Latest news with #AlCarns
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
MP's 'regret' after education leaflet sent out with spelling mistakes
A Birmingham MP has spoken of his 'regret' after householders received a leaflet riddled with spelling mistakes. The letter, which highlighted a project to establish a learning hub for Life Sciences in Selly Oak and Artificial Intelligence (AI), was sent out by the office of Selly Oak MP Al Carns. READ MORE: Travellers move back on to popular family park 24 hours after clean-up READ MORE: Travellers move back on to popular family park 24 hours after clean-up READ MORE: All the parts of England set for 31C heatwave with 23 counties roasted Around half a dozen words, including education, survey, artificial intelligence, announced, guarantee and Britain, were spelt incorrectly. His office said an earlier version of a newsletter containing the errors was published by accident. It was put down to 'human error' and the mistakes were rectified for the rest of the print run. A statement from the Minister for Veterans & People in the Ministry of Defence office said: "Yes, unfortunately an earlier version of the newsletter was accidentally printed for a small number of households. "This was human error and rectified for the vast majority of the print job. It is regrettable that any went out at all." Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp, click the link to join The leaflet prompted an amusing reaction on Facebook. Bournville resident Mik Barton said: "It's not a good look when you're writing about education and the skills you need to get a job. "It's also quite amusing that so much of the letter is about AI and when all the spelling mistakes are pointed out to him, Al blames it on human error !" Mr Carns is a former Royal Marine who served in the military for 24 years. He was awarded the Military Cross for his service in Afghanistan.
Scottish Sun
23-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
Veterans who completed record-breaking Everest ascent reveal they battled an avalanche and deadly diarrhoea
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FOUR veterans who smashed the world record for the fastest round-trip ascent of Everest have revealed how close they came to death. Veterans minister and former Royal Marine Al Carns, 45, and three ex- elite forces pals went from London to the summit and back in a week. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Four veterans who smashed the world record for the fastest round-trip ascent of Everest have revealed how close they came to death Credit: AP 3 The team went from London to the summit of Everest and back in a week Credit: Andrew Styczynski But they were hit by an avalanche, ran out of oxygen and one of the team suffered potentially fatal diarrhoea in the mountain's 'death zone', more than 26,000ft above sea level. Team leader Garth Miller, 51, an ex-Gurkha and elite forces officer, hailed their success as 'a triumph of courage and teamwork'. They trekked past newly dead bodies and saw rescuers carrying a corpse. On their final ascent gusts of wind sent temperatures plunging to minus 35C. They endured an agonising 45-minute halt while they convinced their Sherpa support team to continue. Miller, now a long-haul pilot, said: 'That was the make-or-break moment. 'Our success hinged on keeping the Sherpa team on side. Without them it was unsafe to continue. 'We had the strongest Sherpa team on the mountain. "They were absolutely amazing, but three had already decided to descend because of the extreme weather conditions. 'Pasang, our lead Sherpa with six Everest summits under his belt, was keen for us to retreat and try for the summit the next day.' Britain's Toughest MP: Everest Seven-Day Challenge Winds on the exposed South East Ridge were gusting at well over 40mph. Miller said: 'It was at the edge of our risk tolerance but we felt it was safe to continue. "With our Sherpa team reduced, our safety net was gone. We managed to persuade them to continue for one more hour. 'I knew if we could do that, the sun would come up, it would warm our bones, and everything would feel better. "In that time we could reach the South Summit, and from there we'd see the summit — making success almost inevitable.' Most expeditions take 70 days to reach the 29,030ft summit. But Carns, Miller, Kevin Godlington, 49, and Anthony Stazicker, 41, used xenon gas to pre-acclimatise to thin air — saving weeks. 3 On their final ascent gusts of wind sent temperatures plunging to minus 35C Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.
The Irish Sun
23-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
Veterans who completed record-breaking Everest ascent reveal they battled an avalanche and deadly diarrhoea
FOUR veterans who smashed the world record for the fastest round-trip ascent of Everest have revealed how close they came to death. Veterans minister and former Royal Marine Al Carns, 45, and three ex- elite forces pals went from Advertisement 3 Four veterans who smashed the world record for the fastest round-trip ascent of Everest have revealed how close they came to death Credit: AP 3 The team went from London to the summit of Everest and back in a week Credit: Andrew Styczynski But they were hit by an avalanche, ran out of oxygen and one of the team suffered potentially fatal diarrhoea in the mountain's ' Team leader Garth Miller, 51, an ex-Gurkha and elite forces officer, hailed their success as 'a triumph of courage and teamwork'. They trekked past On their final ascent gusts of wind sent temperatures plunging to minus 35C. Advertisement read more on everest They endured an agonising 45-minute halt while they convinced their Sherpa support team to continue. Miller, now a long-haul pilot, said: 'That was the make-or-break moment. ' 'We had the strongest Sherpa team on the mountain. Advertisement Most read in The Sun "They were absolutely amazing, but three had already decided to descend because of the extreme weather conditions. 'Pasang, our lead Sherpa with six Everest summits under his belt, was keen for us to retreat and try for the summit the next day.' Britain's Toughest MP: Everest Seven-Day Challenge Winds on the exposed South East Ridge were gusting at well over 40mph. Miller said: 'It was at the edge of our risk tolerance but we felt it was safe to continue. Advertisement "With our Sherpa team reduced, our safety net was gone. We managed to persuade them to continue for one more hour. 'I knew if we could do that, the sun would come up, it would warm our bones, and everything would feel better. "In that time we could reach the South Summit, and from there we'd see Most expeditions take 70 days to reach the 29,030ft summit. Advertisement But Carns, Miller, Kevin Godlington, 49, and Anthony Stazicker, 41, used xenon gas to pre-acclimatise to thin air — saving weeks. 3 On their final ascent gusts of wind sent temperatures plunging to minus 35C Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.
