Um auf den Gipfel des Mount Everest zu gelangen, braucht es normalerweise mehr als 40 Tage. Aber jemand hat dank eines 1,24-Millionen-Yuan teuren Xenon-"Extras" die Zeit auf 4 Tage und 18 Stunden verkürzt: "Ohne Höhenkrankheit fühle ich mich super."
For ordinary mountaineers, it usually takes 40 to 45 days to climb to the summit of Mount Everest. They need long - term high - altitude training and round - trip training between glacier camps to let their bodies first adapt to altitudes of six or seven thousand meters.
Recently, someone relied on a xenon "power - up" worth 1.24 million yuan and successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest in just 4 days and 18 hours, creating a new record. This move has caused quite a stir in the mountaineering circle. Instead of winning universal praise, it has become the target of strong criticism from many mountaineering enthusiasts and practitioners.
Is conquering Mount Everest with the help of xenon therapy the demise of the mountaineering spirit or an inevitable result of technological evolution? What is it like to participate in xenon therapy? What other controversies are there behind it? A reporter from National Business Daily (hereinafter referred to as the reporter) found the parties involved and strived to truly restore this event.
With the support of the xenon "power - up", the British mountaineering team reached the summit of Mount Everest in only about 4 days and 18 hours. Chart by National Business Daily
The "impossible mission" of 4 days and 18 hours. How did the British veterans "blitz - climb" Mount Everest?
Two days after the veteran mountaineer Chen Tao (known as "Qiangzi" in the industry) led his team to safely descend from the summit of Mount Everest at an altitude of 8,848.86 meters, at 7:10 a.m. on May 21st, a British mountaineering team also stood on the world's highest peak.
They set off from London Heathrow Airport at an altitude of only 24 meters on May 16th and reached the world's highest peak in about 4 days and 18 hours. This speed has refreshed people's inherent perception of the Mount Everest climbing cycle. Qiangzi, who witnessed this scene on the live - broadcast screen at the base camp, blurted out two words: "Amazing!"
The protagonists of this "lightning journey" that is destined to be recorded in the history of Mount Everest climbing are four retired British special forces veterans, including an airline pilot, two entrepreneurs, and a parliamentarian. After arriving in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, they took a helicopter directly to the Mount Everest base camp at an altitude of 5,300 meters.
Photo of the Mount Everest base camp. Source: Furtenbach Adventures
Qiangzi recalled: "There, everything they needed, such as oxygen, tents, food, and even GPS and global live - broadcast equipment, was already ready."
After arriving at the base camp, they did not gather at the camp like other teams to participate in the traditional Puja ceremony to pray for a safe summit. Instead, they chose to directly head towards the world's highest peak. At 10:30 p.m. on May 20th, they started their attempt to reach the summit from Camp 4 at an altitude of 8,000 meters. At 7:10 a.m. on May 21st, they successfully stood on the summit of Mount Everest.
Previously, no team had ever been able to conquer Mount Everest at such an amazing speed without systematic high - altitude adaptation training.
Qiangzi introduced in detail to the reporter the long cycle of traditional Mount Everest climbing: "For an ordinary person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the whole process takes about 40 to 45 days." He divided it into three main stages:
First, it is a about 10 - day hike into the mountain, aiming to let the body gradually adapt to different altitudes;
Second, it is high - altitude training, focusing on climbing Lobuche Peak, which takes about 4 to 6 days to consolidate climbing skills and physical condition;
Finally, it is round - trip training between Camp 1, Camp 2, and Camp 3 on the Khumbu Glacier.
After completing all this, mountaineers also need to return to the base camp for sufficient rest and patiently wait for the opening of the weather "window period" before they can officially launch an assault on the summit.
The "lightning summit" of this British mountaineering team has undoubtedly subverted this model.
The "cross - border miracle" of an anesthetic. How did xenon become a "power - up" for climbing?
The reason why this British mountaineering team broke the "rules of the game" for Mount Everest climbing is that they claim to have a secret weapon - xenon therapy.
On May 5th, about two weeks before flying to Nepal, the four mountaineers flew to Germany to meet Dr. Michael Fries, one of the world's leading xenon medical researchers who developed this therapy. Under his supervision, they inhaled a mixture of xenon and oxygen in a German hospital.
Xenon (Xe), an inert gas in the noble gas family of the periodic table, is usually used in the field of medical anesthesia. Now, it has transformed into a mysterious "power - up" to help mountaineers "blitz - climb" Mount Everest.
Garth Miller, one of the four mountaineers, told the reporter that there was a professional team in the room to provide support, and the whole process lasted for 25 minutes. "Inhaling the xenon/oxygen mixture didn't feel like much. Some people felt slightly dizzy, but the symptoms disappeared immediately after the treatment. We felt great and flew back to the UK the same day." He emphasized that the xenon therapy was a one - time treatment, and they used pure oxygen during the subsequent climbing process.
Moreover, they also conducted months of pre - adaptation training in a hypoxic tent. Garth Miller introduced: "We used a device that could reduce the oxygen concentration to simulate a high - altitude environment. We accumulated more than 450 hours of hypoxic time, mostly during sleep, but we also trained on a treadmill or exercise bike while wearing a mask. This stimulates our bodies to produce physiological changes similar to those in a real high - altitude area, so that we can start climbing immediately after flying to the Mount Everest base camp above 5,300 meters without the need for the usual slow hike and multiple adaptation rotations."
