Irish climber who scaled Everest dies after accident in New Zealand
Solo 2,875m Zealand's Descent Of The O’neill Fell D’archiac Alps A Summit New in Mount During Richard Dean From Southern
An Irish climber who was part of the first successful Everest expedition in 1993 has died in a mountaineering accident in New Zealand.
Richard O’Neill-Dean, originally from Stackallen, Co Meath, fell during a solo descent from the 2,875m-high summit of Mount D’Archiac in New Zealand’s Southern Alps.
After the alarm was raised last Sunday, his body was located and flown to Christchurch for an autopsy. He is survived by his wife Frida, daughters Esmé and Julie, and young grandchildren.
The mountaineer and psychotherapist had many achievements to his credit, including playing a key role in supporting Dawson Stelfox’s ascent of Mount Everest from Tibet on May 27, 1993.
Mr Stelfox, an architect from Belfast and Ireland’s first Everest summiteer, described Mr O’Neill-Dean as a pioneering mountaineer who recorded first ascents of mountains in Patagonia and the Himalaya, and new rock climbs in Ireland.
“In more recent years, he recorded adventurous ski-mountaineering traverses the length of the rugged New Zealand Alps — his home since 1987,” Mr Stelfox said.
“On the first Irish Everest expedition in 1993, Richard was the first of the team above 8,000m, carrying up a heavy load of vital food and equipment in harsh conditions.
“Richard was recovering from this effort at base camp as [deputy leader] Frank Nugent and I made our summit attempt.
“Talking to Richard on the radio mid-morning [May 27, 1993] I realised he was watching our every move through a telescope, and his calm, considered, and confident words gave great reassurance — a watchful eye looking over us.
“He understood both mountains and people and the interaction between them. He was always calm, considered, and wise, with deep reserves of strength and experience to be called on when needed most.”
Fellow climber and close friend Dermot Somers, also on the 1993 Everest expedition, said Mr O’Neill-Dean’s many achievements included rock-climbing first ascents in Ireland and alpine routes in Europe and New Zealand.
“As a ski-mountaineer, he participated in important new challenges in remote areas of the New Zealand Alps,” said Mr Somers.
Mr O’Neill-Dean initially worked as a hill sheep farmer and outdoor adventure instructor before training in psychotherapy.
He began climbing as a teenager, and after what he described as his “usual apprenticeship in the European Alps”.
He said he was “very lucky” to climb previously unrecorded peaks in the Indian Himalaya and Patagonia. The ascent in Patagonia which he completed with Richard Shackleton of Lucan, Co Dublin, has since become the most popular route in the Parque Nacional del Paine in Patagonia.
After emigrating to New Zealand with his wife Frida in 1987, he developed a winter ski-mountaineering traverse of the Southern Alps from east to west.
A memorial service is due to take place in New Zealand next week.