Speakers from the Edge

Dave made a superb hour-long presentation on the Everest West Ridge Expedition to the 2007 International Congress of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland. This was a significant departure for the Association as it was the first non-clinical opening presentation at an annual conference. However, the experiment was a great success as the 800 seat Auditorium at the Manchester Conference Centre was packed, and we had to relay Dave's talk to an overspill lecture theatre.

- Professor Nicholas P Gair Chief Executive Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland

About Dave

In 2006 Dave Bunting led an elite selection of climbers from the British Army on a groundbreaking expedition to become the first British team to complete the infamous West Ridge of Mount Everest, one of the mountains most difficult and dangerous routes. The West Ridge is a steep and narrow ridge of rock and ice where climbers are exposed to freezing high winds for the entire route and only dedicated teamwork, effective leadership and determination will offer any chance of success.

Although ultimately forced to turn back just below the summit due to the high risk of avalanche, the expedition was hailed as a huge achievement for the team and Dave himself was awarded an MBE in recognition of his significant contribution to Service mountaineering.

Dave joined the British Army in 1984 at the age of 16 and soon became captured by adventure, travel and challenge. After a period as a military tradesman he undertook the rigorously demanding series of courses to be selected into the Army Physical Training Corps where he became a specialist in mountain leadership training. He became the Chief Instructor of the Joint Service’s mountain training centres in Wales, Norway, Bavaria and Canada and undertook the arduous year long German Army Mountain Guide’s (Heeresbergfuhrer) course to become one of only a handful of British soldiers to have gained this prestigious qualification.

Dave has a passion for mountaineering and he has now been involved in the organisation and execution of numerous expeditions including 10 to the Himalayas. On his most recent expedition he faced his biggest and most testing challenge yet. As overall expedition leader Dave headed up the planning, team selection and preparation of not only an attempt to climb the formidable West Ridge of Mount Everest, but also two other teams, who tackled Lhakpa Ri and Island Peak, made of young people whom he hopes will sustain the future of mountaineering in the Armed Forces.

With his extensive experience of team leadership, expedition planning and personal development programmes, Dave is an inspirational and entertaining speaker focusing on the theme of Expedition Leadership: Effective Teamwork and the pressures of decision making in high risk and remote situations.

Dave is about to leave the Army and has recently set up My Peak Potential Ltd, a leadership and management training company based in Bavaria.