'Close to God - and Nandos'
2003-05-30 09:21
Johannesburg - South African film producer Sean Wisedale reached the summit of Mount Everest by himself just before 08:00 on Friday - and all he wanted was some spicy chicken.
Wisedale said he felt as though he was at the closest point to God.
"If you want to get to the top, you must go to the top. I am at the top of the planet right now - the closest point to God that you can get. God bless South Africa. God bless Discovery."
Wisedale is a member of Discovery Everest 2003 team. He also expressed a craving for Nando's chicken.
He said the weather was like a cold day in KwaZulu-Natal. The sun was shining and there was no wind.
Top of the world - all alone
Wisedale planned to take some photographs before starting his descent which would take him about five hours.
As he had climed to the summit by himself there was nobody to take any pictures of him.
Rosemary Renton of the Discovery team said Wisedale had done some of the climb with the Alpine team, but they had reached the summit some time before him.
Wisedale's three team-mates arrived back in South Africa on Thursday, just about a week after abandoning their bid to reach the roof of the world.
Alex Harris, Shaun Disney and Deshun Deysel were just 350m away from the peak when high winds made it unsafe to continue.
On Monday, South African game ranger Sibusiso Vilane, 32, became the first black person to reach the summit. He was climbing with an international team.
- SAPA