A valanche risk foils Everest bid; Team leader to decide on assault for the top.

Byline: By ROLAND HUGHES

AN avalanche risk thwarted three North Wales climbers' push to reach Everest's summit by scaling the treacherous West Ridge.

Captain Rab Black, Major Kevin Edwards and instructor John Doyle are among 19 men and two women tackling the 8,848m mountain.

But a charge to reach the top had to be delayed because of an avalanche risk- forcing the team to turn back.

Their next step is now uncertain.

Team leader Dave Bunting now faces an agonising decision over whether to try another bid for the peak - or turn back for good.

The crew set out to conquer the notoriously difficult West Ridge, which has been scaled by only 19 people - none of them British.

They flew out to Nepal in March and managed to reach 8,000metres, within 800m of the summit of Everest, on the weekend.

But while carrying out a dangerous climb along rotten terrain on a 45-degree slope, a four-strong team, including Mr Doyle, hit problems.

On their main route to the summit, they discovered they were walking on 'wind slab' - a hard crust of snow sitting on a softer layer.

Aware the snow could crack and slide off the mountainside, they decided to turn back.

All teams were ordered off the mountain as a result, and the 22-strong crew are now back at Tilman's Camp, more than 2,500m lower.

A statement on the Army team's website reads: "They are currently reconvening at Tilman's Camp where Dave will discuss the situation with his colleagues.

"He will consider the nature of the terrain on the route to the summit, the fitness of his fellow climbers, the weather forecasts and the state of the expedition's supplies before deciding how they should proceed."

Capt Black, of Appin in Argyll, has served in the Army for more than 25 years and is chief instructor of the Joint School for Adventurous Training Instructors in Deganwy.

Major Edwards, originally from Llangefni, has 30 years' experience in the Army, while Mr Doyle, of St Helens on Merseyside, is a civilian instructor at the Joint Services Mountain Training Centre on Anglesey.

The window to reach the summit is limited to only a few days as jet-stream winds of up to 170mph slow down for a short period.

A further decision on whether to continue with a summit bid is expected later today.

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CAPTION(S):

North Wales-based climbers Captain Rab Black, Major Kevin Edwards and instructor John Doyle are among those waiting at Tilman's Camp below Everest (top) while deciding whether to make another attempt on the treacherous West Ridge - which has never yet been climbed by a Briton