A MUM of five is hoping to become the first woman in the world to complete one of mountaineering’s greatest challenges.

Just three years after she climbed her first mountain, Rebecca Ferry is preparing to complete the Himalayan Triple Crown – the Everest-Lhotse-Nuptse mountain range.

And, if she succeeds, the 43-year-old Pilates instructor will be the only woman ever to have done so.

Rebecca’s family are from Appleton le Moors near Kirkbymoorside in Ryedale and she spent a large amount of her childhood running there.

In fact, she credits those early years – and the outdoorsy life she was able to enjoy in North Yorkshire – with fostering her love of running and climbing.

Mum to Bea, 18, Tom, 16, Alice, 15, Ed, 13 and Iris, 12, Rebecca has already successfully climbed Everest and Lhotse.

Now she is preparing to summit 7,861m high Nuptse – the third and final mountain in the towering Himalayan range, which stretches across the north-eastern portion of India, covering approximately 1500 miles.

A keen runner, Rebecca, who grew up in Doncaster and now lives in Oxford, developed a love of the outdoors during her.

As an adult, she took up trail running – which took her across rougher terrain - before turning her attention to mountain climbing during a trip to the Himalayas in 2018.

Along with Everest – the tallest mountain in the world at 8,848m - and Lhotse, she has also scaled the second tallest, the 8611m high K2.

But Nuptse will now form the focus of her training and, assuming the funding and plans are in place, she aims to begin the climb in spring 2023.

As always, though, her children will still be able to reach her.

“I was halfway up one mountain once, when I took a call from my daughter, asking where her wellies were,” she said. “And, because these details are ingrained in most mothers’ heads – I did know.”

In fact, her children are one of the reasons Rebecca is determined to complete the Triple Crown.

“Of course, I’m largely doing it for myself, she said, “because I want to see if I can. But I’m also doing it for them.

“I want them to see that if you try hard and if you persevere you can achieve almost anything – no matter what age you are.”