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My name is Richard Parks. | 0:00:05 | 0:00:07 | |
When my rugby career was ended through injury, | 0:00:07 | 0:00:10 | |
I became an extreme environment athlete. | 0:00:10 | 0:00:13 | |
In just 197 days, | 0:00:13 | 0:00:15 | |
I skied to the North and the South Poles and climbed to the top | 0:00:15 | 0:00:19 | |
of the highest peak on every continent, | 0:00:19 | 0:00:22 | |
setting a new world record - | 0:00:22 | 0:00:23 | |
and that included Mount Everest, | 0:00:23 | 0:00:25 | |
the most iconic mountain on the planet. | 0:00:25 | 0:00:28 | |
Now I'm attempting to climb to the top of the world once again but this | 0:00:28 | 0:00:32 | |
time, it's going to be even tougher. | 0:00:32 | 0:00:34 | |
At more than 29,000 feet, | 0:00:37 | 0:00:39 | |
there's just a third of the oxygen there is at sea level, | 0:00:39 | 0:00:42 | |
but I'll be climbing without the use of supplemental oxygen. | 0:00:42 | 0:00:45 | |
Without proper training and acclimatisation, | 0:00:48 | 0:00:50 | |
dropped onto the summit of Mount Everest, | 0:00:50 | 0:00:52 | |
you'd be unconscious in four minutes and dead within six. | 0:00:52 | 0:00:56 | |
Now the medical community in Wales is re-evaluating what they thought | 0:00:58 | 0:01:02 | |
they knew about the human body - | 0:01:02 | 0:01:04 | |
what we thought 40 years ago to be scientifically impossible. | 0:01:04 | 0:01:08 | |
Could the way my body reacts to the extreme environment of the Himalayas | 0:01:12 | 0:01:16 | |
provide vital clues to preventing | 0:01:16 | 0:01:18 | |
one of the fastest-growing diseases on the planet? | 0:01:18 | 0:01:21 | |
Could mount Everest hold the key to | 0:01:22 | 0:01:25 | |
unlocking our understanding of dementia? | 0:01:25 | 0:01:27 | |
It could well be, you know, one of the biggest escapes of my life. | 0:01:29 | 0:01:33 | |
Every single item of gear that is here and that will be | 0:01:39 | 0:01:45 | |
meticulously laid out and chosen - I love. | 0:01:45 | 0:01:49 | |
You know, for me, a lot of my performance is about the detail, | 0:01:50 | 0:01:53 | |
but the piece de resistance of my kit is my expedition suit, my summit suit. | 0:01:53 | 0:01:59 | |
That item of clothing that is the closest thing I get to a spacesuit - | 0:02:01 | 0:02:05 | |
and I love this. | 0:02:05 | 0:02:06 | |
It looks cool, I love it, but it is - make no bones about it - | 0:02:09 | 0:02:12 | |
it is a life...it is a survival item. It's a survival suit | 0:02:12 | 0:02:18 | |
and, um, that's as I see it. | 0:02:18 | 0:02:20 | |
Summiting Everest is hard enough as it is, | 0:02:22 | 0:02:27 | |
but summiting without supplemental oxygen is a very different undertaking. | 0:02:27 | 0:02:32 | |
The way our bodies adapt to the lack of oxygen in the air is to increase | 0:02:32 | 0:02:40 | |
our red blood cell count and that increases the viscosity of our blood. | 0:02:40 | 0:02:46 | |
The human endeavour of summiting Everest, | 0:02:46 | 0:02:48 | |
and summiting Everest without supplemental oxygen | 0:02:48 | 0:02:51 | |
is something that... it really captivates me. | 0:02:51 | 0:02:56 | |
My climb of Mount Everest is an experiment to gather new evidence | 0:02:58 | 0:03:02 | |
in the hope of demonstrating how, with training, | 0:03:02 | 0:03:04 | |
it's possible to keep the mind sharp | 0:03:04 | 0:03:07 | |
by increasing blood flow to the brain, | 0:03:07 | 0:03:10 | |
even when there's less oxygen for the brain to use. | 0:03:10 | 0:03:13 | |
I'm hoping to show how anyone who does a little exercise | 0:03:13 | 0:03:16 | |
can help prevent the onset of dementia. | 0:03:16 | 0:03:19 | |
I've undergone an intensive training programme at the Human Performance Lab in Reading | 0:03:19 | 0:03:23 | |
to prepare me for the extreme altitude in which I'll be climbing. | 0:03:23 | 0:03:26 | |
Try and go from the lunge. | 0:03:30 | 0:03:32 | |
Nicky Phillips is my performance director on the expedition, | 0:03:32 | 0:03:35 | |
having worked with me on the majority of my world-first projects. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:38 | |
Come on, last set. Make it a good one. | 0:03:38 | 0:03:40 | |
She is my go-to person when it comes to physical preparation. | 0:03:40 | 0:03:44 | |
Richard's physical preparation, the effort that he puts into that, | 0:03:44 | 0:03:48 | |
for what would be a two-hour session of interval training, | 0:03:48 | 0:03:53 | |
is beyond what most athletes would do and what's been quite interesting | 0:03:53 | 0:03:58 | |
is that he trained amongst other high-performance athletes | 0:03:58 | 0:04:01 | |
when he did that and I think he really earned their respect | 0:04:01 | 0:04:05 | |
when they saw what he was doing. | 0:04:05 | 0:04:07 | |
So if you can imagine the burn that you'd get just from walking up one hill very fast, | 0:04:07 | 0:04:13 | |
and he's doing that again and again and again and where he finds | 0:04:13 | 0:04:16 | |
that extra strength, I don't know. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:18 | |
This expedition is important not just to me, but to my mum and dad. | 0:04:19 | 0:04:24 | |
We've experienced what it's like to have a close family friend diagnosed | 0:04:24 | 0:04:28 | |
with dementia. My godfather battled with the disease. | 0:04:28 | 0:04:31 | |
Having experienced this cruel disease so close to home - | 0:04:31 | 0:04:37 | |
it's like somebody disintegrating from the inside out. | 0:04:37 | 0:04:41 | |
And... | 0:04:43 | 0:04:44 | |
..it just seems really cruel. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:47 | |
Gavin Watkins and his wife Kim from Ebbw Vale have been living | 0:04:50 | 0:04:54 | |
with Gavin's dementia since he was diagnosed with the disease five years ago. | 0:04:54 | 0:04:58 | |
As the moment, there is no cure. | 0:04:58 | 0:05:00 | |
They reckon there's one around the corner | 0:05:00 | 0:05:03 | |
but it's still a long way away | 0:05:03 | 0:05:06 | |
and we want to do as much as we can. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:09 | |
And I want to do it while I can, | 0:05:09 | 0:05:10 | |
before I've lost it completely and unable to. | 0:05:10 | 0:05:14 | |
How did...how did it start, if you don't mind me asking? | 0:05:14 | 0:05:19 | |
Well, he was just... It was silly, stupid little things. | 0:05:19 | 0:05:23 | |
We went to our daughter's in Plymouth one day and he forgot | 0:05:23 | 0:05:26 | |
to lock the door and he got back into the car and said, | 0:05:26 | 0:05:29 | |
"Have I locked her door?" | 0:05:29 | 0:05:30 | |
Then there was repeating things over and over and he'd tell us | 0:05:30 | 0:05:34 | |
the same story every weekend. | 0:05:34 | 0:05:37 | |
The things that upset me so much is knowing that I'm going to forget my | 0:05:37 | 0:05:41 | |
wife, my children, and my grandson. | 0:05:41 | 0:05:44 | |
I just know it's going to come and it's so upsetting when you realise. | 0:05:44 | 0:05:49 | |
You sit and think about that in your days. | 0:05:49 | 0:05:51 | |
You know, that's the hardest part of it, | 0:05:51 | 0:05:54 | |
is knowing that's going to happen and it means such a lot to me | 0:05:54 | 0:05:58 | |
to keep it as long as I can | 0:05:58 | 0:06:00 | |
and that's where I fight to try and keep that going. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:03 | |
Two years ago, I began working with the scientists | 0:06:06 | 0:06:08 | |
at the University of South Wales in Pontypridd. | 0:06:08 | 0:06:12 | |
