The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest this year with the UK’s first mixed gender military team. The eight-person team, with two supporting medical staff, placed two members of the regiment on the top of the world on the 19th of May at 08:43, marking the culmination of the HAC’s four-year Everest project. Originally planning to leave on 20 May, strong winds forced HAC Summit Team 1 to change their planned summit date. They left Camp 4 at Everest’s South Col at 22:30 on 18 May. Climbing up to The Balcony (8,400m), they changed oxygen bottles and then ascended the South-East Ridge to Everest’s South Summit. From there they traversed the exposed Summit Ridge, climbing the famous Hilary Step and finally making it to the summit at 8,849m.
They spent around 30 minutes on the summit before safely descending to Camp 4 and then Camp 3 (7,000m) in one day. They were supported by an experienced team of Sherpas and international mountain guides. HAC Summit Team 1 members were Sgt Beckett, LCpl Alder and LCpl Anvar Badakshanov. They all safely returned to Base Camp on 20 May. HAC Summit Team 2 planned to summit on 23rd May, when the forecast looked favourable. They moved up the Lhotse Face to Camp 4 on 22nd. Summit Team 2 consisted of Major Simon Du Boulay, CSgt Brian Sharpe, CSgt Rupert Field, LSgt Robert Hamilton and LCpl Calum Matthews.
CSgt Rupert Field and LCpl Calum Matthews were in a position to continue and began their summit push at 9:30pm. They reached just below The Balcony (8,350m). Unfortunately, there were high winds of up to 60 mph on the South East Ridge, which had not shown up in the forecast. 100 climbers ahead had turned around.
The HAC Summit Team was left with a difficult decision to make. Consulting the guides and Sherpas and considering the high winds and risk of cold injuries, they made the decision to descend. Both were disappointed given the effort to reach that point, but “it was certainly the right decision” as noted by LCpl Calum Matthews. Summit Team 2 departed Camp 4 later that day and safely returned to Base Camp on 24 May.
High temperatures and instability in the Khumbu Icefall made any re-attempt at the summit too dangerous for Summit Team 2. Everest Base Camp on the Khumbu Glacier was itself starting to melt, with increasing rock fall. The whole HAC team departed Base Camp on 25 May. They then reached Kathmandu and enjoyed some well-earned R&R. They visited the British Embassy in Kathmandu for a chat with the Ambassador and discussion about how the mountaineering industry in Nepal is changing.
In tandem with the objective to conduct a successful mountaineering expedition at very high altitude, the team was also successful in collecting glacial samples from around Everest as part of the Global Atmospherics Plastics Survey, a worldwide study into understanding microplastics and how they are transported.
The expedition has been the culmination of a four-year journey that has seen the team conducting high altitude mountaineering training in Chamonix and being the first mixed British military team to reach the summit of Himlung Himal – a 7,126m peak in the Annapurna region of Nepal – in addition to the core mountaineering foundation courses run by Army Adventurous Training Group.
The expedition was conducted with the ambition of further building an adventurous mountaineering spirit in the Army Reserve, promoting recruitment, and further developing leaders in the HAC. Expeditions such as these are incredibly beneficial for core soldiering, resilience and leadership skills, with the overlap being substantial.
One of the key next steps is to establish a new mountaineering group in the HAC from which to conduct and support future expeditions, as well as further share the incredible benefits of ambitious Adventurous Training across the Army Reserve.
