Armagh climbing legend Banjo Bannon tackles Mont Blanc with teenage sons

Bannon brothers Conor and Rowan are feeling on top of the world after taking on western Europe’s highest peak with their father, a legendary mountaineer.

Terence ‘Banjo’ Bannon became the second ever Northern Ireland man to summit Everest after an unassisted climb in 2003, and was greeted by crowds of hundreds of supporters on his homecoming to Newry.

Conor, 17, and Rowan, 13, are literally following in his footsteps as they joined him to climb Mont Blanc.

Standing at over 4,800m above sea level, they faced this challenge with a team Banjo was asked to lead, called the 'Irish Mountaineering Expedition 2024.'

Conor and Rowan are forging their own way though, with significant experience and knowledge in their own right, having numerous climbs under their respective belts.

Conor became the youngest explorer from NI to summit Kilimanjaro back in 2019 when he was 11. He conquered that challenge alongside the boys’ mother who is also a renowned adventurer.

Being more mature this time, Conor had to take on more responsibility on this Mont Blanc climb.

"I've to carry more gear for other people which I didn't have to do when I was younger, a few more kilograms in the bag you feel it in the legs," he said.

"It was very surreal experience, there was a lot of nice scenery and what not, but then it was also a good challenge and it helped a lot mentally because i was able to push myself and tell myself then that I did something tough.

"Your knowledge needs to be keyed in so you've a lot of boring stuff to do, the most important stuff, learning the ropes."

Rowan soaked up the technical learning and the family time too.

"I enjoyed the ice climbing and the rock climbing in Chamonix," he said.

"It takes a lot of preparation, most of it is knowledge, you need to know what to do and how to do it as well as you need to dig deep and push yourself past your limits.

"It was fun, but I suffered on the summit push day so i just stayed in the last hut."

This last hut was only a few hundred metres shy of the summit, so his brother and father were extremely proud of Rowan's achievement,

Rowan has his sights set on big plans for the future.

"My goal is probably to do Annapurna or K2, but i wouldn't want to do the normal route," he said.

"Too many people queuing and set ropes, I like the challenge."

He told UTV he would encourage any other young lads interested in what he is doing to get up and at it.

"Go outside and try," he advised.

"See going outside? That's the best thing you can do.

"See sitting inside and talking about it? It's not going to get you anywhere.

"If you go outside and actually push for it, you will get it someday," Rowan said.

"I'm really proud," Banjo admitted.

"The two boys really dug deep. Technically they were brilliant.

"The lads had trained beforehand, they were in Scotland ice climbing with me a few times, this is their third time in the Alps, and this time they exceeded well."

Banjo has seen unimaginable tragedies and lost many dear friends on the planet's toughest terrains over his lifetime of scaling peaks worldwide.

He therefore knew the importance of making sure Conor and Rowan would be safe.

"They did a lot of prepping for it, they know the rope-work, they know the knots, they know what to do if something happens, so I felt confident for them.

"I want these lads to know the hard way, to do it themselves," he said, as many explorers are now guided by sherpas, have porters carry their gear, and use pre-laid ropes.

"There's nobody telling them what to do, I want them to be independent that if something happens, they know what to do, taking out the middle man and do it for themselves."

Watch this space - there's no doubt this family will continue to climb to even greater heights.

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