Professor Damian Bailey will be monitoring my performance on Mount Everest | 0:06:12 | 0:06:16 | |
in a science lab at Base Camp. | 0:06:16 | 0:06:18 | |
His research explores the relationship between oxygen and dementia. | 0:06:18 | 0:06:22 | |
The personal thing that really drives me is that there is no | 0:06:24 | 0:06:27 | |
curative treatment at the moment, | 0:06:27 | 0:06:30 | |
so if you're diagnosed with it, we can't cure it. | 0:06:30 | 0:06:33 | |
People are working very hard, they're chasing after a cure | 0:06:33 | 0:06:37 | |
and it's proving very challenging, | 0:06:37 | 0:06:39 | |
so the lion's share of our attention, | 0:06:39 | 0:06:42 | |
really, is spent at trying to prevent it. | 0:06:42 | 0:06:45 | |
We've got some evidence and, as the literature is suggesting, | 0:06:45 | 0:06:48 | |
that exercise is probably the best medicine out there. | 0:06:48 | 0:06:52 | |
We can put that on inside. Come on in, Ben. | 0:06:52 | 0:06:54 | |
For the past ten weeks, the team have been carrying out tests on me | 0:06:54 | 0:06:58 | |
in a special chamber, where the oxygen levels in the air | 0:06:58 | 0:07:01 | |
have been reduced to simulate extreme altitude. | 0:07:01 | 0:07:04 | |
We've been able to track Richard's progress - | 0:07:04 | 0:07:07 | |
physiologically, if you like, | 0:07:07 | 0:07:09 | |
during the training phases. | 0:07:09 | 0:07:11 | |
The aim of this pilot study is to demonstrate that my acclimatisation | 0:07:13 | 0:07:17 | |
can compensate for the lack of oxygen on Mount Everest, | 0:07:17 | 0:07:20 | |
that exercise can improve cognition, | 0:07:20 | 0:07:23 | |
even if there's less oxygen going to the brain. | 0:07:23 | 0:07:25 | |
Richard has got a very comprehensive battery of tests that he will be | 0:07:27 | 0:07:30 | |
performing during the ascent to Base Camp, | 0:07:30 | 0:07:33 | |
during the stay at Base Camp and then, of course, | 0:07:33 | 0:07:36 | |
above the Khumbu Icefall. | 0:07:36 | 0:07:38 | |
Toughest of all will be a procedure where I have to anaesthetise my leg, | 0:07:38 | 0:07:41 | |
making an incision with a scalpel 5 cm into the muscle | 0:07:41 | 0:07:46 | |
and then, using a 15 cm needle, to remove a sample of tissue. | 0:07:46 | 0:07:51 | |
This muscle biopsy will be stored and later analysed to assess | 0:07:51 | 0:07:55 | |
how my body uses oxygen during my ascent. | 0:07:55 | 0:07:57 | |
All of this must be done, whatever the weather, at 29,000 feet | 0:07:57 | 0:08:01 | |
and on my own. | 0:08:01 | 0:08:03 | |
There's still a question mark over whether this is even possible, | 0:08:03 | 0:08:06 | |
with the limited time I'll have at the most extreme of altitudes. | 0:08:06 | 0:08:09 | |
The test will help in our understanding of the link between exercise and brain function. | 0:08:11 | 0:08:16 | |
You don't see the brain when it's exercising. | 0:08:16 | 0:08:19 | |
Of course, you can see the muscle, or the heart or the lungs, | 0:08:19 | 0:08:22 | |
you can see your chest moving up and down | 0:08:22 | 0:08:24 | |
and you're breathing air in and out | 0:08:24 | 0:08:26 | |
but everybody forgets that the brain is in there as well | 0:08:26 | 0:08:29 | |
but we do know that there are parts of the brain - | 0:08:29 | 0:08:32 | |
one specific part called the hippocampus - | 0:08:32 | 0:08:35 | |
that actually shrinks with age and the question is to what extent | 0:08:35 | 0:08:41 | |
can we improve aspects of cognition with exercise, | 0:08:41 | 0:08:44 | |
by increasing blood flow and oxygen delivery to parts of the brain | 0:08:44 | 0:08:47 | |
that need it more than most. | 0:08:47 | 0:08:49 | |
Wales' highest mountain may only be 3,560 feet, | 0:08:52 | 0:08:57 | |
but there's an intimate connection between Snowdon and Mount Everest. | 0:08:57 | 0:09:01 | |
Not only was Everest itself named after a Welshman - | 0:09:01 | 0:09:05 | |
the surveyor Sir George Everest - | 0:09:05 | 0:09:07 | |
but it was here on Snowdon that Sir Edmund Hillary | 0:09:07 | 0:09:10 | |
and the 1953 expedition team came to train. | 0:09:10 | 0:09:13 | |
But the time for my training is over. | 0:09:15 | 0:09:17 | |
I felt confident. | 0:09:20 | 0:09:22 | |
I just had no idea what was ahead or what was in store for me, but... | 0:09:22 | 0:09:26 | |
..you know, I'm confident of the tool box that I had and the people | 0:09:27 | 0:09:30 | |
I had around me to manage it, but... | 0:09:30 | 0:09:33 | |
..I had every confidence that I was going to stand on the summit. | 0:09:34 | 0:09:38 | |
Kathmandu very much is the gateway into the Himalaya. | 0:09:49 | 0:09:53 | |
It's a real melting pot for not just local people, | 0:09:56 | 0:10:00 | |
but climbers from all over the world and it's an opportunity to distance | 0:10:00 | 0:10:04 | |
myself, actually, from Wales and from the world here. | 0:10:04 | 0:10:07 | |
Just the smells, the noises, the excitement, nerves, everything, really. | 0:10:09 | 0:10:14 | |
From Kathmandu, I'll fly into Lukla, | 0:10:26 | 0:10:29 | |
the mountain town known as the gateway to the Himalayas. | 0:10:29 | 0:10:32 | |
From there, my team and I will trek on foot first to Namche Bazaar, | 0:10:32 | 0:10:38 | |
and then onto Dingboche as we acclimatise to the altitude. | 0:10:38 | 0:10:42 | |
As part of my acclimatisation strategy, | 0:10:42 | 0:10:44 | |
I'll then attempt to summit the 20,300 feet of Island Peak. | 0:10:44 | 0:10:49 | |
Returning to Dingboche, I move onto Everest Base Camp, | 0:10:49 | 0:10:52 | |
before my ultimate goal - to summit Mount Everest herself | 0:10:52 | 0:10:56 | |
without supplemental oxygen. | 0:10:56 | 0:10:58 | |
My expedition team are Dr Damian Bailey, | 0:11:07 | 0:11:11 | |
Dr Nicola Phillips, | 0:11:11 | 0:11:13 | |
and operating the camera is Gareth Morrow. | 0:11:13 | 0:11:16 | |
It's regarded as the scariest flight on the planet and, you know, | 0:11:18 | 0:11:23 | |
Lukla airport has been voted | 0:11:23 | 0:11:24 | |
one of the most dangerous airports on the planet. | 0:11:24 | 0:11:28 | |
It's a really short runway! | 0:11:34 | 0:11:36 | |
Really short! | 0:11:36 | 0:11:37 | |
It's not for the faint-hearted. | 0:11:43 | 0:11:45 | |
If you had any anxiety around flying, | 0:11:45 | 0:11:47 | |
it's definitely not the airport to visit! | 0:11:47 | 0:11:50 | |
Arriving in Lukla feels like the expedition is finally beginning. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:57 | |
This place is real, not a simulated environment in the lab. | 0:11:57 | 0:12:01 | |
We've got three days' trekking ahead of us before we reach Namche Bazaar. | 0:12:03 | 0:12:07 | |
With our Sherpa, we'll be climbing from 9,383 feet to 11,290 feet. | 0:12:07 | 0:12:14 | |
Some of the best bits about the trek to Base Camp are the steel bridges | 0:12:16 | 0:12:19 | |
that we have to cross. They're pretty spectacular. | 0:12:19 | 0:12:23 | |
I'll let you guys take a look for yourselves. | 0:12:23 | 0:12:26 | |
We start our ascent to the Himalayan foothills and straight away, | 0:12:42 | 0:12:45 | |
these steep slopes are enough to get the heart pumping. | 0:12:45 | 0:12:48 | |
It's actually a crucial part of the climb. | 0:12:48 | 0:12:51 | |
You know, from my experience, | 0:12:51 | 0:12:52 | |
the better you acclimatise or the easier you take the first few days | 0:12:52 | 0:12:57 | |
up to and around 3,000-4,000 metres, | 0:12:57 | 0:13:00 | |
the better foundation you'll have above it. | 0:13:00 | 0:13:03 | |
