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Everest oxygen week follow up: Interview with Dave Pearce, Everest summiter and Summit O2 user
10:12 a.m. EST Feb 6, 2004
Today the Everest oxygen week follow up continues. A summiter from last spring’s Royal Navy/Marines Everest expedition, David Pearce, answers some questions and shares with us his impressions of the new Summit Oxygen setup. The Royal Navy/Marines team were the first to try out the new system on Everest.
Last week ExplorersWeb interviewed Neil Greenwood, the creator of the Summit Oxygen system – the new O2 rig for high-altitude climbing is a ‘demand’ based system that delivers oxygen through the nose. The system is more efficient and has several safeguards built-in that ensures the origin of the bottle and oxygen.
ExWeb: Dave, could you tell us a little about yourself, your role in the military and how you ended up leading the expedition, etc. .
Dave: I have been mountaineering since I was 10. I have climbed and been mountaineering all over the world and was also on the successful ascent of Kangchenjunga, where we made the first British ascent without oxygen. I have been in the British Commandos for 23 years and been involved in operations around the globe. My time in the Service finishes shortly and on leaving I intend to mountain guide and coach in High Performance Team Development and leadership.
ExWeb: What made you guys decide to go with the new O2 system, instead of the tried and true Poisk?
Dave: We achieved a number of trials prior to departure on the Summit O2 system which included a team member wearing the kit in a compression chamber and taking it to 9000m, a number of team members wearing the O2 in a cold chamber at temperatures down to minus 35 degrees C, a lengthy trial in the Alps during winter to test its robustness and efficiency particularly when working hard. It was decided to use the Summit system on the basis of successful trials and the fact that logistically we would need less bottles and ancillaries than the Poisk system.
ExWeb: What were your general impressions?
Dave: Myself, Rich Cantrill, and the two Sherpas started using the system on our first serious and successful summit bid at a height of 7000m, the North Col. One of the early advantages of the system was the fewer number of bottles required at camps in support of the team. Secondly, it was very comfortable when sleeping and more importantly when working physically hard.
After a prolonged period of use some soreness would occur mainly in the nose and if you were suffering from a cold and blocked nose this may hinder its efficiency. Attention would be needed to stop the tubes from being bent or constricted which would reduce oxygen flow and also disrupt the pulse dose box.
ExWeb: How was it while you were climbing, especially on summit day?
Dave: I had few problems during the push to the summit and those that I had were easily rectified. These included constricted pipes and a confused pulse dose meter. If the meter played up it was a case of switching it off to reset it then reactivating it before carrying on; a process of about 3 minutes (issue with Pulse Dose Meter since rectified). Although the system had some teething problems it was in general extremely good and ultimately helped me summit.
I left high camp, 8300m at midnight with a full bottle and one spare, which was going to be cached at the 2nd step, 8500m. I summited at 0931 hrs and returned to high camp using the same bottle, the whole time working on an average dose of 4 liters per minute. Potentially, an individual could make the round trip from the high camp on 5 liters per minute using only one bottle.
ExWeb: If you go back, would you use it again?
Dave: I would have no hesitation in using the system again especially as Summit Oxygen has rectified and modified the system based on our recommendations.
Comparison
Summit:
3L bottle – 615 USD, 3345g, 22.6 hrs of use on 2L of flow (20 breaths per minute)
Regulator & Dosage Regulator – 1680 USD (210g + 200g) = 410g
Total weight: 3755g
Total cost for 1 setup: 2295 USD
Refill from Summit 100 USD
Poisk: prices as of 2000
3L bottle: 310 USD, 2600g, 6 hrs of use on 2L of flow
Regulator: 300 USD, 350g
Total weight: 2950g + mask
Total cost for 1 setup: 660 USD
Refill from Poisk: 120 USD
Summit: 22.6 hrs of O2 = cost of 2295 USD and weight of 3.8kg
Poisk: 24 hrs of O2 = 1540 USD and weight of 10.8kg (1 regulator and 4 bottles)
All information in comparison from respective company’s websites.
Image of Dave Pearce doing some bouldering in Base Camp courtesy of RNEverestNorthRidge2003.com.
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