Posted: Jul 20, 2006 05:19 pm EDT
A London Judge has dismissed the case against Henry Todd, John Tinker and Michael Smith saying there was no evidence anyone had acted with gross negligence in the 1999 Everest death of young Briton Michael Matthews.

Tinker, who was the commercial expedition leader, left his paying clients in the midst of the climb and went back home to UK, placing his outfit in the hands of a guide. Expedition clients soon complained that the new leader was violent and that their oxygen systems were malfunctioning.

On summit night, Michael Matthews who climbed with private guide Michael Smith suddenly lagged behind on ascent. After a late summit, Smith went ahead back to camp, where Matthews never reached. The family was told that a rescue party was being organized at a time when other climbers saw the expedition having a party in BC and packing to go home.

Judge: "The law should not inhibit adventure"

The family brought the case to civil court already in 2003 driven by the lack of information surrounding their son's death. Michael’s father David paid for a private prosecution claiming there had been insufficient safety briefings, that Smith had failed to keep Michael in his sights and that the oxygen was faulty. The case was soon settled by Tinker's commercial outfit's insurance company. Although the family won, they had lost their wish to get the truth exposed. For that they were left only with one choice - to take the case to criminal court, an extremely difficult route.

Yesterday however, they again lost the chance to present the case to a jury. Judge Jeffrey Rivlin said that there was insufficient evidence for a jury to convict anyone of manslaughter by gross negligence and that the case was based on speculation.

Surprisingly enough, the London judge also added that the law should not inhibit adventure. This is remarkable as the charged outfit and oxygen supplier were a strictly commercial business.

No body - no proof

Michael's body was never found and there is therefore no evidence where and how he perished, or if his oxygen system contributed to his death.

In the ExWeb series, "Oxygen on Everest - The highest death lab in the world" it was described how oxygen problems on Everest sported a sudden, sharp spike in the late 90's.

In 1999, expedition after expedition reported failing oxygen bottles bought from Henry Todd. "I tried six bottles before I found one that worked," reported one client. "One in three failed,” reported another climber that same year but in another expedition. Two climbers did not have any oxygen at all because their systems malfunctioned in Camp IV.

A third expedition filed a report of oxygen fraud to the Nepal Ministry, followed by another one. The expeditions had been misled to believe the oxygen came from POISK - a trusted manufacturer. Shortly after, Michael Matthews died. Initially one of the strongest he suddenly slowed, and then fell off the mountain. “Our oxygen didn't work,” said his fellow team mates.

A bad history

It's very troubling when a life support system is manufactured by a man such as Henry Todd who already in the sixties was imprisoned for theft and fraud.

In the 70’s Todd was responsible for peddling second-rate acid brewed in a London basement. A UK organization called the, “Independent Drug Monitoring Group,” donned the LSD operation that Henry Todd was a part of, “the biggest acid lab in the world.” The operation made so much acid that when it was shut down the price of a hit nearly doubled because the supply was so violently cut. Henry Todd, one of the ringleaders, was thought to have helped make 15 million doses of LSD, and banking the profit into Swiss accounts. Todd and his friend, "the chemist," got sentenced to the stiffest sentences in, "Operation Julie," - one of the UK’s largest drug busts ever: 13 years.

After he left prison, Todd went to Himalaya for business. In early 2000 Todd was banned from Nepal for beating up his Everest client (a journalist) in BC.

The business continues

In a recent New Zealand article, it was made clear that some commercial expeditions will continue to buy Henry's refilled old POISK bottles as they are cheaper than the original. Todd's address is a post box in Kathmandu and his website lacks any details about the oxygen system he is selling.

Before the current Everest season, ExplorersWeb therefore asked Todd for technical information and specs on his oxygen system. No reply arrived - instead Todd’s lawyers threatened ExWeb to pull all the articles written about Todd, stating they were defamatory and controversial. ExWeb refused, but offered to correct factual mistakes. None such were brought forward.

Michael Matthews’s family who has been battling the current case for six years say that they wanted to draw attention to avoidable dangers on Everest and in guided climbing.

John Tinker has not been guiding Everest lately but Henry Todd continues to lead commercial expeditions there. This spring, a Canadian doctor and an UK Embassy employee were among his clients. The doctor had to be evacuated from Base Camp due to frostbite injuries contracted on his summit push. Last year, another doctor client of Todd collapsed and died on summit push. Henry Todd has never summited Everest.

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