The Extreme Everest Shortcuts Edition

On hubris and high-altitude innovation.

Colin here. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer's masterful account of a deadly Everest expedition, took readers inside the pivotal moment amateur climbers began attempting the world's highest peak, guided by the first wave of entrepreneurial outfitters who would take anyone whose check cleared.

One of the central themes Krakauer explores is how the commercialization of Everest led to inexperienced climbers attempting the summit. Many lacked the skills or physical fitness necessary, but were still allowed to join guided expeditions because they could pay the hefty fees. This, in turn, put additional pressure on guides and Sherpas, creating dangerous situations on the mountain. And, spoiler alert, it led to deaths.

Why is this interesting?

A recent Financial Times article details a new project that aims to take climbers to the summit and back in just one week. You read that right.

Traditionally, climbing Everest requires a long, 18-day hike to Base Camp, which is an often challenging start to the trip, due to thin air and exertion. This acclimatization trek is considered a rite of passage, and those who bypass it by taking a chopper to Base Camp are typically given some side eye from the climbing community. From there, the standard approach involves gradually ascending and descending the mountain in phases, reaching progressively higher camps over time, before going for the summit. Climbers can choose different routes: the Khumbu Icefall route is technically easier, but more dangerous (described as an upturned ice cube tray), while other paths are more expedient but require advanced climbing skills.

But the FT outlines a radically different approach:

Early this May, an airline pilot, two entrepreneurs and a government minister will wait for the call to mobilise. The British group's gear will already be at Everest base camp alongside Lukas Furtenbach, an Austrian mountain guide. As soon as he declares that a weather window is about to open, his clients will dash to Heathrow for the next flights to Kathmandu.

They will then take a taxi straight to a health clinic. For 30 minutes, each adventurer will wear a mask attached to a ventilator for administering xenon, a rare noble gas more often used as an anaesthetic and a rocket propellant.

After inhaling a xenon blend formulated by a German doctor who first presented Furtenbach with the radical idea, the men will fly by helicopter to base camp. After no more than two hours to get ready and meet their half-dozen Sherpas, they will begin their ascent.

The hypothesis is that the gas stimulates erythropoietin (EPO), boosting the production of red blood cells and increasing the body's capacity to transport oxygen. This enhanced red blood cell count is something Sherpas naturally possess, allowing them to ascend and move more easily at high altitude. The xenon treatment appears to be a technological shortcut to achieve similar physiological adaptation.

The climbing community includes hardened traditionalists who believe summits should be achieved the hard, conventional way. This new approach evokes parallels to doping in sports or the concept of "enhanced games" where athletes can freely use performance-enhancing drugs and technology.

But history suggests that attempting to circumvent fundamental challenges, especially in environments as unforgiving as Everest, often results in harsh lessons. When commercial interests drive innovations that lower the barriers to Everest's summit, nature tends to respond with sobering reminders of its power. Only time will tell whether this radical new approach represents progress or hubris. (CJN)