Everest Climbers Inhaled What? Team Uses Xenon Gas to Speed Ascent

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A team of climbers managed an Everest expedition in just seven days—and that includes travel time to and from their homes. Key to the team’s success was the use of xenon gas to help prevent altitude sickness during the actual ascent, which took the team mere days. Compare this to the weeks it typically takes humans to safely adjust to the extreme change in altitude as they climb Earth’s highest peak.

Lukas Furtenbach of Furtenbach Adventures led the team, which reportedly left London on May 16, scaled Mount Everest, and returned home on May 23. To help them mitigate the effects of altitude on their bodies the group inhaled xenon gas before heading to Nepal.

According to AP News, this was just part of the months-long preparation the team underwent before the record-breaking journey. “The climbers had put in months of preparation, training in hypoxia tents, and underwent a xenon gas treatment at a clinic in Germany just two weeks before heading to Nepal,” AP News reports.

Xenon Gas Controversy

Furtenbach says the use of xenon gas is making Everest climbs more environmentally friendly. After all, cutting down the time climbers spend on the mountain also cuts down on the human waste and garbage left behind.

This argument seems sound, but the team’s use of this odorless, tasteless gas, which is used in medicine as a general anesthetic and in medical imaging, is proving controversial. The mountaineering authorities in Nepal announced an investigation into the gas and its use for Everest climbers. Some speculate it’s because cutting down mountaineers’ time on the mountain also cuts into Nepal’s tourism dollars.

“The department has taken note of media reports regarding the use of Xenon gas by climbers during their Mount Everest ascent,” wrote Nepal’s Department of Tourism in a press release. “We are currently engaging with the expedition team leaders, members, and the associated agencies to gather detailed information and conduct a thorough study and analysis of this matter.”

Furtenbach says the ascent wasn’t a stunt. Rather, he says it was a “scientific and medical expedition.”

“Climbing Everest is never just about reaching the summit. It’s about pushing human boundaries safely, responsibly, and with integrity,” Furtenbach wrote in an Instagram post. “The 7-Day Mission Everest was never a stunt, although the result is a record for the fastest round trip Everest expedition. It was a meticulously planned scientific and medical expedition designed to explore the future of high-altitude mountaineering. Backed by years of research, expert-led acclimatization protocols, and the life-saving support of XENON’s cutting-edge application, we aimed to prove that with the right technology, preparation, and ethics, it is possible to accelerate ascent profiles — without compromising lives.”

See Furtenbach’s Instagram post about the seven-day Everest expedition using xenon gas here:

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Header stock image by DanielPrudek/Getty Images

Source: https://outdoors.com/everest-climbers-inhaled-what-team-uses-xenon-gas-to-speed-ascent/