Overview
Each year many lives are lost on Mt Everest as, amongst other things, mountain climbers succumb to Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), a condition caused by exposure to very high altitudes. Altitude can be grouped as follows:
High Altitude: 1,500 - 3,500m (5,000 - 11,500ft)
Very High Altitude: 3,500 - 5,500m (11,500 - 18,000ft)
Extreme Altitude: above 5,500m (18,000ft to the top of Everest at 29,035ft)
In the extreme altitudes of the Himalaya, AMS can quickly progress to High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema (HAPE) or High Altitude Cerebral Oedema (HACE), life threatening conditions that can lead to coma and death very suddenly.
Symptoms of HACE can include fatigue, visual impairment, loss of coordination, paralysis and confusion. The only recognised cure for HACE or HAPE is to get sufferers to a lower altitude as urgently and quickly as possible. But the problem of being at high altitude is that a quick rescue is usually out of the question.
The Death Zone
The majority of mountain climbers who perish on Mt Everest do so within an altitude band referred to as the Death Zone. It exists between approximately 7,300m (24,000ft) and the summit of Mt Everest at 8850m (29,035ft). No human body can acclimatise and staying longer than necessary (in the order of hours, not days) will result in deterioration of body functions, loss of consciousness, and, ultimately, death. It is widely acknowledged that every step taken above 7,300m (24,000ft) is very literally a step towards death.
Traditional helicopters are not designed to operate above a ceiling of 3,500 to 4,300m (12,000 to 14,000ft). This is because of insufficient air density above these altitudes to maintain rotor blade lift. The other problem is a lack of the vital oxygen used to maintain the fuel/air mixture required to keep gas turbine or piston engines functioning effectively.
For these reasons helicopter rescue has not been possible on even the lower reaches of Mt Everest. Sick or injured climbers have therefore had to rely on their climbing companions and Sherpas to get them out of the “Death Zone” and back down to Everest Base Camp at 5364m (17,600ft) for treatment and transfer to hospital at Kathmandu. This, however, seldom occurs. Getting information to Everest Base Camp and organising a rescue party can take up to five days – a virtual death sentence when hours count. Mountain conditions are often such that it is too dangerous to attempt a rescue descent. Even when conditions are favourable, the time taken to descend to a safe altitude is often too great to prevent the death of a seriously ill climber, many of whom still remain to this day, locked in the icy embrace of the mountain.
Everest of Aviation 
Imagine then the potential of a rescue helicopter so technologically advanced that it could operate safely at the highest peaks of Mt Everest and surrounding Himalaya mountain ranges.
Imagine, too, the humanitarian achievement of saving the life of just one sick or stranded Mt Everest climber. And what if that helicopter was remotely operated from an autonomous base station using real-time Visual Reality (VR) technology? Would that not be a remarkable and historic achievement that would change the course and direction of modern alpine aviation procedures?
Now stop to consider that this technology has been designed and developed by a small independent New Zealand company with the same vision and drive that fuelled Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic 1953 ascent of Mt Everest. Like Sir Ed before us, we have every intention of success when we begin testing in New Zealand this year in preparation for deploying the helicopter for real rescues in the 2008 Everest climbing season.
NZ Schools join global interactive campaign to learn about Nepal and Everest while following the Rescue on Everest Challenge at www.rescueoneverest.org
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