When we get around the corner, you've got Everest | 0:13:03 | 0:13:07 | |
and to the right, Lhotse, then the real, er, the real beauty... | 0:13:07 | 0:13:13 | |
the jewel is Ama Dablam. | 0:13:13 | 0:13:16 | |
-It's really special, isn't it? -Stunning, isn't it? -Stunning. | 0:13:21 | 0:13:24 | |
But those first few days were wonderful, | 0:13:24 | 0:13:26 | |
cos it was going to be an intense couple of months, | 0:13:26 | 0:13:29 | |
so an opportunity for us all to get to know each other and | 0:13:29 | 0:13:34 | |
you know, to bond further, | 0:13:34 | 0:13:37 | |
before the tough times came. | 0:13:37 | 0:13:39 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:13:41 | 0:13:42 | |
It's day four of the expedition, and already my team is gelling. | 0:13:56 | 0:14:00 | |
There's no room for standing on ceremony. | 0:14:00 | 0:14:02 | |
It's share and share alike - | 0:14:02 | 0:14:04 | |
especially when it comes to luxury items! | 0:14:04 | 0:14:08 | |
I nearly got myself into trouble now. | 0:14:08 | 0:14:10 | |
I left three toilet rolls in the toilet. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:13 | |
-Oh, were those yours? -I kept leaving them. | 0:14:13 | 0:14:15 | |
-Yeah? -One in each. | 0:14:15 | 0:14:17 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:14:17 | 0:14:18 | |
-I might have... -Thanks, mate. I had a... | 0:14:18 | 0:14:20 | |
-You had a good... -Pleasant arse-wipe this morning! | 0:14:20 | 0:14:23 | |
-Yeah! -I appreciate that. -You had a freebie there, did you? -Yeah. | 0:14:23 | 0:14:26 | |
-That's OK. -I did think, I thought, "Blinking heck, this place is nice!" | 0:14:26 | 0:14:29 | |
-Free toilet rolls! -Yeah! | 0:14:30 | 0:14:31 | |
-There's Damian. -We're quits now. | 0:14:33 | 0:14:36 | |
I'll let you use some of mine later for that. | 0:14:36 | 0:14:39 | |
-Oh, you used it as well, did you? -Yeah! | 0:14:39 | 0:14:43 | |
Unbelievable! People were running in the loo to use my free toilet paper! | 0:14:43 | 0:14:47 | |
Unbelievable! | 0:14:47 | 0:14:49 | |
-CAMERAMAN: -Yeah, I might have taken a few sheets as well! | 0:14:52 | 0:14:56 | |
-THEY LAUGH -That was bang out of order! | 0:14:56 | 0:14:59 | |
That was outrageous! | 0:14:59 | 0:15:01 | |
Trousers down and we're ready to go! | 0:15:05 | 0:15:08 | |
-Let's do this. -On your marks...! | 0:15:08 | 0:15:09 | |
-CAMERAMAN: -I'm right behind you. | 0:15:14 | 0:15:16 | |
Throughout the expedition, | 0:15:28 | 0:15:29 | |
Damian will be monitoring my blood and brain function | 0:15:29 | 0:15:33 | |
as we progress ever higher. | 0:15:33 | 0:15:34 | |
People that are acutely exposed to this altitude would get very, | 0:15:34 | 0:15:38 | |
very sick, very, very quickly and, you know, | 0:15:38 | 0:15:41 | |
it again demonstrates that we're acclimatising very well | 0:15:41 | 0:15:44 | |
and that's the objective here, | 0:15:44 | 0:15:46 | |
is to acclimatise Richard ahead of the summit bid. | 0:15:46 | 0:15:48 | |
Now, for some people, if you climb too high and too quickly, | 0:15:48 | 0:15:52 | |
and you get too cold, | 0:15:52 | 0:15:54 | |
you can't actually acclimatise to that stress | 0:15:54 | 0:15:57 | |
and you actually break down | 0:15:57 | 0:15:58 | |
and these are symptoms really are known as acute mountain sickness, | 0:15:58 | 0:16:01 | |
so acute mountain sickness really | 0:16:01 | 0:16:04 | |
encapsulates a severe headache and with that comes feeling sick, | 0:16:04 | 0:16:09 | |
a lack of appetite and difficulty breathing and just not sleeping | 0:16:09 | 0:16:14 | |
very well, so it has a really negative impact, | 0:16:14 | 0:16:16 | |
just as a migraine would have a very negative impact on you at sea level, | 0:16:16 | 0:16:20 | |
very similar in altitude. | 0:16:20 | 0:16:21 | |
This slow acclimatisation is a key process for preparing my body for | 0:16:32 | 0:16:36 | |
Mount Everest. The more my body adapts, | 0:16:36 | 0:16:38 | |
the longer I'll be able to stand on the summit. | 0:16:38 | 0:16:40 | |
The locals are used to the effects altitude has on them | 0:16:49 | 0:16:52 | |
but for us lowlanders, | 0:16:52 | 0:16:53 | |
readying ourselves physically takes time. | 0:16:53 | 0:16:56 | |
Preparation of the mind is also key but I'm about to take part | 0:16:57 | 0:17:01 | |
in a tradition that few climbers are privileged to experience - | 0:17:01 | 0:17:04 | |
the preparation of my spirit. | 0:17:04 | 0:17:07 | |
It's a tradition and it's a really important tradition, actually, | 0:17:07 | 0:17:10 | |
for the Sherpas and the Nepalese people, | 0:17:10 | 0:17:12 | |
that the local lama blesses not just themselves but their equipment | 0:17:12 | 0:17:17 | |
before the summit of Everest to wish them good luck | 0:17:17 | 0:17:20 | |
and to keep them in good health. | 0:17:20 | 0:17:22 | |
The last few years, it's become even more poignant, | 0:17:22 | 0:17:26 | |
an even more important tradition - you know, whatever your beliefs are, | 0:17:26 | 0:17:30 | |
you can't help but feel something special about here. | 0:17:30 | 0:17:34 | |
It's a very spiritual place. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:37 | |
LAMA CHANTS IN OWN LANGUAGE | 0:17:37 | 0:17:40 | |
Richard. Richard. | 0:17:55 | 0:17:58 | |
-LAMA: -Richard? -Richard. -Richard Parks. Richard Parks. | 0:17:58 | 0:18:01 | |
-Richard Parks! -LAMA LAUGHS | 0:18:01 | 0:18:03 | |
HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE | 0:18:03 | 0:18:05 | |
You know, I know that I'm on the prayer sheets at Mum's church | 0:18:05 | 0:18:10 | |
back home but no, it's really special | 0:18:10 | 0:18:13 | |
and I just wish I knew what he was saying! | 0:18:13 | 0:18:15 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:18:15 | 0:18:16 | |
I thought it was quite funny when he laughed at my name, but... | 0:18:16 | 0:18:20 | |
It's not the first time someone's laughed at me and it probably won't be the last! | 0:18:20 | 0:18:24 | |
LAMA CHANTS IN OWN LANGUAGE | 0:18:24 | 0:18:28 | |
Today is the first of our major ascents. | 0:18:42 | 0:18:45 | |
In two hours, we begin our climb to Island Peak. | 0:18:46 | 0:18:49 | |
White gold. | 0:18:58 | 0:19:00 | |
White gold! | 0:19:02 | 0:19:03 | |
Amazing how many friends you have when you've got toilet paper! | 0:19:06 | 0:19:11 | |
or, as Damien knows, when you are... | 0:19:11 | 0:19:14 | |
..sharing quilted toilet paper! | 0:19:15 | 0:19:17 | |
If unbeknown to him! | 0:19:19 | 0:19:20 | |
We leave today for Island Peak, which... | 0:19:24 | 0:19:28 | |
..is probably about a three-day climb. | 0:19:29 | 0:19:32 | |
It's our last opportunity, really, to get the data collection nailed, | 0:19:32 | 0:19:36 | |
so if it goes well, amazing. | 0:19:36 | 0:19:38 | |
If it doesn't, we need to go back to the drawing board, don't we? | 0:19:38 | 0:19:41 | |
And I know that's the nature of | 0:19:41 | 0:19:44 | |
things out there, but, yeah, a little bit apprehensive, | 0:19:44 | 0:19:47 | |
if I'm being honest. | 0:19:47 | 0:19:48 | |
I was just sort of laughing, cos without really knowing it, | 0:19:55 | 0:19:58 | |
-I've been really OCD! -I can see that. -Yeah, but I have! | 0:19:58 | 0:20:00 | |
I genuinely haven't even been aware of it. | 0:20:00 | 0:20:03 | |
You know, "That goes there, that goes there, no, that doesn't go there. That's got to go there!" | 0:20:03 | 0:20:07 | |
Yeah, um! | 0:20:07 | 0:20:10 | |
It's quite alarming, though, | 0:20:10 | 0:20:11 | |
when you see it, like, in the third person, but hey! | 0:20:11 | 0:20:13 | |
