INTREPID climber Alan Hinkes, pictured, is days away from making mountaineering history - if conditions stay on his side.

The weather has proved to be a fickle companion during his assault on towering Kangchenjunga in Nepal, the only peak over 8,000m that he has yet to conquer.

But, with the forecast looking good, there is now a chance he could set out for the summit over the coming Bank Holiday weekend.

Mr Hinkes, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, is attempting to become the only Briton to have stood on the top of the 14 highest places on Earth.

After enduring heavy snow for more or less three weeks, another team, from Switzerland, has decided to call it a day and has retreated back to Kathmandu.

No sooner had they left than the snowfall stopped and the temperature rose. It has now receded above base camp for the first time since Mr Hinkes arrived three weeks ago.

He now hasonly his climbing partner, Pasang Gelu, and a couple of cooks for company at base camp.

Yesterday, he was beginning the mental preparation for a final summit dash.

With 13 of the giant peaks already under his belt, he could become only the 12th person to have successfully tackled every 8,000m-plus mountain in the world.