RAMSBOTTOM adventurer and self-confessed "accidental mountaineer" Melanie Southworth is gearing up to conquer the world's highest peak.

The 47-year-old faces her biggest challenge next month when she is scheduled to begin an assault on Mount Everest.

Last year, her plan to climb to the summit of the 29,029ft mountain was called off after 16 climbing Sherpas died in an avalanche.

Melanie has now arrived at the Everest base camp in preparation for her climb which is pencilled in for May.

She said: "It feels wonderful to once again, be back in the Himalayas. My dream of climbing the world’s highest mountain may have been curtailed, but I am back this year, eager and willing to give it another shot.

"I am as nervous and exhilarated as last year, but this past year's training and mental preparation have also brought with it a deep sense of calm in the face of the unpredictability of what I’m about to undertake; be that the weather, politics or the fickleness of the human body.

"All things in life may change, but what hasn’t is my deep seated love for this part of the world and its incredible people. I have had an unrequited love affair with this big mountain for a very long time and I’m hoping that, this time, it will be worth the wait."

Melanie said the weather was proving very tricky, with an unprecedented amount of snow in the high hills forcing her into a radical recalculation of her acclimatisation plans. Heavy snow means she will be confined to base camp for five days.

She added: "It will take me four weeks to acclimatise to approximately 20,000ft and I shall once again be climbing Island Peak, 20,305ft, before heading to Everest for the first push around the beginning of May."

Melanie will be raising money for Canine Partners, a charity which works alongside Help for Heroes by providing assistance dogs for people with physical disabilities.

And to remind her of her roots during her climb, she will be carrying a little piece of home with her in the shape of a "Rammy" flag.

"I was given permission to use the Ram's head logo on Ramsbottom Football Club and Ramsbottom Cricket Club's flag.

"The flag is an amalgamation of their Ram's head, a red rose for Lancashire and a red rose for England and eight 'auspicious' endless knots, which signify good luck to the Sherpa community. In astrology, this is the year of the sheep/goat for Chinese, Tibetan and Sherpa people. The Rammy flag is a tribute to the town where I was born and the people who helped shape who I am today."