A team member is inhaling the xenon/oxygen mixture. Photo source: Furtenbach Adventures
"Xenon can stimulate the production of red blood cells, thereby enhancing the body's adaptability," Lukas Furtenbach, the founder of the Austrian adventure company Furtenbach Adventures and the organizer of the expedition, told the reporter. He further said: "More importantly, it can protect both the heart and the nervous system. It can effectively protect the brain and lungs from high - altitude cerebral edema (HACE) and high - altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE)." This is also the first time that Furtenbach's company has applied xenon therapy to commercial mountaineering clients.
He firmly believes that xenon will change the rules of the game for high - altitude mountain climbing. "Hypoxic pre - adaptation itself is a powerful tool. We have used this technology to change the way of climbing Mount Everest (significantly shortening the traditional 10 - week time to 2 to 3 weeks), and xenon has changed everything again." Furtenbach told the reporter: "Xenon can not only significantly enhance the human body's adaptability but also protect the body from altitude sickness, making the climbing process safer." You know, altitude sickness is one of the greatest dangers that mountaineers face when challenging Mount Everest and is also one of the main causes of fatal accidents.
Lukas Furtenbach. Photo source: Furtenbach Adventures
Furtenbach's firm belief stems from his personal experience.
According to his recollection, in 2019, Dr. Michael Fries contacted him and introduced the potential benefits of xenon in high - altitude mountaineering. Trusting the more than 75 - year - long safe application history of xenon in the medical field, in 2020, Furtenbach personally became a "guinea pig." Eight days after inhaling the mixture of xenon and oxygen for the first time, he successfully reached the summit of Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America at an altitude of 6,961 meters, without any problems during the whole process. His blood oxygen level was even higher than that of the local guide.
"Since then, we have started a five - year test and research," Furtenbach said. In addition to Aconcagua, their test footprints also cover several 6,000 - meter - level peaks in Nepal, as well as Mount Everest and Lhotse, two peaks above 8,000 meters.
Lukas Furtenbach and the four - member British mountaineering team. Photo source: Furtenbach Adventures
The scientific mystery and safety warning behind the "acceleration" of xenon
However, Furtenbach's attempt has sparked great controversy and doubt in the mountaineering and scientific communities.
Himal Gautam, the director of the Nepal Tourism Board, revealed to the media that the department is investigating the use of xenon by the British mountaineering team and believes that the use of this gas "may violate mountaineering ethics." However, as of now, no substantial progress has been announced in this investigation.
Furtenbach firmly told the reporter that his team did not use xenon in Nepal and did not violate any local mountaineering regulations in Nepal. He emphasized that his team's climbing process was exactly the same as that of other mountaineers, except that they used pure oxygen.
The camp of Furtenbach Adventures. Photo source: Provided by Qiangzi, the interviewee
A study published in the professional medical journal Journal of Applied Physiology in 2019 also showed that although inhaling xenon can increase the blood EPO (erythropoietin) level, it has not translated into an improvement in actual sports performance. The study tested 12 runners. They were randomly assigned to inhale a gas containing 70% xenon or a placebo gas for two minutes every day for several weeks before running, and then run three kilometers. The runners who inhaled xenon had an increased EPO level in their blood, but their physical fitness or sports performance (measured by running speed, heart rate, and breathing rate during exercise) did not show any improvement.
Robert Dickinson, a senior medical lecturer at Imperial College London, also emphasized in an interview with the reporter that the effect of xenon helping the British mountaineering team to "quickly adapt to the high - altitude environment" as claimed by the team may be the result of the combined action of multiple factors.
He said that inhaling xenon under medical supervision can theoretically stimulate the production of hypoxia - inducible factor - 1α (HIF - 1α) and EPO, thereby increasing the number of red blood cells. But what cannot be ignored is the systematic hypoxic tent training that the mountaineers had previously undergone, as well as their good physical condition and rich experience. In his opinion, the latter two may have a greater impact. Moreover, these mountaineers also used oxygen during the process of climbing Mount Everest, which makes it difficult for us to judge whether xenon played a key role.
Robert Dickinson also warned that it would be very dangerous for ordinary people to use xenon on their own. Xenon may interfere with the function of a protein called tissue - type plasminogen activator (tPA), which can dissolve blood clots.
The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) told the reporter that currently, there is no scientific evidence to confirm the protective effect of xenon on mountaineers and its actual effectiveness in high - altitude mountaineering. The organization emphasized that from a medical perspective, off - label use without scientific basis and with unknown health risks must be rejected.
Facing the doubts from all sides, Furtenbach adheres to his position. He retorted: "If xenon really doesn't have a significant effect, then the World Anti - Doping Agency (WADA) wouldn't have included it in the list of prohibited substances in competitive sports. Our practice in this area is ahead of science, which often happens in the process of innovation. Now, scientists need to conduct more in - depth research to confirm our findings."
He believes that xenon is only used as a medical preventive measure for altitude sickness. Its use is absolutely legal, with no gray area, no side effects, and no early withdrawal reaction. "If xenon is prohibited, then the use of oxygen must also be prohibited."
Garth Miller told the reporter: "I've spent a long time above 8,000 meters and have reached the summit of Mount Everest before. But this time it felt different. None of us experienced common altitude - sickness symptoms such as headaches. I felt great, clear - minded, and energetic, without altitude sickness." He also emphasized: "The effect of xenon won't last more than a month, and you may not even feel it at normal altitudes."
The 1.24 - million - yuan "quick - climb package". Is it a disruptor of the Mount Everest commercial ecosystem?
Mount Everest climbing. Photo source: Provided by Qiangzi, the interviewee
It's not easy for ordinary people to experience xenon therapy.
The content of xenon in the atmosphere is extremely scarce, about 0.000009%. Extracting xenon from the air requires an extremely complex process, so it is very