A CLIMBER has succeeded in becoming the first person with cystic fibrosis to reach the summit of Everest.

Nick Talbot, 40, whose parents Keith and Gay live in Kentmere, was on his third attempt at conquering the mountain in as many years.

A previous attempt in 2014 was thwarted by an avalanche that claimed the lives of 16 people, while last year's attempt failed when an earthquake left Mr Talbot needing hospital treatment.

Speaking of his success, Mr Talbot said: "It was an incredible experience. It felt amazing to finally be up there looking at the world below. It was stormy at the top but very clear.

"At first it was just myself and my Sherpa at the top which, when you hear about all the crowds up there these days, was really amazing."

Not everything went to plan however. Mr Talbot's chance of success was at risk as bad weather threatened the team with the prospect of calling the ascent off once again.

"We had to delay our setting off from Camp Four for the ascent as there were high winds and fresh snow had fallen which made it very difficult to find the route.

"We didn't find the low route but we managed to find the high route. It took us a long time to get up to the top. We had to break through ice and fresh snow.

"When we did get near to the top a storm closed in. We thought we might have to turn around but we decided to wait it out and it did clear. At the time I was thinking that I would have to come back for a fourth time! I wasn't sure if I'd have the energy to go back to base camp and start the whole ascent again.

"Things were also difficult because the fresh snow meant that we couldn't see the landmarks we were expecting to see near the top. We weren't always sure if we were actually near the top."

Mr Talbot also struggled with his oxygen freezing, however the team managed to solve this problem without having to descend the mountain.

In completing his goal of conquering Everest, Mr Talbot raised £80,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

"The response I have received in personal messages has been really overwhelmingly positive," he said. "I just wanted to raise awareness and money to help the many CF sufferers who have it worse than me.

"I used to try and help by doing drug trials, however I can't with the new medication I am on. However I feel that there is a huge amount of medical hope for CF sufferers it's a question of money really to help it happen.

"It's a race against time to try and help people experience the benefits of medical breakthroughs in their lifetimes."

Mr Talbot's ascent was one of the first to be attempted from the south side of the mountain after the earthquake in Nepal in 2015.

Now he has finally reached the summit of Everest, Mr Talbot is open to suggestions of what he can do next to help fellow CF sufferers.