A dentist from County Armagh who climbed Mount Everest last month is now back treating patients while recovering from frostbite in seven fingers.

Sarah Armstrong, 31, of Crossmaglen, reached the summit on 20 May after spending 53 days on the mountain. On her descent, she ran out of oxygen at the Balcony, a ridge near Camp Four. She described feeling sudden confusion and panic, struggling to stay lucid until she secured new oxygen and made it safely to camp.

She sustained frostbite in seven fingers during the ordeal. Medical assessments placed most of the injuries at grade one, the least severe, but recovery is expected to take months. Armstrong noted that such a prolonged recovery is difficult for her profession as a dentist, and she is adjusting to the temporary limitations.

The day Armstrong summited saw a record 274 climbers reach the top via Nepal, after a late start to the season and the closure of the Tibetan side forced more expeditions onto the Himalayan route. Armstrong recalled standing in queues for hours in extreme conditions, including a wait of nearly two hours at the Hillary Step in temperatures of minus 35 degrees Celsius with wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour.

The journey from Camp Three to Camp Four, which normally takes five to seven hours, took 12 hours because of the lines of climbers, she said.

Armstrong is now back on Irish soil and says she feels much stronger than in the immediate aftermath of the expedition.