Have a good one. | 0:20:22 | 0:20:24 | |
Look after yourself. | 0:20:24 | 0:20:26 | |
I shall. See you on the way back down. | 0:20:26 | 0:20:28 | |
Go easy. | 0:20:28 | 0:20:30 | |
So over the last week and a half, | 0:20:39 | 0:20:43 | |
we've been gradually increasing in altitude, going up a little, | 0:20:43 | 0:20:46 | |
down a little, up a little again, and so on. | 0:20:46 | 0:20:50 | |
Today, now, will be the first time when Richard goes up into pretty | 0:20:50 | 0:20:53 | |
significant altitude. | 0:20:53 | 0:20:55 | |
Island Peak is around 6,100, I think, something like that. | 0:20:55 | 0:20:59 | |
And the purpose is to practise collecting scientific data with all | 0:20:59 | 0:21:04 | |
the difficulties that there are when you're not doing it in a lab, basically. | 0:21:04 | 0:21:07 | |
Ahead of me is High Camp. | 0:21:14 | 0:21:16 | |
As I get closer, the clean, | 0:21:16 | 0:21:18 | |
crisp mountain air carries with it a very welcome scent - | 0:21:18 | 0:21:21 | |
something you wouldn't expect to smell at 18,400 feet. | 0:21:21 | 0:21:24 | |
Pretty incredible what Ramesh and his team can make on the side of a mountain. | 0:21:35 | 0:21:41 | |
It's really humbling, actually - you know, | 0:21:53 | 0:21:55 | |
humbling in the true sense of the word. | 0:21:55 | 0:21:57 | |
We are on the side of a mountain, | 0:21:57 | 0:22:00 | |
at just over 5,000 metres and... | 0:22:00 | 0:22:03 | |
..you know, we're in the presence of a really, really talented chef. | 0:22:05 | 0:22:10 | |
I know I'm here for a very specific goal, | 0:22:10 | 0:22:13 | |
but every now and again, these surreal moments really just... | 0:22:13 | 0:22:17 | |
..just take my breath away, you know. | 0:22:19 | 0:22:22 | |
It's such a special place. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:24 | |
What's Ramesh cooked up today? | 0:22:31 | 0:22:33 | |
We have Rara noodle soup. | 0:22:33 | 0:22:36 | |
Pretty awesome, really. | 0:22:37 | 0:22:39 | |
-It's super noodles, but... -More? | 0:22:39 | 0:22:41 | |
More soup! Thanks very much. | 0:22:41 | 0:22:45 | |
As night falls, even the high winds around my tent are no distraction from the challenge ahead. | 0:22:49 | 0:22:55 | |
It's moments like these when my mind starts to wander. | 0:22:55 | 0:22:58 | |
I think the thing that I'm most concerned about is the... | 0:22:58 | 0:23:02 | |
..the blood sample from my earlobe. | 0:23:05 | 0:23:07 | |
Ironically, on paper, it's the easiest thing. | 0:23:09 | 0:23:13 | |
The biopsy should be the hardest bit but actually, | 0:23:13 | 0:23:15 | |
I'm really confident of the biopsy. | 0:23:15 | 0:23:18 | |
Um... | 0:23:18 | 0:23:20 | |
I'm confident of my ability to perform that on my leg - | 0:23:20 | 0:23:24 | |
I can see it, whereas I can't see my ear. | 0:23:24 | 0:23:27 | |
I guess it's the unknown that makes... | 0:23:27 | 0:23:29 | |
..that makes this the adventure. | 0:23:30 | 0:23:33 | |
I guess that's what inspires me to... | 0:23:33 | 0:23:35 | |
..you know, to work at it. | 0:23:37 | 0:23:39 | |
There are only a few hours to get some sleep, | 0:23:41 | 0:23:44 | |
and it's not long before I'm out of my tent again and climbing. | 0:23:44 | 0:23:46 | |
There's two reasons for starting so early in the morning. | 0:23:59 | 0:24:01 | |
The first reason is, the early part | 0:24:01 | 0:24:06 | |
of the glacier, the approach in as well as some of the crevasse crossings are safer, | 0:24:06 | 0:24:11 | |
cos it's colder and the ice is more stable. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:14 | |
Um, and the second reason is not being able to see how far you've | 0:24:19 | 0:24:23 | |
got to go is always a bit of a bonus as well! | 0:24:23 | 0:24:26 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:24:26 | 0:24:27 | |
But there is another plus point to heading up so early - | 0:24:29 | 0:24:33 | |
the view. | 0:24:33 | 0:24:34 | |
The views here at this time of the morning | 0:24:55 | 0:24:58 | |
are quite literally breathtaking. | 0:24:58 | 0:25:00 | |
But as intoxicating as the view is, | 0:25:13 | 0:25:16 | |
there is a sobering feeling that danger lies ahead | 0:25:16 | 0:25:19 | |
as we edge closer to Island Peak. | 0:25:19 | 0:25:21 | |
The headwall is where the real challenge begins. | 0:25:28 | 0:25:32 | |
Fixed lines hang down more than 650 feet of steep, poor-quality ice. | 0:25:32 | 0:25:37 | |
The headwall section of Island Peak - | 0:25:38 | 0:25:41 | |
it's a tough few hours and it's tough because physically it's hard - | 0:25:41 | 0:25:46 | |
you know, you're just under 6,000 metres, | 0:25:46 | 0:25:48 | |
the air is thin, | 0:25:48 | 0:25:50 | |
your body isn't getting as much oxygen as it would at sea level | 0:25:50 | 0:25:54 | |
and everything is considerably harder. | 0:25:54 | 0:25:57 | |
You've got a fixed line that's there, | 0:25:57 | 0:26:00 | |
that you put a certain amount of trust into it, | 0:26:00 | 0:26:03 | |
but there are points in the mountain where there are 10, 11, 12 ropes, | 0:26:03 | 0:26:10 | |
all leading into one fixed point, and... | 0:26:10 | 0:26:12 | |
..your option is to decide which rope looks the newest. | 0:26:14 | 0:26:18 | |
Entrusting my safety to someone else's rope is an uncomfortable feeling. | 0:26:31 | 0:26:36 | |
But then I'm met by one thing I dislike even more - | 0:26:36 | 0:26:38 | |
a crevasse and a rickety ladder crossing. | 0:26:38 | 0:26:41 | |
Give me a bit of slack on this one. | 0:26:43 | 0:26:45 | |
Yeah, I don't like crevasses. | 0:26:47 | 0:26:48 | |
The penultimate leg of my 737 challenge was on Denali - | 0:26:50 | 0:26:53 | |
also known as Mount McKinley. | 0:26:53 | 0:26:56 | |
I had what could have been a very dangerous, if not fatal, crevasse fall, | 0:26:56 | 0:27:00 | |
where I fell about 7m down, through... | 0:27:00 | 0:27:03 | |
..a melted snow bridge and my fall was only broken by landing on a ledge. | 0:27:05 | 0:27:09 | |
And yeah, it very quickly turned into... | 0:27:10 | 0:27:12 | |
..a very dangerous situation. | 0:27:14 | 0:27:18 | |
There are a handful of ladder crossings spanning open crevasses | 0:27:18 | 0:27:21 | |
in the early part of this section. | 0:27:21 | 0:27:23 | |
It's a useful reminder of what's to come on the icefall in the Western Cwm of Mount Everest. | 0:27:29 | 0:27:34 | |
My left foot is stuck. | 0:27:41 | 0:27:43 | |
You can imagine, you're balancing on a ladder - | 0:27:43 | 0:27:46 | |
on two ladders that are tied together using climbing rope. | 0:27:46 | 0:27:50 | |
With just a momentary lapse in concentration, | 0:27:50 | 0:27:54 | |
I've put my crampon down in a place where actually, | 0:27:54 | 0:27:57 | |
it's become wedged between two rungs and it is absolutely horrific. | 0:27:57 | 0:28:01 | |
You're balanced on this moving, um, | 0:28:03 | 0:28:07 | |
this moving ladder and so you have to sort of really gingerly try and | 0:28:07 | 0:28:12 | |
loosen the crampon to get off. | 0:28:12 | 0:28:15 | |
It's not nice. No. | 0:28:15 | 0:28:16 | |
No, I don't enjoy that at all. I can't imagine many people would! | 0:28:17 | 0:28:21 | |
With so many things that could have gone wrong, | 0:28:33 | 0:28:36 | |
I feel really strongly about taking a moment to breathe it in and to | 0:28:36 | 0:28:41 | |
really acknowledge the achievement. | 0:28:41 | 0:28:43 | |
As with all of my expeditions, | 0:28:46 | 0:28:48 | |
it's the challenge and the physical exertion that makes the taste | 0:28:48 | 0:28:51 | |
