AN EX-Para was forced to push past more than 100 people on an “overcrowded” Mount Everest to reach the summit on dwindling oxygen supplies.
Martin Hewitt, 38, has hit out at “corrupt” firms taking climbers’ money to tackle the dangerous peak – which has claimed 11 lives in just 10 days.
He tweeted on May 25 that he and his team were, “on top of Mount Everest after pushing ourselves hard to overtake well over a hundred climbers so we didn’t run out of oxygen.
“Thankfully all our training, preparation and teamwork paid off… improved professionalism please.”
Hewitt served for eight years as a commissioned officer with the Parachute Regiment, taking part in operations and exercises in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America.
But, while Hewitt was serving in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, he received gunshot wounds to the chest and foot in 2007.
The injuries resulted in his right arm becoming paralysed – and ended his military career.
While recovering from life-threatening injuries, Hewitt helped establish and captained a new adaptive ski team for injured British servicemen.
This led to him founding Adaptive Grand Slam, taking athletes on multiple expeditionary challenges, including taking on the seventh highest peaks in the world, and going to the North and South Poles.
You have a limited supply of oxygen. You have to get up and down in a certain timeframe.
Martin Hewitt, mountaineer
After climbing Mount Everest several days ago, he spoke with the BBC about the perilous conditions, while resting at base camp in Nepal.
Eleven climbers have perished on Everest, including Brit Robin Haynes, who was just 150m from the summit when he collapsed in the so-called ‘death zone’, where there is a dangerously low level of oxygen.
Hewitt explained that during the climbing season, there was an ideal “weather window” resulting in “a lot of people trying to get up the side of the mountain.
“So overcrowding was a significant issue.”
He said that he and his team were “lucky” as they’d “prepared well”, they were quick on the incline, and had the support of a “very professional team”.
“I must have overtaken at least 100 people from the South Col to the south summit.
“You have a limited supply of oxygen. Most climbers will use a couple of tanks of oxygen in order to reduce the risk of frostbite and when you’re doing that, you have to get up and down in a certain timeframe,” Hewitt said.
He added that, “the reality is that there are a number of people on that mountain who simply do not have the experience, the technical skill, the fitness or the robustness to be there.
“And because mostly Nepali companies will take anybody who is willing to pay, they’re on the hill – and they shouldn’t be there.”
Asked whether Nepali companies were “too free and easy” selling these permits, which cost climbers £8,600, he replied: “100 per cent, yeah.
“You pay the money and there’s a number of issues on the mountain, which the professional operators and some of the commercial operators which have been there for decades… are trying to professionalise.
“But ultimately, you’re dealing with corruption, you are dealing with people who will take your money, and let you go.
“They don’t do any due diligence whatsoever on the people and the clients that they’re taking to attempt the summit.”
Discussing the Adaptive Grand Slam challenge, Hewitt added that: “It’s all about trying to demonstrate what can be achieved with disability if you are operating with a professional team and you prepare properly and thoroughly, and you mitigate every risk you can.
“We are trying to change the perceptions of what can be achieved with disability.
“I just frankly haven’t experienced what happened in the last few months [on Everest] – I wish that other outfits would take a similar approach.”
A US lawyer, Christopher Kulish, 62, became the 11th climber to die on Everest in just 10 days, after struggling past the queue of mountaineers to reach the peak.
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