2025 BMRES Everest Base Camp
Expedition members
Kim Ashdown, Jo Bradwell, Sophie Broughton, Sarah Clarke, Tim Clarke, Luke Cutts, Sam Davis, Julian Grieg, Johnathan Goves, Ewein Howes, Kelsey Joyce, Suniva Kansakar, Kyle Pattinson, Thomas Pattinson, Caitlin Pollock, Taea Scott, Ciaran Simpkins, Ben Stanley, Ben Talks, and Will Trender.
The 2025 BMRES expedition was documented by expedition members in a series of journal entries and poems from a different member each day throughout the trek and research experimentation period. These are their daily accounts.
March 18th by Julian Greig
Ciaran, Ben, Suniva and I took the fantastic scenic flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, and met the rest of the group for lunch. It was great to catch up with their hardships from the beginning of the trek and much more whilst ambling up the paths in the sunlight to Phakding, avoiding trekkers and mules as we went. We were greeted with tea, biscuits and warm showers!
March 19th by Ciaran Simpkins
Today we walked from Phakding to Namche Bazaar. The climb up hell hill was aided by dulcet tones kindly provided by a couple with similar timings to our group until they were gently reminded of their contribution to noise pollution. Arrival to the tea house was greeted with non-Jacob’s cream crackers lathered with mustard. After dinner, Jo provided the first chapter of a history of the BMRES, which was followed by a visit to the world’s highest Irish pub by some group members. The pub promised free accommodation to any patrons who were locked out of their teahouse due to a late night visit. Much to the surprise of the returning group, the teahouse lights were off, and the door bolted. The group was kindly saved from an evening on the pub floor by trendy will.
March 20th by Suniva Kansakar
The day began at dawn, for some keen souls,
Eager for a 6:30 walk, with views
Of Everest’s peak, though plans would shift, and soon
The time and place would change, though still a lovely walk.
A breakfast served, the group prepared for rest,
A day of work, with meetings long and bright.
The oximetry team, with heated talk,
Resolved debates, and moved ahead with might.
The VR team filmed content full of charm,
For medfluencers to share, without alarm.
Our research drew the locals’ keenest gaze,
A monk approached, with Arsenal’s own claim,
But Kyle misread, for Real Madrid was his,
A phone case proved the truth, not Kyle’s game.
A rest day’s aim is simple: to refresh,
So off we went to Namche, seeking cheer,
A cinnamon bun, a latte rich and fresh,
And Himalayan views so pure and clear.
I joined the club, with trousers down to buy
The finest gear that ever caught the eye.
Then off to Everest View, a walk complete,
The peak appeared for those who took the seat,
And patiently awaited nature’s show.
At night we gathered, working with one mind,
A meal of momos, tales of Joe combined.
And so our rest day met its fullest grace,
With work and joy, and memories in place.
March 21st by Taea Scott
Down the hill we journeyed, swift and free,
Led by a hungry Sherpa, and a boy of thirteen.
Through throngs we dashed, like mountain goats in flight,
Our pace unmatched, our spirits alight.
The climb to Tengboche tested strength and will,
Yet Everest watched over, majestic and still.
Its snowy peaks adorned each weary stride,
A gift from nature, our faithful guide.
At the monastery, serenity reigned,
Chants and instruments in harmony sustained.
Beneath the statues of Buddha, calm so deep,
A sacred pause where the soul could sleep.
The day drew to close in simple delight,
A potato burger, and games through the night.
With cards and Perudo, laughter well-spun,
Under Everest’s gaze, the day was done.
March 22nd by Caitlin Pollock
Today we awoke to a sprinkling of snow, we walked from Tengboche to Dingboche climbing 600m in 10km.
All were coping well with the altitude, although there were a number of tired legs after the football match of the year yesterday, with collaborative teams of BMRES and Tengboche Monastery’s trainee monks.
Highlights of the day included fluffy yaks, Himalayan vultures and successful assembly of the 3 bikes (ready for an intensive 1st day of testing tomorrow).
In the evening, it began to snow as we devoured delicious dal bat and Jo recounted part 3 of BMRES history.
March 23rd by Ben Talks
It’s our first morning in dingboche (4,400m) and our first day above 4000m. It’s a lot colder up here, the condensation on the inside of our tea house window froze overnight and there’s a dusting of snow on the ground – I’m glad we’re not camping! Much less can survive up here, trees have been replaced by scarce shrubs and the mules with mighty yaks. However, surprisingly there’s still a trendy cafe serving flat whites and there’s phone signal by the hillside stupa overlooking the town – is anywhere truly “off grid” in 2025?!
However, we’re not on holiday. Today we are starting our cycling study, where we are using virtual reality to better understand acute mountain sickness symptoms. The study bikes have been assembled and the generator is working, time to transform our tea house bedrooms into labs.
The day whistles by with back to back tests, 15 in total – a great start. Everything is working and has survived the arduous journey from Oxford to the Himalayas. Dinner and then star gazing in the cold night sky next to signal stupa. Time for bed and to continue our journey up to Everest base camp tomorrow.
March 24th by Sam Davis
Today, we set out from Dingboche, heading towards Lobuche. It was a relatively short distance to lunch at Thukla, so we took our time in the morning, stopping for some bouldering and photos before reaching lunch around 11:00.
After lunch, we headed up a steep climb, where the altitude had a noticeable effect, making it a relatively difficult ascent. At the top, we stopped for a while to look around the Everest Memorial and pay our respects to the mountaineers remembered there.
Following this, it was an hour’s walk to Lobuche, with incredible scenery along the way, arriving at the lodge around 14:30.
March 25th by Luke Cutts
Frozen, everything is frozen. Water, frozen. Urinal, frozen. My feet, frozen. Today is the the day that we move up to base camp. Despite the lack of sleep, spirits are very high within the group.
As we approach base camp, the view of mighty Everest opens up, leaving us in awe. Along the way we spot a train of tourist on horses, which was equally funny as freighting to observe.
On arrival to base camp we had an opportunity for a group photo and brief explore of the camp, which is still under construction for climbing season in a few weeks time.
March 26th by Ben Stanley
It was an early start today for the ascent of Kala Patthar, the high point of the trip at 5550m! Unfortunately a few members were feeling the effects of the altitude and yesterday’s exertion, but 11 of us set out at 6am.
Out of the sun and at high altitude we were all wrapped up to start, with layers quickly shed as we ascended and the sun rose. We were quickly afforded magnificent views of the summit of Everest to our right, with basecamp and the Khumbu ice fall ahead.
We were incredibly fortunate with the weather at the top, with no wind and not a cloud in the sky. We spent some time taking photos before descending back the way we came and enjoying a well earned bowl of porridge and cup of coffee.
On our descent back towards Dingboche we stopped off at the pyramid research centre for lunch and a tour, which generated various discussions about potential future research!
We ended the day with a team meal at the cafe 4410 in Dingboche as our last night as a full 18, before heading our various ways tomorrow as the research ramps up!
From March 26th, expedition members were then posted at three research stations in Namche Bazaar, Dingboche, and Lobuche. Namche served as the recruitment hub for overnight oximetry experiments and all onboarding processes with further overnight recordings and medical examinations to be conducted in Dingboche and Lobuche, respectively. Dingboche also served as the sole research station for Virtual Reality experiments.
