British climbers’ xenon gas Everest shortcut: Revolution or threat to mountaineering?

The climbers, part of an expedition led by Furtenbach, left London on May 16 and reportedly stood atop the world’s highest peak on May 21.

“You do not climb a mountain like Everest by trying to race ahead on your own, or by competing with your comrades. You do it slowly and carefully, by unselfish teamwork. Certainly, I wanted to reach the top by myself; it was the one thing that I had dreamed of all my life. But if the lot fell to someone else, I would take it like a man, and not a crybaby. For that is the mountain way," Sherpa Tenzing Norgay had once said, capturing the enduring spirit of traditional mountaineering.

A recent expedition has, nevertheless, pushed that belief to the edge.

In a feat that has stunned the global mountaineering community, four British climbers recently scaled Mount Everest and returned home, all within a week, thanks to a new and controversial method involving the inhalation of xenon gas.

The climbers, part of an expedition led by Lukas Furtenbach of Austria-based Furtenbach Adventures, left London on May 16 and reportedly stood atop the world’s highest peak (8,849 metres or 29,032 feet) on May 21. They returned to the UK just two days later. This is believed to be among the fastest full-round trips to Everest ever recorded, and possibly the most radical departure yet from traditional high-altitude acclimatisation practices.

The four climbers underwent months of training in hypoxic tents that simulated high-altitude conditions by reducing oxygen levels. Two weeks before heading to Nepal, they were treated with xenon gas at a clinic in Germany, a move Furtenbach says was key to their rapid success.

Xenon is a rare, inert gas that exists in tiny amounts in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Known for being stable and non-reactive, it has a slew of designated uses. It is found in high-intensity lamps like strobe lights and car headlights due to its bright white glow.

It has found use in medicine too - as a safe anesthetic. And in space, xenon powers ion thrusters for satellites and interplanetary missions.

Now, this rare gas has made its way into high-altitude mountaineering.

“Xenon improves the acclimatisation and protects the body from altitude sickness and the effects from the hypoxic environment,” Furtenbach has been cited in a Reuters report via text message from base camp, referring to the low-oxygen environment encountered on Everest.

By using xenon and training in hypoxic tents at home, the team was able to dramatically cut down their time on Everest, completing the journey from London to the summit in just five days.

“Xenon made the climb safer and shorter as it kept the climbers properly acclimatised,” he said. “Shorter expeditions also mean less garbage, less resources, and less human waste in this sensitive environment.”

It should be noted that Mount Everest has long struggled with waste management issues, as thousands of climbers and support staff leave behind tons of trash and human waste every year.

A worker collects used Primus power gas cartridges in a sack with other waste materials retrieved from Mount Everest to recycle in Kathmandu. (AFP file photo)

According to Furtenbach, reducing the duration of expeditions can cut human waste by up to 75 percent, a “huge reduction” in environmental damage.

Also See | Fastest Ascent on World’s Highest Peak: How 4 Brits Reached Everest in 3 Days Using a Mysterious Gas

Furtenbach further noted that while some mountain guides have previously used xenon gas, “this is the first time for clients” or regular climbers. He insisted the goal is not to break records, but to improve safety.

“The only reason why we are working with xenon is to make climbing safer, to protect climbers from high-altitude sickness,” he has been cited by the Associated Press in Kathmandu. “We see people dying on Everest every year. This may be one step to improve the situation and make high-altitude climbing safer.”

Despite the claims, the use of xenon has divided the climbing world.

According to critics, the method could undermine the spirit of mountaineering, introduce unfair advantages, and potentially create health risks.

Adrian Ballinger, a prominent American mountaineer and head of Alpenglow Expeditions, dismissed the approach as a gimmick, “It’s a stunt ... it’s never seemed like the type of experience we want to provide", as cited in a BBC report.

Ballinger, whose team also uses hypoxic tents for pre-acclimatisation, draws the line at chemical interventions like xenon.

“If you're promoting xenon as a performance enhancer, but you're not also willing to examine what that means for fairness and integrity in the mountains, it's a problem,” he told the BBC. “People are grasping at shortcuts instead of doing the real work of acclimatisation and training.”

In the meantime, the expedition has also triggered concerns among Nepalese authorities, who say they were not informed of the climbers’ unconventional method.

“Now that we know about it, we will be discussing the issue and decide on our future course of action,” said Narayan Regmi, Director General at Nepal’s Department of Tourism.

Damber Parajuli, President of the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal, warned of consequences for the local tourism industry, “If this method becomes common, it will certainly have a direct, negative impact on the tourism industry as the length of time mountaineers stay will come down significantly.”

He added that “acclimatising on the mountains is the basic rule of mountaineering. If that is not done then authorities should not be giving them certificates certifying that they climbed the mountain.”

Notably, while Furtenbach insists that xenon helps combat hypoxia, a condition caused by insufficient oxygen in the body, the science remains unsettled.

According to researchers say xenon stimulates the production of erythropoietin, a protein that helps generate red blood cells to carry oxygen. The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation has, nevertheless, cautioned against such claims.

“According to current literature, there is no evidence that breathing in xenon improves performance in the mountains, and inappropriate use can be dangerous,” it had said in a statement earlier this year. “From a physiological point of view, a single, one-off drug cannot be the key to improved acclimatisation or increased performance.”

Interestingly, the debate over xenon reflects broader tensions in high-altitude climbing - between innovation and tradition, speed and safety, environment and ethics.

Furtenbach maintains that rapid ascents using xenon represent a more sustainable and safer path forward.

“A shorter expedition has a lower carbon footprint and less ecological impact,” he said. “And it is safer for climbers because they can climb the mountain in good health and they are exposed to high-altitude risks and mountain hazards for a shorter time compared to when they are acclimatising on the mountain.”

However, whether this marks the beginning of a new era in mountaineering or just a fleeting experiment remains to be seen. For now, the mountain community and Nepal’s tourism officials are watching closely.