Visually challenged Irish woman triumphs Everest Base Camp challenge, calls feat 'amazing'

A visually challenged Buncrana woman is being lauded as brave and inspirational for ascending to the Mount Everest base camp with Letterkenny mountaineer Jason Black, the first person from the county to reach the summit. Visually impaired since birth, Jennifer Doherty aced the mountaineering feat that involved 330km of walking and 8,700 metres of climbing, completing the challenging journey despite being an individual with special needs.

Jennifer Doherty received assistance from the Donegal Centre for Independent Living’s Opportunity Fund which encourages the specially-abled to fulfil their ambitions. Doherty was also accompanied by her guide dog Sibyl in the journey. 

According to the Donegal Centre for Independent Living, Doherty was of the three awardees for the distribution of the Opportunity Fund that helps specially-abled people realize their potential and dreams. The pioneering young woman overcame the hurdles and reached the Everest Base Camp in one of the "toughest thing physically and mentally” after completing the 10-day trek. The team she set out with trudged the route to the south base camp in Nepal situated at an altitude of about 5,364m. This route was taken by  Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa of Nepal, who become the first explorers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. 

'It was amazing, but tough': Doherty on her remarkable feat

Jason Black first approached Doherty before Christmas with the proposal, despite having met her just once and knowing that she is blind by birth. Doherty agreed with the idea “almost straight away,” she told Inish Live. “I love the outdoors and nature but I never had any intentions of doing this. But it nearly felt like it was too good to be true,” she said. The brave Buncrana woman started her preparation that included “loads of walking” with family and friends and long periods on an exercise bike and treks.  The team also organised the two days trek in the Bluestacks in March. The actual trek started on May 2 and they reached base camp on May 11.

Doherty and her guide dog Sibyl. Credit: Facebook/Donegal Centre for Independent Living

“It was amazing but it was tough. Some parts of it were really, really tough - the ground was really tough. It was as much a mental challenge as a physical challenge but it was so much fun. We were with a brilliant group of people,” Jennifer Doherty reportedly said.  “I never felt like giving up. I knew it was going to be hard from the start but that was part of the challenge,” she continued, adding that she got immense support from the team. “I feel like it happened to someone else and not me. It is a tremendous feeling. Every single minute of it was just brilliant.”

Mountaineer Jason Black reportedly said that Jennifer was “treated as a complete human being.” He continued that the team did not let Doherty feel that her blindness would hold her back and she, in turn, demonstrated unbelievable spirit. “We did it the hard way and that was the way we both wanted to do it - it was bloody hard,” said Black. He acknowledged that Doherty’s attitude and resilience have inspired others. “The reason Jennifer was so successful in Everest base camp was that all the parts of the jigsaw came together in a perfect storm. When she was faced with what in my eyes was a really hard challenge, she rose to the occasion,” he iterated.