Twins climb Himalayas comparing old kit with new

Twin brothers are climbing a mountain in the Himalayas, one dressed in modern clothing, the other in a replica outfit worn and kit used by British explorers George Mallory and Andrew Comyn Sandy Irvine about 100 years ago.

Hugo and Ross Turner, from Christow, Devon, have taken part in a number of extreme adventures including breaking the world record for the highest ever flight in a tandem electric paramotor.

Their latest adventure will be an experiment comparing how their bodies and clothing compares in the extreme environment.

The pair will climb Mera Peak, in Nepal, rather than Mount Everest because the world's tallest mountain will be too busy for them to carry out scientific research.

Mr Mallory and Mr Irvine climbed Mount Everest in 1924, but they died in the attempt. It is not known whether they reached the summit.

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay are credited with being the first to reach the summit in 1953.

The Turner Twins have been preparing for their expedition at the Extreme Environments Laboratories at the University of Portsmouth.

The pair have been sitting in a cold chamber at -24C while medical measurements have been taken.

While he sat in the chamber, Hugo said: "The feet are feeling aright at the moment, legs a little bit cold, upper body's fine, mittens here are good.

"I'm feeling a lot of air around my neck, but then I am getting used to the kit and that's going to be the big challenge on this expedition.

"I think the kit is good, but I'm going to have to learn to use the kit while climbing on the mountain."

"It's one of the unique things from a physiological perspective that they share the same genetics," said associate professor Joe Costello who specialises in exercise, environment and physiology at the University of Portsmouth.

"So in terms of this particular project comparing the old historic Mallory clothing from over 100 years ago to the more modern technology clothing of today, it allows an authentic comparison because the phenotype and the genotype of the twins are so similar."

The pair, who leave on Monday, are expected to be on the mountain for about three weeks.