The Sun
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Veterans who completed record-breaking Everest ascent reveal they battled an avalanche and deadly diarrhoea
FOUR veterans who smashed the world record for the fastest round-trip ascent of Everest have revealed how close they came to death. Veterans minister and former Royal Marine Al Carns, 45, and three ex- elite forces pals went from London to the summit and back in a week. 3 3 But they were hit by an avalanche, ran out of oxygen and one of the team suffered potentially fatal diarrhoea in the mountain 's ' death zone ', more than 26,000ft above sea level. Team leader Garth Miller, 51, an ex-Gurkha and elite forces officer, hailed their success as 'a triumph of courage and teamwork'. They trekked past newly dead bodies and saw rescuers carrying a corpse. On their final ascent gusts of wind sent temperatures plunging to minus 35C. They endured an agonising 45-minute halt while they convinced their Sherpa support team to continue. Miller, now a long-haul pilot, said: 'That was the make-or-break moment. ' Our success hinged on keeping the Sherpa team on side. Without them it was unsafe to continue. 'We had the strongest Sherpa team on the mountain. "They were absolutely amazing, but three had already decided to descend because of the extreme weather conditions. 'Pasang, our lead Sherpa with six Everest summits under his belt, was keen for us to retreat and try for the summit the next day.' Britain's Toughest MP: Everest Seven-Day Challenge Winds on the exposed South East Ridge were gusting at well over 40mph. Miller said: 'It was at the edge of our risk tolerance but we felt it was safe to continue. "With our Sherpa team reduced, our safety net was gone. We managed to persuade them to continue for one more hour. 'I knew if we could do that, the sun would come up, it would warm our bones, and everything would feel better. "In that time we could reach the South Summit, and from there we'd see the summit — making success almost inevitable.' Most expeditions take 70 days to reach the 29,030ft summit. But Carns, Miller, Kevin Godlington, 49, and Anthony Stazicker, 41, used xenon gas to pre-acclimatise to thin air — saving weeks. 3
The National
23-05-2025
- The National
UK minister Al Carns brushes off Nepali investigation into speedy Everest climb
A British defence minister has dismissed claims that he is being investigated by the Nepali government for his use of xenon gas to speed up his ascent of Mount Everest. Al Carns, a Royal Marines reservist, reached the summit of Everest in five days with a group of former British special forces soldiers on Wednesday. The ascent usually takes two months because climbers stop for long periods to acclimatise to the high altitude. However, Mr Carns said he and his group were aided by xenon gas, which prevents altitude sickness. While the achievement impressed many climbers, it was criticised by the Nepali government who said they were investigating. Department of Tourism director Himal Gautam, who oversees mountaineering expeditions, said on Thursday that it had not been informed of the gas use. 'We have launched an investigation into the matter,' he told the Kathmandu Post. He added that all climbers and operators must declare the equipment, medications and substances used during expeditions. Mr Carns denied he was under investigation by the Nepali government, telling The Telegraph that he and his climbing group had inhaled the xenon in Germany weeks before arriving in Nepal. He believed the controversy was triggered by rumours that the climbers had used the gas during the ascent. He said this issue had been cleared with the Ministry of Tourism. 'There's no way I'm under investigation,' he said. He told BirminghamLive that the trail to the summit was strewn with the dead bodies of climbers. 'It brought it home, this was the death zone,' he said. Lukas Furtenbach, founder of Furtenbach Adventures which organised the climb, told The National he had not been contacted by the Nepali government about an investigation. 'There was no breach of any Nepali regulation. What happens outside Nepal should not be under the purview of the Nepal government,' he said. The gas was banned for athletes by the Worldwide Anti-Doping Agency in 2014, but this does not apply to mountaineers. The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation warned against the use of xenon when the expedition was announced in January. 'There is no evidence that breathing in xenon improves performance in the mountains, and inappropriate use can be dangerous,' it wrote in a statement. "Acclimatisation to altitude is a complex process that affects the various organs/systems such as the brain, lungs, heart, kidneys and blood to different degrees, and is not fully understood," the statement said, adding that the drug was "rarely" used in medicine. Mr Furtenbach said other gases, such as oxygen and asthma sprays, were also banned by the anti-doping agency but were critical to Mount Everest expeditions. 'If the government is considering banning xenon, also all other medical aids like oxygen or altitude medicine must be banned. This is obviously not possible,' he said. Nepali officials have also raised concerns about the impact on tourism if the drug becomes widely used. 'Traditional expeditions employ Sherpas, porters, guides and kitchen staff for weeks, sometimes months,' Dambar Parajuli, president of the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal, told The Kathmandu Post. 'If climbers finish their journey in days, the ripple effect on local employment will be devastating.' Mr Furtenbach believes widespread use of xenon could make climbing safer and reduce the environmental damage that the popular expeditions are causing to Mount Everest. 'A shorter expedition also means less garbage, less resources, less human waste in this sensitive environment,' he said. He added that Nepali guides involved in his tours would not see a reduction in salary or jobs. 'We pay them for three months in the season, even when our clients are here only for one week,' he said.
