Simple FAQ

Who is Peter Hillary and how is he involved?
Peter Hillary is New Zealand’s most accomplished adventurer, mountaineer and twice conqueror of Mt Everest, lecturer and speaker world wide, raising much needed funding for the Sherpa people of Nepal.

Peter was invited by the Everest Rescue Trust to be the Patron of the Rescue on Everest Challenge.

Who is Mark Inglis and how is he involved?
In the early hours of Monday May 15, 2006 New Zealander Mark Inglis became the first double amputee ever to climb Mt Everest. His story is one of setbacks, determination against the odds and personal success.

Mark is joining the challenge as the Trust’s Ambassador and will be advising and working with the Everest Rescue Trust in Nepal and in New Zealand. His work is integral to the establishment of the Sagarmatha Medical Centre in Nepal which will become one of the main beneficiaries of the work that the Trust plans to do in Namche Bazar.

How does TGR Helicorp Ltd relate to the Trust?
TGR Helicorp Ltd is owned and operated by Trevor and Glenda Rogers. It is the only licensed helicopter manufacturer in the southern hemisphere. Trevor and Glenda founded the Everest Rescue Trust as a way to help the people of Nepal. TGR Helicorp has designed, manufactured and will test the Alpine Wasp helicopter prior to delivery to the Everest Rescue Trust.

How will the Trust work?
The Everest Rescue Trust is registered as a Charitable Trust in Europe in 2006 by the Founding Trustees. The Trust will be governed by a board of Trustees and operations of the Trust will be managed by a four member management board. Appointees to the board will be drawn from established and recognised mountaineering, rescue and medical organisations in Nepal.

What is the Challenge?
The Rescue on Everest Challenge is the first project the Everest Rescue Trust is embarking upon. The Trust’s intention is to;

“Operate a self-funding rescue helicopter service for the high altitude regions of Nepal.“

How is the Trust going to meet this Challenge?
The challenge is;

“Through innovation, design and technology by TGR Helicorp Ltd, to challenge the science of aviation at extreme altitude and to conquer new frontiers on Mt Everest and in Nepal for the benefit of climbers and trekkers in Nepal.”

TGR Helicorp will donate a fully operational ‘Alpine Wasp’ rescue helicopter and associated base station infrastructure to the Everest Rescue Trust. The rescue service will be self-funding through a schedule of user-pays rescue fees and ongoing sponsorship arrangements. The Trust will assume operational control to facilitate an extreme altitude mountain air rescue service.

What is the Alpine Wasp?
After six years research, development and building full-size Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) TGR Helicorp has designed and is developing an unpiloted full-size UAV alpine rescue helicopter – the Alpine Wasp. It is designed to operate safely and autonomously at altitudes up to and beyond 30,000 feet.

It is also capable of airlifting up to two sick or injured climbers from these altitudes, using ultra-modern composite technologies, a revolutionary diesel helicopter engine, a high tech rotorhead and rotor blades designed especially for maximum performance in thin air. The Alpine Wasp represents a huge leap forward in helicopter performance and technological capability.

TGR Helicorp’s in-house design expertise extends to engines, hydraulics, mechanicals, rotors, gearboxes, and fully automated fly-by-wire electronics including on-board real-time systems diagnostics.

Working closely with associated United States engine manufacturer “DeltaHawk Engines LLC”, TGR Helicorp has worked with DeltaHawk to-developed the Wasp’s vertical mounted, reverse rotation helicopter engine. This is the world’s first supercharged/turbo charged and intercooled two-stroke diesel helicopter engine. It is not a modified auto engine but a specifically designed aircraft engine. Producing more than 240HP, this lightweight liquid-cooled piston engine has exceeded all operational expectations during extensive testing thus far

This new amazing diesel engine technology has untold potential in aviation, as it gives the helicopter exceptional range, and altitude endurance unheard of in conventional rotary aircraft.

What is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)?
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an aircraft with no onboard pilot. UAVs can be remote controlled aircraft (e.g. flown by a pilot at a ground control station) or can fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans or more complex autonomous flight systems.

About www.rescueoneverest.org
This is the Trust’s official website with information, regular updates and the history of the project. It contains real-time news and is available to a global audience.

In consultation with New Zealand education authorities, The Everest Rescue Trust has also developed a comprehensive interactive schools project to run in tandem with the Rescue on Everest Challenge. The schools project is based on established curricular modules tailored to students aged eight to twelve years-old. Combining academia with adventure and challenge, the project has been enthusiastically endorsed by teachers and students during pre-launch school trials.

The schools project was released on 1 February, 2007 in conjunction with the public launch of the website. It is available free-of-charge to all primary and intermediate English-speaking school-age children around the world. Participating students will have their own password and ID to access the site. Teacher resource kits for the schools project is also free to download. Our future intention is also to translate the program into four foreign languages and/or develop project content for inclusion at secondary school level.

Where is Namche Bazar?
Namche Bazar is situated approximately 35km from Mount Everest and is a waypoint to Everest Base Camp. It is a village with limited infrastructure, however it provides prime access to the mountain areas and valleys for rescue operations.

