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Problem solved (I had the wrong consonant as a result of using the last letter of the redundant word instead of the first !).

Very nice puzzle Lath! A great combination of challenging and rewarding with plenty of great penny drop moments. Probably my favorite of the year so far.

Do we need to include the tracing in order, which I find somewhat unconvincing, or simply highlight the shape, which I find somewhat more convincing? I believe any ambiguity is resolved by a proper noun for the anagram clue?

riverside - The phrasing of the instructions leads me to believe that only the highlighting is necessary.

I too get a proper noun as the grid entry for the anagram clue. If there is significance to the entry it went over my head unfortunately.

Apologies riversk. It seems auto correct helped me with your name in my last post.

This looked Everest-like at first but there are a few handy footholds to be able to start climbing steadily (not that I'm a mountaineer!).

Finding it hard to rise above the base camp of this Everest. Took an hour off to do rather easy IQ.
About 33% done. Help with 1d and 39d would be most useful to me.
1d In the lead climbing sandy ridge, tip over (5)
39d Country laggard upset star doctor (5)
Both with an extra letter in wordplay.

Hi Lumen

1d 2 letter 'in the lead', followed by a 4 letter sandy ridge 'climbing'.

39d is local word for laggard. 4 letter anagram followed by 2 letter abbrev. for doctor.

All done including the highlighting and the replacement of the top and bottom rows, but I have one empty cell as a result of not being able to solve 26a. I know which is the extra word, but cannot come up with a suitable answer from the 10 letters I have got. Gentle hints please!

Finally solved 26a after too many hours, but thoroughly enjoyed this crossword nonetheless. Thank you Lath!