Everest 2025: Climb Everest in a Week using xenon gas – update 2

Available Oxygen on Mt. Everest

Some foreign guides and a few Nepali guides offer fast Everest climbs, lasting two to four weeks instead of the traditional six to eight weeks. This is an increasingly popular option, and a new twist promises to reduce this to just one week, from home to home.

The primary market consists of individuals who can spend over $100,000 but cannot be away from work for more than a few weeks. Tahoe-based Alpenglow Expeditions and Innsbrook, Austria-based Furtenbach Adventures have been the most aggressive in this model.

The rationale is that by reducing the expedition time, you conserve energy and reduce the risk of illness by minimizing your time on the mountain. Using a hypoxic altitude tent 30 to 60 days before leaving home, you can arrive at base camp acclimatized to at least 17,000 feet and even up to 23,000 feet. This way, you can eliminate one or all acclimatization rotations and enhance your chances of summiting. Then, you can hurry back home and return to work as quickly as possible.

The package typically includes pre-acclimatization in a hypoxic altitude tent a month or two before departure, an IFMGA guide, virtually unlimited oxygen flowing at up to 8 liters per minute in some cases, and ample Sherpa support. This additional support raises the cost to $100,000 or more.

Xenon Climbs

There is a new twist on this from the Austrian operator, Lukas Furtenbach, owner of Furtenbach Adventures.

The Financial Times reported on January 10, 2025, that the operator would have four British clients inhale a xenon gas blend for half an hour upon arrival in Kathmandu. Then, they would fly to EBC, meet their Sherpas and leave for the summit within two hours. The plan is for a three-day ascent and another day to descend. There would be no acclimatization rotations. If all goes well, they could return home in about two days, making the entire trip last a week.

According to Dr. Michael Fries, an anesthetist at a hospital in Limburg an der Lahn, Germany, who was involved in the expedition design and interviewed by FT, xenon, used as an anesthetic, “…has a separate effect at lower doses: boosting EPO production.” Erythropoietin (EPO) is produced in the kidneys and increases when the body is exposed to high altitudes, a normal part of natural acclimatization.

The FT article notes on xenon: “The hormone, a synthetic version of which is banned in sport, boosts the production of red blood cells, increasing the body’s capacity to transport oxygen.” Concerning doping rules, Furtenbach told FT, “It’s not an organised sport, so there’s technically no doping in mountaineering.”

Furtenbach said he tried the gas on Aconcagua and,”‘OK, this really works.’ I was totally convinced.”

Furtenbach charges €150,000 ($153,720) for the seven-day expedition. Download the Financial Times app to read the entire article.

The so-called Rapid/Flash/Speed climbs are all the rage right now, and there seems to be no end to this high-end trend. I understand that some people want to summit Everest in the shortest time possible–there’s a market for all styles, and each person has their own reason.

Update: The Medical Community Responds – Don’t

The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) issued a statement on using xenon gas for mountaineering “According to current [scientific] literature, there is no evidence that breathing in xenon improves performance in the mountains, and inappropriate use can be dangerous,”

They go on to say:

Moreover, xenon has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List of banned substances since 2014. A ban on the use of performance-enhancing substances can only be applied to sports that are subject to WADA rules, thus applying for example to competitive ice climbing but not to high-altitude mountaineering. Xenon is an anesthetic gas, and thus a medicine, with corresponding adverse effects and health risks, meaning in an unmonitored setting this could be impaired brain function, respiratory compromise, and even death. One study showed significant sedation in people using it at doses recommended for mountaineering. Even slight sedation is detrimental in the potentially dangerous setting of high-altitude mountaineering.

A research article published in 2019 entitled “Effect of acute and chronic xenon inhalation on erythropoietin, hematological parameters, and athletic performance” concluded: “Xenon inhalation did not increase fitness or improve athletic performance, and, given the adverse symptomology associated with dosing, our findings do not support the use  use of xenon as an erythropoiesis-modulating agent in sports.

Furtenbach Responds

Furtenbach responded to the UIAA on Stefen Nestler blog with:

… describes the statement to me as “unscientific, full of methodological and substantive errors and misinterpretations and malicious insinuations”. According to Furtenbach, it contains the “false assertion that xenon has no effect on erythropoiesis [formation of red blood cells] and performance, according to which it would have to be removed from the WADA[doping] list immediately or should never have been included there in the first place.”

Opinion

I cannot and will not opine on the medical aspects as I’m not qualified, so I’ll comment only from a climber perspective. I’m a bit troubled by this. The old adage, “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should,” feels appropriate here. I’m not a fan.

In my view, climbing shouldn’t be rushed. It tests and challenges us to endure difficulties, celebrate the journey, not just the outcome, and return home as better versions of ourselves by embracing the spirit of expedition climbing.

Perhaps I am just “old school,” but then again, I never thought we would send tourists into space.

Best of luck to everyone. I’m sure we will see more of it this. I suspect full spacesuits are next, and I’m not joking.

Climb On!

Alan
Memories are Everything


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7 thoughts on “Everest 2025: Climb Everest in a Week using xenon gas – update 2

  1. Alan Arnette is a well-known mountaineer and one of the key inspirable figure for all who planning to climb Mt. Everest and other high peaks in the world. He provides detailed information about climbing through alanarnette.com, including expedition updates and climbing news, gear reviews and training tips and insights into the challenges of high-altitude climbing. His blog is a trusted resource for climbers and adventure enthusiasts, offering practical advice and firsthand accounts of his expeditions. I really love his blogs which is the great resource of climbing. Namaste Alan Sir from Nepal.

  2. Why not just fly up in a helicopter, have your photo shoot with Champagne and all then fly back to to Kathmandu..

  3. Crazy. 22K feet on an easy climb of Aconcagua in no way serves to predict performance on Everest.
    Money doesn’t buy you everything.

  4. The quick ascent up Everest plan doesn’t take into account fitness levels. It is one thing to acclimatize, it is another to be fit enough to climb. How will that be monitored with these expeditions?

  5. This reminds me of people who go big game hunting with guides, dogs, high powered rifles, and shoot animals that have been raised for the purpose of being shot after being worn out and cornered for the ´hunter.’ Then they go home and brag that they shot a lion. Shooting animals to feed your family – good. ´Sport’ hunting – I don’t get it.

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