A team of British military veterans has set a world first in travelling from London to the top of Mount Everest and back in just 7 days. The team, including the Labour Minister for Veterans Al Carns, ThruDark Co-Founder Anthony “Staz” Stazicker, pilot Garth Miller and business owner Kevin Godlington, has redefined high altitude mountaineering by cutting the typical 8-10 week expedition time down to just one week. It is their goal to raise awareness of veterans’ causes and raise money for charities such as Scotty’s Little Soldiers that support bereaved military families. In doing so, the team’s expedition provider Lukas Furtenbach of “Furtenbach Adventures" aims to prove his method of a new high altitude climbing technique that is safer, quicker and more sustainable than traditional, longer term climbing expeditions.
ThruDark x Mission: Everest: a 7-day ascent redefining high-altitude mountaineering
The challenge posed by traditional high altitude climbing expeditions
A traditional Everest expedition can take up to two months to complete. This is because climbers need to acclimatise to the altitude carefully in stages. This means making numerous rotations to increasing heights and back, before taking on the 8,000m peak itself. Such a long window means more time away from livelihoods, family, work, higher costs and most significantly a greater detriment to the delicate mountain ecosystem once physical footprint and waste is taken into account.
Pioneering a revolutionary new method
Lukas Furtenbach has spent the past 20 years at the forefront of innovation with a view to making high altitude mountaineering safer. His work uses the latest in technology and methods to aid acclimatisation pre-ascent and mitigate risk whilst on the mountain itself.
The Mission: Everest team acclimatised entirely at home prior to its expedition with months spent sleeping in hypoxic chamber tents simulating oxygen levels as high as 5,000m+ and enduring physical training at the same elevation with the use of oxygen masks. Blood oxygen levels were recorded on multiple occasions at The Altitude Centre in London to monitor the progress of hypoxic training on VO2 max.
To further improve the acclimatisation process and protect the team from altitude sickness and the potentially fatal effects of a hypoxic environment, the team inhaled a controlled dose of Xenon gas before leaving for Nepal.
Whilst on the mountain, the team climbed with supplementary oxygen as per widespread practice and underwent continuous SpO2 monitoring throughout to keep as close an eye on their safety as possible.
A 7 day round trip
The itinerary of the Mission: Everest team’s record breaking expedition was as follows:
May 16: Departure from Heathrow airport, London.
May 17: Arrival at Kathmandu airport, helicopter flight to Everest Basecamp 5200m (EBC).
May 18 (night): Climb from EBC through the Khumbu icefall to C2 at 6450m, skipping C1 at 6100m.
May 19: Climb from C2 through the Lhotse face to C3 at 7100m.
May 20: Climb from C3 over the Yellow Band and the Geneva Spur to C4 at the South Col at 7950m.
May 21: Climb from C4 via the South East ridge with the Balcony and South Summit to Everest Summit at 8849m. Descend to C2 (6450m) the same day.
May 22: Early morning descend to EBC and helicopter to KTM, flight to London.
RAW FOOTAGE FROM MISSION: EVEREST
SURVIVING AN AVALANCHE 5,000M UP MOUNT EVEREST
Made possible with ThruDark high performance clothing
To help complete their record breaking endeavour, the Mission: Everest team was fully kitted out in the latest in extreme conditions clothing from ThruDark, including four bespoke high altitude Summit Suits. ThruDark’s 5th generation Summit Suit builds on the successes of previous models in previous record breaking mountaineering feats on the 14 peaks to more recent technical ascents including Ama Dablam.
Using the latest in fabric technologies from a super light Pertex ripstop to ultra lightweight, yet stronger than steel Dyneema, this latest Summit Suit is a leaner, harder model designed to maximise speed in an ascent of the world’s highest peak. Packed with over 700 grams of 900 fill power goose down, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Summit Suit prioritises insulation above all else. Previous ThruDark summit expeditions have shown the need for breathability, whilst ascents take place in the early hours and colder temperatures, the descent can become hot and stuffy during the middle of the day. That’s why this latest model of Summit Suit now features underarm and leg vents plus a new inbuilt vest inside the suit which allows the wearer to peel off the bulkier top half whilst still keeping the suit on, dumping as much heat as required. Not only that but areas that typically get wet, the lower leg when tramping through snow and the face mask when breathing, have seen goose down substituted for Primaloft synthetic insulation that copes better when damp, improving comfort.
Other key details include Recco rescue technology in both the hood and the leg, the idea being should the wearer fall victim to an avalanche, one point of the suit is likely to point upwards, aiding rescue teams using Recco receivers. Additional features include a helmet compatible hood and glove attachments of the outside of the sleeves whilst even the pockets have been ergonomically designed based on the team’s preferred placement and choice of hydration and nutrition.
Beyond this, ThruDark Co-Founder Staz took samples of upcoming mountaineering clothing and backpacks for real world testing in the toughest conditions of all, a key component of product design and development at ThruDark.
BASTION DOWN JACKET
€538,95 EUR
CHARGE TROUSERS
€353,95 EUR
WRAITH HOODED JACKET
€317,95 EUR
ENGAGE GLOVES
€119,95 EUR
STEALTH SEAMLESS BASE LAYER TOP
€137,95 EUR
PATRIOT JACKET
€778,95 EUR
