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Army’s Everest West Ridge 2006
14/11/05
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Leeds Metropolitan University has officially launched its partnership with the Army’s Everest West Ridge (EWR) 2006 expedition, aiding a team of soldiers in their quest to become the first Britons to climb the West Ridge of Mount Everest.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Simon Lee thanked staff from the Carnegie Faculty of Sport and Education for their support and expertise in the expedition, during the official launch which was held at Leeds Met’s Headingley Campus.
During the event guests, including students, staff, alumni and members of the media, enjoyed a reception where they were able to network and meet with members of the Army expedition team and experts from Leeds Met, who have been assisting the team in their preparation for the ascent up Mount Everest.
Following the reception delegates were able to learn a little more about the expedition during a lecture with guest speakers from both the Army and Leeds Met. Warrant Officer Dave Bunting and Major Graham Carter, expedition leaders from the Army, began the lecture with a talk about the challenge ahead for their teams and explained why they had chosen the route they had for their quest. As Dave explained the route was chosen as it has never before been achieved by any Briton and will test Army planning, preparation, training and team skills to the limit.
The expedition leaders were followed with the expertise of the team from Leeds Met, including John O’Hara, who spoke about the physiological aspects of high altitude mountaineering, Louise Sutton, who talked about the importance of the team’s nutritional habits during the expedition, and Professor Jim Mckenna who enthused the team on coping psychologically during their challenge.
The three teams – main, development and junior– will set off to base camp in March 2006, with the main team beginning their ascent eight weeks later in May.
