For the adventurous, Everest is quite literally the apex of human endeavour. It represents the pinnacle of what can be achieved through sheer determination, teamwork and mental and physical endurance. And while it’s been more than 70 years since Edmund Hillary’s successful ascent of Everest, it remains as challenging as ever. In fact, around 40 per cent of climbers fail to summit its treacherous 8,800m peak. And yet, even when faced with one of the toughest challenges on Earth, there are those who wish to push that challenge one step further.
Last spring, a team of British military veterans set out to conquer Everest in just eight days. That’s an extraordinary ambition given that the average timeline for such an expedition is around 10 weeks.
The team, made up of Labour Minister for Veterans Al Carns, ThruDark co-founder Anthony “Staz” Stazicker, pilot Garth Miller and business owner Kevin Godlington, turned to the services of Lukas Furtenbach, founder of Furtenbach Adventures. Over the past two decades, Austrian-born Furtenbach has pioneered new high-altitude climbing techniques and is the most successful operator on Everest, with a success rate of 100 per cent and zero accidents.
So, the team was in very safe hands. But what exactly is the benefit in stripping down the time at base camp? The answer is sustainability. The reason the ascent normally takes so long is that climbers need to adjust to high altitude by making numerous rotations to different heights and back again. It takes time, ultimately costs more money and, most significantly, is of greater detriment to the delicate mountain ecosystem.
The Mission: Everest team saved on time by acclimatising at home prior to the trip, spending months sleeping in hypoxic chamber tents and enduring physical training at simulated elevations of 5,000m+ with the use of oxygen masks. Before leaving for Nepal, the team inhaled a controlled dose of xenon gas and underwent continuous SpO2 monitoring throughout the ascent.
Like explorers of the past, the team endeavoured to test and promote new technologies, including bespoke, state-of-the-art Summit Suits made by ThruDark which were packed with over 700 grams of 900 fill-power goose down and even integrated Recco rescue technology to aid in the event of an avalanche.
ThruDark was co-founded by Stazicker in 2016, and inspired by the former Special Forces soldier’s military background to endure extreme conditions.
‘This [expedition] was about teamwork, trust, communication and implementation,’ Stazicker commented. ‘Like most of my previous Special Forces missions, we had to adapt to the ever-changing conditions on the ground, remain flexible and endeavour through adversity… With the odds stacked against us, I was incredibly proud to fly the flag on top of the world’s highest point and hopefully inspire others to push their personal limitations.’
Gemma Billington is a London-based writer and editor
