Fiennes poised for Everest summit

Sir Ranulph Fiennes has left base camp in second attempt to climb Everest

Sir Ranulph Fiennes is poised to make an attempt on the summit of Everest in a bid to raise £3m for the Marie Curie cancer charity.

The 64-year-old is expected to reach the summit at 0330 BST on Saturday.

He set off at dawn for the Khumbu Icefall, one of the most dangerous parts of the route.

Sir Ranulph, from Somerset, suffered a heart attack during his first unsuccessful attempt to scale the mountain in 2005.

The team's route will take climbers across Western Cwm, a glacial valley, where they will stay overnight on Thursday before tackling the six-hour 600m climb to Camp Four.

They then have to wait for the right weather before completing the last part of the climb in around 12 hours aiming to reach the summit on Saturday.

Sir Ranulph is the holder of several endurance records, among them the successful completion of seven marathons in seven days on seven continents.