Introduction Some 24 Service personnel participated in the BSDMRE, which took place over the period 30 March to 31 May 2016 in Nepal. The aims were:

• Develop individual courage and leadership skills through controlled exposure to risk in a challenging outdoor environment in order to enhance Operational Capability.
• Develop future military mountaineers with an ascent of Tukuche peak 6900m and Damphus Peak (6000m). This was the High Altitude Development Team (HADT).
• Develop experienced military mountaineers with an ascent of the NE Ridge of Dhaulagiri (8167m is the world’s 7th highest mountain), in a lightweight style, without supplementary oxygen. This was the Main Team.
• Enable academics within the MoD and in collaboration with civilian Universities to investigate the effects of high altitude through medical research.
• Enable a number of independent trekking teams to complete the Dhaulagiri circuit.

The Expedition met all of the aims with the exception of reaching the summit of Dhaulagiri due to poor weather.

Selection and training After an initial selection weekend at JSMTC Indefatigable, further training took place in Scotland and the Swiss Alps in 2015. The busy operational climate made it difficult for all members to attend the training events but the final team selection was made following the Alpine training.

Logistics Far Frontiers were contracted to provide in-country support. Individuals were equipped with a mixture of personal mountaineering equipment and specialist equipment from Loan Stores at Bicester; a few items were also provided through sponsorship arrangements. The expedition purchased freeze-dried rations for use above basecamp.

Execution The Main Team and HADT trekked into the Hidden Valley (5140m), gaining height very quickly with several overnight camps. Damphus Peak was successfully climbed by 22 of the 24 personnel, with little difficulty other than extremely low temperatures and strong winds. Tukuche Peak proved to be more challenging with the ground beyond Camp 2 being steeper and very heavily crevassed. Tukuche’s West Summit and Junction Peak were climbed by a team of 5 but given the difficulties, any further attempts were halted. The HADT then returned home and the Main Team moved to Dhaulagiri Base Camp.

Three camps were required to make a successful attempt on Dhaulagiri. Camp 1 was established close to the North East Col, in a sheltered position at 5800m. Camp 2 was then quickly established at 6700m at the foot of a steepening in the ridge. Climbers had more difficulty adapting to this altitude but all climbers reached Camp 2 and slept there. The route to Camp 3, at 7500m, was steeper and more technical in nature. Only 5 of the team members reached Camp and 3 slept there. In an attempt to save weight, sleeping bags were not taken to Camp 3 and the climbers slept in high altitude down suits. Ideally, climbers would have spent only a few hours there before launching to the summit and then descending to the comforts of Camp 2 but strong winds never allowed the climbers to leave Camp 3. On 19 May, the Teams stripped the mountain and returned to Base Camp. The walk back to Marpha took only 2 days and then the team returned to Kathmandu by road.

Summary While none of the climbers reached the summit of Dhaulagiri, the BSDMRE is viewed as a huge success. The aims of adventurous training were met in full with participants being physically and mentally tested in environmental extremes that cannot be replicated anywhere else. All benefitted from the experience and the Expedition is truly grateful for the support kindly provided by the Ulysses Trust.