of success all the more sweet. | 0:28:51 | 0:28:52 | |
'Flying the Welsh flag - | 0:29:00 | 0:29:02 | |
'and that's really important, too, because it was in a really, | 0:29:02 | 0:29:06 | |
'really significant and important milestone in the project.' | 0:29:06 | 0:29:09 | |
It helps build confidence, momentum, | 0:29:11 | 0:29:15 | |
and it helps you visualise what you're actually trying to achieve | 0:29:15 | 0:29:19 | |
and it's a really proud moment. | 0:29:19 | 0:29:21 | |
It's easy to get caught up in the moment of summiting Island Peak, | 0:29:22 | 0:29:26 | |
but I'm here for a very specific reason. | 0:29:26 | 0:29:28 | |
This is my dry run and I've got to complete the blood, breath, | 0:29:28 | 0:29:32 | |
cognition and tissue sampling, fast. | 0:29:32 | 0:29:35 | |
If it goes wrong on Mount Everest in what's known as the death zone, | 0:29:35 | 0:29:39 | |
and I'm there for too long, it could very well be catastrophic. | 0:29:39 | 0:29:42 | |
First thing we do is going to be application there. | 0:29:44 | 0:29:49 | |
Then, that's to take two minutes. | 0:29:52 | 0:29:55 | |
'Most climbers that get to the top can only stay there for a few minutes | 0:29:55 | 0:29:59 | |
'before they are forced to retreat. | 0:29:59 | 0:30:01 | |
'The same applies to me. | 0:30:01 | 0:30:03 | |
'But I'll have no supplementary oxygen and I MUST complete my tests.' | 0:30:03 | 0:30:07 | |
Damien, how do I get this working, mate? | 0:30:07 | 0:30:10 | |
What you want to do is press. | 0:30:10 | 0:30:13 | |
Breathe in and out. | 0:30:13 | 0:30:15 | |
-How many times? -Just a steady state, so a few times. | 0:30:15 | 0:30:18 | |
Nice and slowly. | 0:30:18 | 0:30:19 | |
That's good. And relax. | 0:30:23 | 0:30:24 | |
So, then, there's the oximeter. | 0:30:25 | 0:30:29 | |
'What's more, the weather here on Island Peak is perfect. | 0:30:31 | 0:30:34 | |
'The chances of equally favourable weather on Mount Everest are slim.' | 0:30:34 | 0:30:38 | |
Now, the analgesic in the thigh. | 0:30:40 | 0:30:43 | |
Unzip, rezip it again and then it's... | 0:30:44 | 0:30:46 | |
..three...six... | 0:30:48 | 0:30:51 | |
That now... | 0:30:52 | 0:30:53 | |
..is completely anaesthetised and it will take five minutes to | 0:30:56 | 0:30:59 | |
activate or to take effect. | 0:30:59 | 0:31:01 | |
-In those five minutes now, it's the... -Earlobe. | 0:31:01 | 0:31:04 | |
-It's the earlobe. -Are you going to attempt it now? | 0:31:04 | 0:31:07 | |
I can do it now if you want. | 0:31:07 | 0:31:08 | |
-Yes, give it a shot. -Let's give it a shot. | 0:31:08 | 0:31:11 | |
Hold that. | 0:31:19 | 0:31:20 | |
'I'm starting to feel anxious. | 0:31:20 | 0:31:22 | |
'No matter how many times I've practised this in the lab, | 0:31:22 | 0:31:25 | |
'I knew it would take longer in reality. | 0:31:25 | 0:31:27 | |
'What bothers me is just how long it's taking. | 0:31:27 | 0:31:30 | |
'As part of my acclimatisation, | 0:31:32 | 0:31:34 | |
'my body has produced a far higher concentration of red cells in my blood...' | 0:31:34 | 0:31:38 | |
I knew this was going to happen. Let me just try it one more time. | 0:31:38 | 0:31:42 | |
'..making it thicker and almost impossible to sample.' | 0:31:42 | 0:31:44 | |
And then just turn your head. | 0:31:47 | 0:31:49 | |
That's it. | 0:31:49 | 0:31:51 | |
'It didn't go according to plan.' | 0:31:51 | 0:31:53 | |
And I mean, I had some serious concerns. | 0:31:53 | 0:31:56 | |
It highlighted that some of the things that I felt I could do, | 0:31:56 | 0:32:02 | |
on my own, I needed help. | 0:32:02 | 0:32:05 | |
'I needed another set of hands.' | 0:32:05 | 0:32:06 | |
We were up there for a long time. There was just no way that | 0:32:09 | 0:32:13 | |
I could spend that time on the summit of Everest. | 0:32:13 | 0:32:15 | |
'We've now spent more than 30 minutes on this peak | 0:32:17 | 0:32:20 | |
'and what's more, I haven't yet completed the cognitive tests. | 0:32:20 | 0:32:24 | |
'At sea level, this usually takes eight to ten minutes. | 0:32:24 | 0:32:28 | |
'Altitude inhibits the brain function so it's going to take me longer.' | 0:32:28 | 0:32:31 | |
It's one thing going through it night after night in a tent, or at home, | 0:32:33 | 0:32:38 | |
but actually, it's a completely different thing | 0:32:38 | 0:32:42 | |
doing it at 6,000 metres. | 0:32:42 | 0:32:44 | |
We couldn't do that on the summit. | 0:32:44 | 0:32:47 | |
I'd be putting my life at risk. | 0:32:47 | 0:32:50 | |
'Although this is only a dry run, these results, | 0:32:53 | 0:32:56 | |
'along with others collected on Mount Everest, | 0:32:56 | 0:32:58 | |
'will be analysed back in the lab in Wales. | 0:32:58 | 0:33:01 | |
'After the stresses of the test procedure, | 0:33:08 | 0:33:11 | |
'the whole team is reunited at Namche Bazaar, | 0:33:11 | 0:33:13 | |
'and we move on towards Base Camp.' | 0:33:13 | 0:33:15 | |
As we hike through the Khumbu Valley, | 0:33:38 | 0:33:40 | |
I feel a million miles away from the modern world. | 0:33:40 | 0:33:44 | |
Then, from out of nowhere, springs civilisation - | 0:33:44 | 0:33:48 | |
or the closest thing to it on this mountain - Base Camp. | 0:33:48 | 0:33:51 | |
How's it going? | 0:33:59 | 0:34:02 | |
-How are you? -I'm good, mate. How you doing? -Good. -Nice to see you. | 0:34:02 | 0:34:04 | |
-Yeah, pretty good. Yeah. -Welcome. | 0:34:04 | 0:34:07 | |
Cheers, mate! How you doing? | 0:34:07 | 0:34:08 | |
-Good to see you. -Good to see you, too. | 0:34:08 | 0:34:10 | |
How are you doing? | 0:34:10 | 0:34:12 | |
'The paradox of Base Camp is that having trekked up the Khumbu Valley,' | 0:34:12 | 0:34:19 | |
getting more and more remote with each settlement, | 0:34:19 | 0:34:23 | |
you then arrive at Base Camp, | 0:34:23 | 0:34:25 | |
and it's got infrastructure there that is unlike any other part of the Khumbu Valley. | 0:34:25 | 0:34:31 | |
It's like a bustling metropolis of tents. | 0:34:31 | 0:34:35 | |
You know, there's even a very limited Wi-Fi signal there, | 0:34:35 | 0:34:39 | |
which you can't get at other places along the trek into Base Camp. | 0:34:39 | 0:34:45 | |
I can't believe you brought safety pins. That's next level, mate. | 0:34:49 | 0:34:51 | |
Fair play! | 0:34:51 | 0:34:53 | |
-Ooh, ooh, ooh! Sorry. -Sorry, sorry. | 0:34:55 | 0:34:58 | |
Oh! What was that? | 0:35:02 | 0:35:05 | |
Oh! | 0:35:05 | 0:35:06 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:35:06 | 0:35:09 | |
I felt a pain in my ass! | 0:35:09 | 0:35:12 | |
Ow! | 0:35:12 | 0:35:13 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:35:13 | 0:35:15 | |
That's Richard Parks playing up again, isn't it? | 0:35:15 | 0:35:18 | |
That's put me in a sweat now! | 0:35:18 | 0:35:20 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:35:20 | 0:35:21 | |
It's given me a headache. | 0:35:21 | 0:35:23 | |
We've all... | 0:35:23 | 0:35:25 | |
..blessed the flag in the tent. | 0:35:26 | 0:35:28 | |
Yeah? | 0:35:28 | 0:35:30 | |
And you're a very big part of this team, so... | 0:35:30 | 0:35:32 | |
-Whisky? -Whisky. | 0:35:34 | 0:35:36 | |
-A little, little... -Just a little bit. Just a little bit. | 0:35:36 | 0:35:41 | |
-NICOLA: -Oh, I'm glad I didn't see. | 0:35:41 | 0:35:43 | |
Oh, thank you. | 0:35:43 | 0:35:44 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:35:44 | 0:35:47 | |
Thank you. Thank you very much. | 0:35:47 | 0:35:48 | |
Spirits are high. After two years of preparation, | 0:35:50 | 0:35:53 | |
we are finally at the starting line for this expedition. | 0:35:53 | 0:35:55 | |
