Everest team: It's tough going but we're on track and in high spirits nearing the final climb

Veterans Minister Al Carns, along with three Special Forces veterans, is reported to be making good progress on his mission to travel from London to the top of Everest and back in just seven days.

According to the latest report, the team has reached Camp Three and is moving towards Camp Four, at an altitude of 7,925 metres.

This will be the final camp before the climbers attempt the final stage of the trek to the summit of Mount Everest.

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The latest official update on LinkedIn said the climb is going according to the planned schedule, despite the team dodging an avalanche as they passed the Khumbu Icefall.

Details are scarce from the remote location, but Mr Carns was able to send this message: "First day (17th) was 12 hours long yomp.

"Pretty punishing six hours from getting off the plane.

"Today (18th) was five hours, but another one kilometre in height gained."  

The team is made up of expedition leader Major (Ret'd) Garth Miller, Veterans Minister and former Royal Marines Colonel Al Carns, Anthony "Staz" Stazicker, who was seen on television's SAS: Who Dares Wins, and Kevin Godlington, one of the founding members of the charity Tickets for Troops.

Unusually, they have all done their acclimatising at home in the UK, at sea level, to cut time on the ascent itself, using hypoxic training.

That involved sleeping and exercising in a low-oxygen environment, which creates the physiological changes that occur at high altitude.

If the group are successful, they could change the future of high-altitude mountaineering.

An expedition of this kind usually lasts around eight to 10 weeks but, if successful, the team would break the current record of 21 days for the same journey.

However, the toughest challenge – the ascent to the actual peak of Everest – is still ahead of them.

The highest mountain in the world, standing at 8,849m, Everest has seen many records set and broken in the past – but none done quite like this.