Ted Atkins

Ian Edward "Ted" Atkins (8 November 1958 – 20 August 2018) was an English explorer, engineer, mountaineer and inventor.

Early life Atkins was brought up in Cotgrave, Nottinghamshire, the son of a miner.

Career Atkins became Staff Officer for the Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service in charge of teams in Scotland. In this position he took the first RAF team to climb Mt. Everest in 2001.

Atkins spent a year in Antarctica, where he made 28 first ascents of mountains. He then served with the Royal Navy on HMS Endurance, principally as a marine engineer but also with the Royal Marines as Mountain Leader. In this role he was awarded his ‘Green Beret’ for work with the Marines on an Antarctic rescue mission where he led one of the two detachments. For his Antarctic work, he was invested with the Polar Medal by the Queen.

Climbing experience In 1979 Atkins volunteered for the Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service. From rock and winter climbing, Atkins went to the Alps and onto the Himalayas, first in 1983 to Manaslu then in 1988 onto the West Ridge of Everest, where he became involved with oxygen systems. Atkins went back to Everest, this time to the south in Nepal in 2004 to climb the mountain on his own. Observing the need for a good oxygen delivery system, he used his engineering experience to devise a solution, and later set up his own companies called Topout Oxygeneering and Topout Aero, in partnership with Dr. Ryan Jackson, to manufacture the "Multi-purpose Tactical Oxygen System (MTOS)".

Post RAF Atkins began selling bottled oxygen for climbers through a company called Topout Oxygeneering, and was later credited by the Nepalese Mountaineering Association with reducing the death rate from 1:10 to less than 1:700. Atkins himself also set a record for the highest-ever boat ride, by paddling a collapsible boat across a glacial lake at 6,300 metres on the slopes of Everest. He was killed descending Monte Civetta, one of the highest mountains in the range, in the province of Belluno (Italy), on 20 August 2018.