The weather conditions are looking good and we're all feeling confident. | 0:35:55 | 0:35:59 | |
However, my thoughts keep returning to my experience on Island Peak. | 0:35:59 | 0:36:04 | |
David Hamilton, our expedition leader, | 0:36:04 | 0:36:06 | |
arrives at our tent and our conversation compounds my concerns. | 0:36:06 | 0:36:11 | |
I don't want to be overdramatic, | 0:36:11 | 0:36:13 | |
but the last oxygenless ascent of Everest that I'm aware of | 0:36:13 | 0:36:17 | |
resulted in a person dying | 0:36:17 | 0:36:19 | |
and your gaping hole is your mountaineering consultant. | 0:36:19 | 0:36:22 | |
If you had, you know, | 0:36:22 | 0:36:24 | |
a guide who'd been on the top five or six times before, | 0:36:24 | 0:36:29 | |
ideally one with medical training, walking along beside you, | 0:36:29 | 0:36:32 | |
the whole project would just fit. | 0:36:32 | 0:36:34 | |
Information came to me that I shouldn't have been privy to in that moment. | 0:36:34 | 0:36:40 | |
Although you're trying to exert yourself to your maximum, | 0:36:40 | 0:36:43 | |
you've always got to have this little regulatory mechanism, | 0:36:43 | 0:36:47 | |
"Am I overstepping the mark?" | 0:36:47 | 0:36:49 | |
Because if you do, the consequences can be fatal. | 0:36:49 | 0:36:52 | |
It was right that the information came to me, | 0:36:52 | 0:36:54 | |
but it's really difficult to, you know, | 0:36:54 | 0:36:57 | |
to be told that I'm very close to my mortality but yet, | 0:36:57 | 0:37:03 | |
still be expected to make rational, coherent decisions. | 0:37:03 | 0:37:08 | |
And to me, that's the big weakness. | 0:37:08 | 0:37:10 | |
That's what really worries me is you, up there, you know, expending yourself, | 0:37:10 | 0:37:15 | |
possibly into areas where your judgment may be impaired and nobody else there to help. | 0:37:15 | 0:37:22 | |
I mean, if anything, David's helped you sort of, | 0:37:24 | 0:37:27 | |
maybe visualise that moment in time, | 0:37:27 | 0:37:29 | |
when you've really got to decide whether you can keep going forward or not. | 0:37:29 | 0:37:34 | |
Um, I don't think he has helped me, no. | 0:37:34 | 0:37:38 | |
Although it's very different to this, | 0:37:38 | 0:37:41 | |
there are not many people on the planet that have skied more solo | 0:37:41 | 0:37:45 | |
Antarctic miles than I have. | 0:37:45 | 0:37:47 | |
Um... | 0:37:47 | 0:37:49 | |
You know, this is the end of a really meticulous development cycle, | 0:37:49 | 0:37:54 | |
and although relatively, I have less experience than David | 0:37:54 | 0:37:58 | |
here on Everest, I am very confident | 0:37:58 | 0:38:01 | |
of my own abilities to make those difficult decisions. | 0:38:01 | 0:38:04 | |
I've proven it. | 0:38:04 | 0:38:07 | |
You know, one of the most difficult decisions I've had to make was | 0:38:07 | 0:38:10 | |
to abort my first solo Antarctic expedition | 0:38:10 | 0:38:13 | |
just 100 km from the South Pole | 0:38:13 | 0:38:15 | |
after battling the elements for 42 days. | 0:38:15 | 0:38:20 | |
I believe that I have the right balance of... | 0:38:20 | 0:38:23 | |
..humility and defiance and respect for the environment I'm in. | 0:38:25 | 0:38:30 | |
'Warning heeded, but undeterred, and after five days at Base Camp, | 0:38:31 | 0:38:36 | |
'I get my head down for one last good night's sleep, | 0:38:36 | 0:38:39 | |
'before we push on to Camp One.' | 0:38:39 | 0:38:41 | |
I feel really good at this point. | 0:38:43 | 0:38:44 | |
My acclimatisation strategy has... | 0:38:46 | 0:38:50 | |
..worked really well, and... | 0:38:52 | 0:38:54 | |
..you know, I'm probably one of the only people | 0:38:55 | 0:38:58 | |
here at Base Camp that isn't coughing uncontrollably. | 0:38:58 | 0:39:03 | |
And I'm in good health, but... | 0:39:05 | 0:39:07 | |
..it's about to get really real. | 0:39:12 | 0:39:16 | |
From this point on, it's just me, my Sherpa and Gareth on camera. | 0:39:21 | 0:39:25 | |
The Khumbu Icefall is one of the most dynamic, fast-moving glaciers | 0:39:32 | 0:39:37 | |
I've ever been on. You can almost hear it creaking | 0:39:37 | 0:39:40 | |
and grinding and cracking underneath you and from day to day, | 0:39:40 | 0:39:43 | |
it can change overnight, | 0:39:43 | 0:39:46 | |
with big chunks of glacier dropping off | 0:39:46 | 0:39:49 | |
or crevasses opening or filling in. | 0:39:49 | 0:39:51 | |
It's not a part of the climb that I'd want to hang around in. | 0:39:51 | 0:39:55 | |
In order to manage some of the risk of that section and to be as safe as | 0:40:05 | 0:40:10 | |
possible, it requires you to move as quickly as possible... | 0:40:10 | 0:40:15 | |
..which is why there are a lot of accidents on the mountain, | 0:40:18 | 0:40:22 | |
because a lot of people are working at their capacity. | 0:40:22 | 0:40:26 | |
More than 270 people have died on this mountain in the last 50 years - | 0:40:37 | 0:40:42 | |
nearly 100 of them in the last ten. | 0:40:42 | 0:40:45 | |
As well as the Icefall, avalanches and falling into crevasses, | 0:40:45 | 0:40:49 | |
the effects of altitude have claimed many climbers. | 0:40:49 | 0:40:53 | |
It's not about conquering the mountain. | 0:40:53 | 0:40:57 | |
It's more often than not about... | 0:40:57 | 0:41:00 | |
..you know, conquering yourself and managing that internal dialogue | 0:41:03 | 0:41:08 | |
and the emotional rollercoaster | 0:41:08 | 0:41:10 | |
that you go through and... | 0:41:10 | 0:41:13 | |
..it can be brutal. | 0:41:14 | 0:41:16 | |
I'm actually... I'm a bit nervous to show you this. | 0:41:40 | 0:41:43 | |
Right, you know, we've been really good mates so far and, you know, | 0:41:46 | 0:41:49 | |
our friendship is getting stronger and, you know, | 0:41:49 | 0:41:51 | |
we've got a big couple of weeks ahead of us and I really feel like | 0:41:51 | 0:41:56 | |
the kick in the morale nuts now, might just be irreversible. | 0:41:56 | 0:42:00 | |
Too much! It stinks. | 0:42:00 | 0:42:02 | |
Oh, I can smell that. | 0:42:02 | 0:42:04 | |
-I can smell that. -Do you want to see it, though? Do you want to see it? -It's like... Yeah! | 0:42:04 | 0:42:08 | |
Has it got rice in, too? | 0:42:08 | 0:42:10 | |
Oh, noodles! | 0:42:10 | 0:42:12 | |
RICHARD LAUGHS | 0:42:12 | 0:42:14 | |
Can I see your spoon, mate? | 0:42:14 | 0:42:16 | |
That's... I believe that's potato. | 0:42:18 | 0:42:21 | |
-Vaguely. -Wow. | 0:42:21 | 0:42:24 | |
Definitely, there's something pink. | 0:42:24 | 0:42:26 | |
And something yellow and something white, | 0:42:26 | 0:42:28 | |
so I'm just going to base it on that. | 0:42:28 | 0:42:30 | |
That looks amazing. No, seriously, that actually looks really good. | 0:42:30 | 0:42:32 | |
I felt bad earlier, but I don't now. | 0:42:32 | 0:42:35 | |
That looks amazing. It looks amazing. | 0:42:35 | 0:42:38 | |
You nearly sound sincere there. | 0:42:38 | 0:42:40 | |
I'll try and describe what I'm eating. | 0:42:40 | 0:42:43 | |
-It's basically just... -Rubber! | 0:42:51 | 0:42:53 | |
Yeah. A tree. Tree rubber. | 0:42:53 | 0:42:56 | |
No taste. | 0:42:56 | 0:42:57 | |
No season. It's the sort of thing that somebody would eat if... | 0:42:57 | 0:43:01 | |
If they just were the most fussiest person in the world. | 0:43:01 | 0:43:06 | |
But it's 500 calories, which is about what we need to get. | 0:43:09 | 0:43:14 | |
Yeah. Yeah, of course. | 0:43:14 | 0:43:15 | |
Yeah, you know, mate, just keep focusing on the positives. | 0:43:15 | 0:43:20 | |
