Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based Hanesbrands’ Mount Everest climbing team, led by international mountaineer Jamie Clarke, reached the 29,035-foot summit of the world’s highest peak this morning, celebrating a 30-month endeavor to design and test innovative apparel and inspire others to achieve their own self-defined summits.
“I want to welcome 45,000 Hanesbrands employees to the top of the world,” Clarke radioed to Mount Everest base camp. “Top of the world, baby, woo hoo!”
Shortly after summiting Everest, Clarke used a satellite phone to speak with Hanesbrands chairman and chief executive officer Richard A. Noll. “Congratulations on such an awe-inspiring achievement made with the help and support of the men and women of Hanesbrands,” Noll told Clarke. “Success is ours. Let’s relish the moment.”
After an 11-hour climb from Camp 4 on Everest’s South Col route, Clarke, 42, of Calgary, Alberta, Scott Simper, the Expedition Hanesbrands videographer/photographer from Salt Lake City, and their Sherpa teammates reached the summit at 8:40 a.m. Monday Nepal time (10:55 p.m. Sunday EDT). It was Clarke’s second summit of Everest.
“We’ve climbed our Everest, what’s yours?” Clarke radioed to base camp, reiterating his familiar motivational refrain for others to dream big and set their own goals in life.
Clarke and Simper, who wore specially designed Champion and Duofold gear, were joined on the summit by Sherpa teammates Kami Sherpa (11 summits), Pemba Dorje Sherpa (seven summits) and Ang Namgyel Sherpa (five summits).
The team has returned to Camp 4 at approximately 26,000 feet to rest before continuing on to Everest Base Camp.
During his climb and descent, Clarke sent messages via Twitter (@JC_Climbs), while ongoing video, audio and written updates of the expedition are available at Expedition Hanesbrands’ Web site, www.climbwithus.com.
In the weeks prior to the summit bid, Clarke and Simper endured a rigorous acclimatization process on Mount Everest, climbing to an altitude of 23,700 feet at Camp 3 in preparation for the lack of oxygen they would encounter at the top of the mountain. Prior to his departure for the summit, Clarke said, “It’s quite exhilarating, but also a bit scary. We only have one chance at the summit, and we want to do it safely.”
This is the second successful Mount Everest summit by Clarke. Clarke reached the summit for the first time in May 1997 after failed attempts in 1991 and 1994.
In 2008, Clarke began working with Hanesbrands’ research and development scientists to develop new Champion and Duofold apparel that improved mobility, retained heat and shielded against the elements without adding weight or bulk. As part of the Hanesbrands partnership, Clarke has been testing the innovative apparel, including a training climb on Mount Pumori in October 2009 prior to the Mount Everest expedition.
On both climbs Clarke tested a high-tech prototype jacket known as the Champion Supersuit, an ultrathin high-altitude extreme weather coat, which uses aerogel nanotechnology insulation instead of goose down and has a radiant foil layer to retain body heat. Clarke tested the Champion Supersuit at Everest Camp 3’s subzero temperatures and high winds. “The Champion Supersuit did well,” Clarke said from Camp 3. “It’s warm.”
Hanesbrands will continue to evaluate the use of aerogel as an apparel insulator and its prospects for potential commercialization.
Clarke also wore socks, base layers, insulating layers and soft and hard shell garments developed by Hanesbrands’ R&D team to be worn as integrated layers. Clarke wore a heavier-weight version of Duofold’s Varitherm Mid-Weight Dri-Release Wool base layer tops and bottoms that are available on the market today for men and women.
This fall, Duofold will begin selling the form-fitting Varitherm Mid-Weight Seamless base layer tops and bottoms that were developed for the Everest expedition. The Duofold seamless base layer uses six different knit constructions to provide variable insulating, wicking, compression and support performance in different parts of the garment.
This fall, Champion will begin selling cold-weather training apparel that can be layered in various combinations, similar to the way the Everest apparel was designed.
