At 0931 this morning Royal Marines Warrant Officer Dave Pearce and Sherpa Chrring Dorje reached the summit of Mount Everest.

In a combined expedition, 10 climbers from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines climbed the Mountain via the North Ridge to mark the 50th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s first ascent. This is the first time that the Royal Navy and Royal Marines have made such an attempt.

On reaching the summit, Dave Pearce hailed the achievement as a result of excellent teamwork from all members of the expedition.

He said “A great team effort. I wouldn’t be up here without them. It is pretty grim though – I’m shrouded in cloud!”

Expedition Leader Lt Nick Arding RM at the N Col (7000m) said “I’m delighted for him and the whole team that he is up there. This is a great day for the Service. Now I’ve told him to take great care on the decent and to come back safe and sound.”

Further attempts on the summit have now been abandoned as the team have shifted their efforts to helping a British climber from another expedition who fell and broke his leg, and a Australian suffering from frostbite and snow blindness; the injured men are now at camp 6, at an altitude of 8200 meters. The Royal Navy team are now leading the effort to get the men safely off the mountain.

Congratulating the team on its success the Expedition patron, Admiral Sir Jonathan Band, Commander in Chief of the Fleet, said “This is a fantastic achievement by the whole of the Royal Navy team. The resilience and determination of their teamwork has enabled them to reach the summit and now, quite correctly, they are putting all of their efforts into assisting other climbers known to be in distress.”