Just keep...just hang it on something. Hang it on anything. | 0:43:20 | 0:43:23 | |
Your turn. Let's see... | 0:43:23 | 0:43:24 | |
Let's see how yours goes. | 0:43:24 | 0:43:26 | |
-OK. -Look at those noodles. | 0:43:26 | 0:43:28 | |
-The big chicken breast and the sweetcorn. Yeah. -Chicken breast! | 0:43:29 | 0:43:33 | |
Best meal ever! | 0:43:40 | 0:43:43 | |
It's the best meal I've had today. | 0:43:43 | 0:43:45 | |
Yeah! | 0:43:45 | 0:43:47 | |
It's not really selfie kind of... | 0:43:50 | 0:43:52 | |
Good forearm strength, by the way! | 0:43:54 | 0:43:56 | |
-Oh, yeah. -Wow! | 0:43:56 | 0:43:58 | |
That's my right hand. | 0:43:58 | 0:43:59 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:43:59 | 0:44:02 | |
Things can go sideways very quickly | 0:44:15 | 0:44:17 | |
and the climb, you know, the climb to Camp Two was a really good example of that. | 0:44:17 | 0:44:22 | |
This is a high-risk avalanche area. | 0:44:22 | 0:44:24 | |
You can make decisions that minimise the risk of avalanches but... | 0:44:26 | 0:44:31 | |
..they're still pretty unpredictable | 0:44:33 | 0:44:36 | |
and one moment, to be looking forward to a coffee at Camp Two, | 0:44:36 | 0:44:43 | |
you know, having got through arguably the most dangerous part | 0:44:43 | 0:44:49 | |
of the climb to Camp Two... | 0:44:49 | 0:44:51 | |
..to the second, to have that, you know, it was pretty scary. | 0:44:52 | 0:44:57 | |
THUNDERING CRASH | 0:44:57 | 0:45:00 | |
MORE BOOMING CRASHES | 0:45:02 | 0:45:05 | |
Um, I don't think I've ever moved so fast! | 0:45:11 | 0:45:15 | |
About 6,000 m! | 0:45:15 | 0:45:17 | |
With the avalanche still fresh in our minds, we arrive at Camp Two. | 0:45:24 | 0:45:28 | |
My acclimatisation strategy means we rest here for two days before we can carry on. | 0:45:28 | 0:45:34 | |
Unsurprisingly, there's very little to do when you're perched | 0:45:34 | 0:45:37 | |
on the side of the world's largest mountain. | 0:45:37 | 0:45:40 | |
So what are you going to do now? | 0:46:08 | 0:46:10 | |
Put all my clothes back on again! | 0:46:12 | 0:46:14 | |
GARETH LAUGHS | 0:46:15 | 0:46:17 | |
You get a bit stir crazy, really. | 0:46:20 | 0:46:22 | |
Oh, yeah. | 0:46:22 | 0:46:24 | |
You know, it comes to something when the highlight of your day is a wet wipe! | 0:46:24 | 0:46:29 | |
The wet wipe shower! | 0:46:29 | 0:46:31 | |
Oh, we've missed that! You didn't tell me you were doing that. | 0:46:31 | 0:46:33 | |
We didn't get it on camera! | 0:46:33 | 0:46:35 | |
So give us a tour of... | 0:46:35 | 0:46:37 | |
Well, of our tent, I suppose. | 0:46:37 | 0:46:39 | |
Um, actually, you've tidied up, considering that we're filming. | 0:46:40 | 0:46:44 | |
Well, I kind of knew that we'd maybe have guests in the form of a camera! | 0:46:44 | 0:46:50 | |
So I'm a lot tidier than my usual. | 0:46:50 | 0:46:54 | |
But, yeah, you can see I've got a selection of cleansing | 0:46:54 | 0:46:59 | |
handy wipes. My first-aid kit. | 0:46:59 | 0:47:02 | |
My sat phone. You've got the toilet roll and the Walkman, | 0:47:02 | 0:47:04 | |
-so I can listen to music while I'm having a -BLEEP! | 0:47:04 | 0:47:08 | |
Right above me in the morning is the tablet so that I've got no excuses | 0:47:08 | 0:47:13 | |
to do the cognitive testing. | 0:47:13 | 0:47:16 | |
I've got a little bedside table here. | 0:47:16 | 0:47:19 | |
That's for personal stuff. | 0:47:19 | 0:47:21 | |
I can't show you that. | 0:47:21 | 0:47:23 | |
Really? I don't even know about that. | 0:47:23 | 0:47:25 | |
No. | 0:47:25 | 0:47:27 | |
You've got a bedside table! | 0:47:27 | 0:47:28 | |
Well, it's the lid of my rucksack, if you can see by there. | 0:47:28 | 0:47:32 | |
-See that? -Oh, yeah. | 0:47:32 | 0:47:35 | |
And then you've got, like, little personal items in there, have you? | 0:47:35 | 0:47:38 | |
Yeah, I've got my little letters and stuff. | 0:47:38 | 0:47:42 | |
Oh, look! | 0:47:42 | 0:47:44 | |
I'm just really impressed that you've tidied, | 0:47:48 | 0:47:51 | |
knowing that we're going to be filming here. | 0:47:51 | 0:47:54 | |
Yeah, well, the thing about my side of the tent is, | 0:47:54 | 0:47:57 | |
I haven't got half the stuff you have. | 0:47:57 | 0:47:59 | |
I don't know how... Basically I get by on baby wipes and a sat phone. | 0:47:59 | 0:48:03 | |
-But that's home. -That's it, yeah. | 0:48:05 | 0:48:09 | |
After two days' rest, we're ready to climb again. | 0:48:18 | 0:48:21 | |
Tomorrow, it's the climb to Camp Three. | 0:48:22 | 0:48:24 | |
And then the day after, the climb to the Yellow Band and then back down. | 0:48:26 | 0:48:31 | |
Pema and I are going to leave Camp Two at around five, | 0:48:31 | 0:48:34 | |
six o'clock tomorrow, so... | 0:48:34 | 0:48:35 | |
..signing off now. Get some shuteye. | 0:48:37 | 0:48:39 | |
The following day, we awake to a serious problem. | 0:48:48 | 0:48:51 | |
The pictures say it all, but explain what's going down. | 0:48:59 | 0:49:04 | |
Well, this morning we've had a cruel twist of mountain fate. | 0:49:04 | 0:49:09 | |
After all the preparations to move up to Camp Three this morning, | 0:49:10 | 0:49:16 | |
she's just completely shut down. | 0:49:16 | 0:49:19 | |
We've had quite a lot of snowfall overnight, | 0:49:19 | 0:49:21 | |
but we've got very low cloud and actually, white-out conditions, which... | 0:49:21 | 0:49:26 | |
It's more the visibility than the snow. | 0:49:26 | 0:49:28 | |
I'm confident. I think we're both confident to move in this type of snowfall, but... | 0:49:28 | 0:49:34 | |
I've got another day... | 0:49:36 | 0:49:38 | |
-..in your palace. -Yeah. In my palace, yeah! | 0:49:42 | 0:49:45 | |
'Sometimes, when you're in the mountains, | 0:49:49 | 0:49:51 | |
'one cruel blow follows another and for me, things go from bad to worse.' | 0:49:51 | 0:49:57 | |
Nicky and Damien have known this for the last two days. | 0:50:02 | 0:50:05 | |
-Yeah. -But we've had poor comms, | 0:50:05 | 0:50:07 | |
and I think both of them felt it was quite a difficult thing to try | 0:50:07 | 0:50:11 | |
and convey it on a crackly line. | 0:50:11 | 0:50:13 | |
Damien and our doc were looking through some of your blood test results | 0:50:13 | 0:50:19 | |
and alarm bells started ringing. | 0:50:19 | 0:50:21 | |
You arrived here fantastically acclimatised. | 0:50:21 | 0:50:24 | |
You have more red blood cells than anyone else on this mountain | 0:50:24 | 0:50:28 | |
which, from the point of view of climbing a mountain, is great. | 0:50:28 | 0:50:31 | |
However, in one of the e-mails I've read, your blood is like treacle. | 0:50:31 | 0:50:36 | |
Yeah. | 0:50:36 | 0:50:37 | |
And that puts you at a very high risk of some medical events. Sure. | 0:50:37 | 0:50:41 | |
'The severity of my situation becomes clear | 0:50:41 | 0:50:44 | |
'when I'm eventually told that my condition could very well be life-threatening.' | 0:50:44 | 0:50:49 | |
I think the recommendation is that you descend to Base Camp, | 0:50:49 | 0:50:53 | |
they repeat the tests, and then bringing in all the accumulated expertise, | 0:50:53 | 0:50:58 | |
try to help you to achieve your project without unnecessary risk to you. | 0:50:58 | 0:51:04 | |
-We need to address the safety implications before you climb any further. -Sure. | 0:51:04 | 0:51:09 | |
'Safety is paramount to me and I needed more information | 0:51:09 | 0:51:12 | |
'to understand my situation fully.' | 0:51:12 | 0:51:14 | |
You've just dropped a bombshell on me. | 0:51:14 | 0:51:17 | |
Um, are you suggesting that I descend... | 0:51:17 | 0:51:21 | |