When will this happen?

Public launch and launch of the website	1st February 2007
Continuing negotiations in Nepal (new Government)	From March 2007
Aircraft testing in the South Island of New Zealand	May-September 2007
Building of infrastructure in Nepal	From May 2007
Ship Alpine Wasp to Nepal	January 2008
Aircraft testing in Nepal	From March 2008
Opening of Limb Centre and Rescue Facility	April 2008
Rescue facility operational	From April 2008

If the first rescue will only take place in 2008, why is the Trust telling the public now?
We want to give people an opportunity to get involved by signing up to our website, by making use of the schools’ curriculum information, by becoming a supporter in providing a link from their web-site to ours, by becoming a stakeholder and helping us to open doors for what we are trying to achieve and perhaps by sponsoring certain elements of the project, or the project as a whole. Public support will increase our chances of sponsorship exposure and we generally think that this project is something extraordinary and worthwhile for people to be involved in, on whatever level. Worldwide interest to date confirms our belief that this is the correct procedure.

Who are the beneficiaries of the Trust?
The Sagarmatha Medical Centre*
A clinic will be established and managed by the Everest Rescue Trust. In addition to addressing the general healthcare needs of the villagers, it will treat frostbite injuries and will specialise in replacement limb parts for those Nepalese that have already lost limbs to frostbite and accidents. A number of orthopaedic specialists, anaesthetists, and physiotherapists have already offered ten day periods of their services at no charge to work at the facility in Namche Bazar.

In extending the limb centre to also include general healthcare, these experts will be expanded to include doctors, dentists, opticians and more. If the support response is anything to go by we will be booked solid over the months with visiting doctors, dentists and healthcare specialists willing to be involved. For all those that have already donated their time, we thank you all on behalf of the mountain Sherpas and high altitude Nepalese people.

*More detail on this side of the project will be made available at a later date.

The Sagarmatha Sherpa Shed*
Specifically for Sherpas and porters working at extreme altitude, it will become known as The Sherpa Shed and also be situated at Namche Bazar. It will provide correct clothing and footwear to the Sherpas and porters through the Everest Rescue Trust when required.

The Sherpa Shed will specifically be run by village employees to assist porters and Sherpas who do not have frostbite protecting clothing or footwear and who need Porter and Sherpa jobs to support their families.

They will also be able to get advice and instruction on frostbite prevention from The Sherpa Shed and the Everest Rescue Trust will provide the required equipment to these people at minimal cost or fully subsidised. It will not be available to non-residents and will be geared to helping Sherpas and Porters from the high Himalayan villages. Commercial trekking groups or companies cannot use The Sherpa Shed to avoid their own responsibility to look after their hired staff.

*More detail on this side of the project will be made available at a later date.

What is the Trust’s response to some of the small group of outspoken alpinists in the US who are lobbying for rescue-free zones and feel that having easily accessible rescue helicopters might dumb down the sport of mountaineering?
We have not had one response from anywhere in the world indicating that climbers would rather die than be rescued by helicopter. In fact quite the contrary, the industry worldwide to date has been very supportive of this project. The risk is still there at high altitudes, nothing has changed, and there are always extremes of weather that may make rescue impossible regardless of the Trust’s willingness and desire to help. Most helicopter rescues are around the 6,000 to 10,000ft level and a great many are of inexperienced climbers in most rescues around the world. Everest is nothing like this and base camp is largely inaccessible to conventional helicopters let alone the first camp after the Khumbu Icefall. There is no comparison to any other mountain or mountain range anywhere else in the world. This is after all the appeal of the unknown. After this camp and on up the mountain the climber has his or her life in their own hands and this certainly applies as you move into the death zone. Rescues for climbers at extreme altitude involve very high risk, are out of most helicopters’ capabilities and involve extreme risks for those climbers on foot who risk their lives in attempting a rescue.

Why would anyone not want assistance if it were available (as it has never been in the past). Perhaps the “Outspoken Alpinists” think this is going to be some sort of taxi service for those that get tired. The Everest Rescue Trust would like to categorically state that we will not be providing a taxi service and each rescue will be evaluated by the board of management, whose decision will be final.

Finally, the Trust is looking at a wider picture, which encompasses the Sherpas and Porters who also die in these high places trying to make a day to day living for their families, should they be penalised for the "Outspoken Alpinists"? We think not.

What do we want from the Media?
If you are interested in the Rescue on Everest Challenge, or if you think your audience or readers might be, please visit our website and register on the media room page. We would like to keep you regularly informed, and we would like to know who you are in order to build a relationship with you, your medium and your audience. At a later stage we would like to take some members of the media with us to the South Island of New Zealand and to Nepal, and we would like to know if you are interested.

Interview Opportunities:
Both Trevor and Glenda Rogers are available for comment and interviews, to talk about their thoughts behind the project, the role of TGR Helicorp, why they founded the Everest Rescue Trust and why they set themselves the Rescue on Everest Challenge.

Mark Inglis and Peter Hillary are also be available for comments by arrangement.

To arrange an interview please contact the Everest Rescue Trust via email here or by phone at +64 9 273 6375.