achievements, is also a motivational speaker.
The Telegraph
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