Well, I can descend now. | 0:51:21 | 0:51:23 | |
'This news is brutal. | 0:51:30 | 0:51:32 | |
'First, we are delayed by the weather and now, | 0:51:32 | 0:51:35 | |
'I'm forced to retreat to Base Camp. | 0:51:35 | 0:51:37 | |
'In terms of the expedition, it could be a killer blow.' | 0:51:41 | 0:51:44 | |
Glad to see you back safe. | 0:52:05 | 0:52:06 | |
Come inside and get warm. | 0:52:08 | 0:52:09 | |
Over the next few days, | 0:52:19 | 0:52:21 | |
I'm subject to a series of tests to check my body and, more importantly, | 0:52:21 | 0:52:25 | |
my blood is performing at extreme altitude. | 0:52:25 | 0:52:27 | |
Hold on. | 0:52:29 | 0:52:30 | |
What we've identified is that his ability to make red blood cells | 0:52:34 | 0:52:38 | |
is exceptionally good. In fact, it's so good, | 0:52:38 | 0:52:41 | |
that it's actually raised a bit of a red flag. | 0:52:41 | 0:52:43 | |
When the blood makes so many red blood cells, | 0:52:43 | 0:52:46 | |
it can become quite sludgy, | 0:52:46 | 0:52:47 | |
so blood moves through blood vessels very slowly because it's so thick, | 0:52:47 | 0:52:51 | |
they've made so many red blood cells and of course, | 0:52:51 | 0:52:53 | |
that makes them more prone to heart attacks and stroke. | 0:52:53 | 0:52:56 | |
So this is the litmus test now, really. | 0:52:56 | 0:52:59 | |
This will give us a very cold and sober look at Richard's bloods | 0:52:59 | 0:53:04 | |
and then from that, we can make a decision. | 0:53:04 | 0:53:06 | |
'The blood tests show a high concentration of red blood cells, | 0:53:07 | 0:53:11 | |
'meaning that I'm at a very high risk of having a stroke, | 0:53:11 | 0:53:14 | |
'or developing heart complications if I were to continue climbing the mountain.' | 0:53:14 | 0:53:18 | |
-Literally, I'm in -BLEEP -the best shape of my life. | 0:53:18 | 0:53:21 | |
Yeah, and that's the irony, isn't it? | 0:53:22 | 0:53:25 | |
-It's just -BLEEP -brutal, | 0:53:25 | 0:53:27 | |
because...cos I... | 0:53:27 | 0:53:29 | |
You know, I'm at...physically I'm in the best shape of my life. | 0:53:29 | 0:53:32 | |
Psychologically, I'm probably in the best shape of my life. | 0:53:32 | 0:53:35 | |
I'll be honest, it's... | 0:53:35 | 0:53:37 | |
As time is going on, and I don't mean long, | 0:53:37 | 0:53:40 | |
we're talking hours and days, | 0:53:40 | 0:53:42 | |
-but literally, it's really -BLEEP-ing -with my head. | 0:53:42 | 0:53:45 | |
'As cruel as it is, | 0:53:45 | 0:53:46 | |
'due to the risk of my blood clotting and the potential for complications, | 0:53:46 | 0:53:50 | |
'my decision to cut the expedition and the experiments short | 0:53:50 | 0:53:54 | |
'is the right one. | 0:53:54 | 0:53:56 | |
From a positive aspect, | 0:53:56 | 0:53:58 | |
Damian was able to collect the data that he needed to do for the project, | 0:53:58 | 0:54:02 | |
so as far as the project is concerned, | 0:54:02 | 0:54:05 | |
we have all the data that was the main part of the study. | 0:54:05 | 0:54:09 | |
Richard was going to collect some more data at the summit | 0:54:09 | 0:54:12 | |
but that was going to be a nice added extra. | 0:54:12 | 0:54:15 | |
We don't have that any more so from that perspective, | 0:54:15 | 0:54:17 | |
you can say the project is a success, but from... | 0:54:17 | 0:54:22 | |
Richard, from a personal perspective, it's just really sad, | 0:54:22 | 0:54:25 | |
because he set himself out as a challenge | 0:54:25 | 0:54:29 | |
and I know the science project was the main part, | 0:54:29 | 0:54:32 | |
but on a personal level, | 0:54:32 | 0:54:35 | |
it's never good when you don't achieve | 0:54:35 | 0:54:38 | |
what maybe you set out to achieve | 0:54:38 | 0:54:40 | |
and that's a bitter pill to swallow. | 0:54:40 | 0:54:42 | |
When Richard came down off the mountain, | 0:54:44 | 0:54:47 | |
you know, I could certainly sympathise with him and, you know, | 0:54:47 | 0:54:50 | |
he was distraught. | 0:54:50 | 0:54:52 | |
Incredibly disappointed. | 0:54:52 | 0:54:53 | |
You know, it's been two years in the build-up, | 0:54:53 | 0:54:55 | |
training for this expedition physically, psychologically. | 0:54:55 | 0:54:59 | |
You know, it's safety before summit. | 0:54:59 | 0:55:02 | |
And I really stand by that, and you know, I would feel, you know, | 0:55:02 | 0:55:07 | |
desperately responsible if anything untoward were to happen. | 0:55:07 | 0:55:11 | |
I think over the last couple of days, | 0:55:12 | 0:55:16 | |
when he's had an opportunity to reflect | 0:55:16 | 0:55:18 | |
on his safety, | 0:55:18 | 0:55:21 | |
I think it's become very clear to him that this was the absolute | 0:55:21 | 0:55:25 | |
right decision to take. | 0:55:25 | 0:55:26 | |
Moving forward would have been... | 0:55:29 | 0:55:31 | |
..irresponsible and selfish. | 0:55:34 | 0:55:35 | |
It doesn't make it any easier for me, because | 0:55:37 | 0:55:41 | |
you know, I'm an ambitious person and I came here with an objective and, er... | 0:55:41 | 0:55:45 | |
..I've not been allowed to even attempt it, let alone attempt it and fail. | 0:55:46 | 0:55:50 | |
Success is going home. | 0:55:53 | 0:55:54 | |
Success is going back to my family. | 0:55:55 | 0:55:57 | |
And, you know, success is all the people around me being safe as well. | 0:55:59 | 0:56:04 | |
We've still collected really exciting and ground-breaking data, measurements. | 0:56:05 | 0:56:13 | |
From a scientific point of view, it has been a success. | 0:56:13 | 0:56:15 | |
It might take a while for me to really believe that, though! | 0:56:17 | 0:56:20 | |
Standing on the summit of Everest is... | 0:56:27 | 0:56:30 | |
..is a memory, is a moment, | 0:56:31 | 0:56:33 | |
is a feeling that will live with me forever. | 0:56:33 | 0:56:35 | |
I can still feel... | 0:56:39 | 0:56:41 | |
..the view. It's a very primal sense of insignificance. | 0:56:43 | 0:56:50 | |
I mean...there are very few places | 0:56:52 | 0:56:54 | |
where you can see the curvature of the Earth on the planet, | 0:56:54 | 0:56:57 | |
so I had confidence that with the right preparation, | 0:56:57 | 0:57:01 | |
the right training, | 0:57:01 | 0:57:02 | |
I could stand on the summit without supplemental oxygen, and... | 0:57:02 | 0:57:06 | |
..what...what troubles me is that I still believe I could have... | 0:57:08 | 0:57:12 | |
I'll never know. | 0:57:12 | 0:57:15 | |
That's what gives me sleepless nights. | 0:57:15 | 0:57:18 | |
I don't think about it as much as I used to but it still... | 0:57:18 | 0:57:21 | |
..it still troubles me. | 0:57:23 | 0:57:25 | |
Dementia is the fastest-growing illness in the Western world | 0:57:28 | 0:57:34 | |
and we all at some level have been touched by it | 0:57:34 | 0:57:39 | |
and there are still no known cures. | 0:57:39 | 0:57:42 | |
Knowing that I'm going to forget my wife, my children, and my grandson. | 0:57:42 | 0:57:47 | |
It's so upsetting when you realise, you sit and think about that. | 0:57:47 | 0:57:53 | |
Here in Wales, we are leading in some areas of research into this disease | 0:57:53 | 0:58:00 | |
and some of the results already show that | 0:58:00 | 0:58:04 | |
as a result of the acclimatisation process, | 0:58:04 | 0:58:08 | |
we've not just offset some of the cognitive decline | 0:58:08 | 0:58:11 | |
but we've actually improved my cognition on the mountain, which... | 0:58:11 | 0:58:15 | |
..which is...it's awesome. | 0:58:17 | 0:58:20 | |
I feel very proud that Project Everest will be able to add to the ongoing research. | 0:58:20 | 0:58:28 |