Intrepid Otley soldier Dick Gale has set out on his attempt to be in the first British team to climb Everest by its treacherous West Ridge.

The military mountaineers - including the 36-year-old warrant officer from the town's Bradford Road - have left the UK on the first step of their challenge.

The 19 men and two women will tackle the world's highest mountain, which rises to 29,028ft (8,848m) above sea level, in temperatures as low as minus 50C (-58F) and with winds reaching up to 170mph (274kmh).

Only 19 people have managed to conquer the West Ridge route and no Britons have scaled it.

The team - all experienced high-altitude climbers - will be the first to approach the remote West Ridge in ten years.

The climbers have been training for the ascent since 2003.

Three teams of Army climbers flew out from Heathrow on Wednesday night, ready to set up base camp in the foothills of the Himalayas in the coming days.

They were flying to Kathmandu from where they were to move through Tibet to a base camp on the Rombuk Glacier to begin the six-to-eight-week climb.

They will then establish five camps as they move up the mountain before attempting their final bid to reach the summit some time in May.

Despite three years of planning, the climbers' fate will be in the hands of the weather as they wait for the 170mph "jet stream", which buffets the mountain top, to lift.

The stream is broken only during a two-week window, in late May or early June, which will allow two climbers to make a dash for the summit.

Which pair will get the honour of making the final rush for

the top has yet to be decided. It will depend on who is

seen to be the best prepared at the time.

The main team of 21 will be accompanied to Kathmandu and their base camp by the development team, a group of 15 intermediate-level mountaineers who will climb the nearby 23,100ft (7,045m) Lhakpa Ri peak.

WO Gale has served for 16 years with the Royal Engineers and is based at the Royal School if Military Engineering in Chatham.

Also going is the junior team of 13 soldiers - mainly 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds - all of whom only joined the Army Foundation College at Harr-ogate in September 2005. They will climb the 20,500ft (6,250m) Island Peak.

The West Ridge attempt is timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the first Army Mountaineering Association conquest of Everest by SAS men "Bronco" Lane and "Brummie" Stokes.

The climbers will survive on a diet of military and civilian rations for the 6,000 calories they need a day. Sometimes they will sleep for only half

an hour at a time as they near their goal.

The team's progress can be monitored on its website

www.armyoneverest.mod.uk.