'Fortune favours the brave' Mission: Everest team attempts summit like never before
Veterans Minister Alistair Carns, along with three Special Forces veterans, aims to travel from London to the top of Everest and back in seven days.
It's a mission that's never been done before and, if they are successful, it will be the fastest-ever ascent of Mount Everest.
An expedition of this kind usually lasts around 8-10 weeks but, in May, the Mission: Everest team aims to travel from London to the top of Everest and back in only a week.
The highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest is 8,849m high.
The Mission: Everest team is made up of Veterans and People Minister Colonel (Ret'd) Alistair Carns and three Special Forces veterans, Major Garth Miller, Kevin Godlington and Anthony Stazicker from Television's SAS: Who Dares Wins.
With more than 75 years of combined military service between them, the team has served in every major conflict of the past three decades.
Mr Carns is the most decorated member of Parliament since the Second World War.
He and the team want to demonstrate how capable veterans are while also raising funds for veterans' charities, particularly those supporting bereaved military families.
Mr Carns told BFBS Forces News: "Veterans aren't mad, bad and sad. Yes, there's people that need support, but veterans are a net contributor to the economy and can do amazing things when they put their mind to it.
"I would argue that fortune favours the brave. There's every chance that we might not succeed but, actually, I think with the right people, the right science, the right tech, we've got a really good chance of succeeding."
They're aiming to set a precedent, not just for time but also for sustainability.
A key element of the prep is hypoxic training as expedition leader Major Garth Miller explains: "Hypoxic training involves sleeping in simulated altitudes, so we have tents which have a little 'R2-D2' machine associated with it which sucks the oxygen out of the air.
"We are spending seven or eight hours a night sleeping in that which is generating the physiological changes that real altitude instills in people.
"That is what is going to mean we can land at base camp directly and start walking… we won't even spend the night at base camp.
"It's kinder on the environment, we're being socially responsible, we're mitigating risk and maximising likelihood of success."
The team will also be wearing bespoke 'Summit Suits' designed to survive 8,000m-plus peaks.
Donations can be made to the team here.
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