Latest news with #XenonGas
Forbes
3 days ago
- Forbes
Use Of Xenon Gas Shortens Everest Climb Time, But What's The Point?
21 May 2024, Nepal, Mount Everest: Climbers and mountain guides are stranded between the South Summit and the Hillary step of Mount Everest after an ice collapse destroyed the fixed ropes used for climbing. Photo: Narendra Shahi Thakuri/dpa (Photo by Narendra Shahi Thakuri/picture alliance via Getty Images) dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images In the first two parts of this interview series with American Himalayan Foundation president Norbu Tenzing Norgay and renowned mountaineer Conrad Anker, we covered a lot of ground on Everest (links below). Here, in the third final part, we ask Norgay about the use of Xenon gas to aid with high-altitude climbing; who got to the top of Everest first, his father Tenzing or Sir Edmund Hillary; the 1924 George Mallory/Sandy Irvine mystery; and the idea of Guinness records. Following are edited excerpts from a longer conversation. Jim Clash: What do you make of the team of four that used Xenon gas to get from Great Britain to the top of Everest and back home in a week? Norbu Tenzing Norgay: Yeah, you can do the peak in like four days that way. I'm not a climber, but part of the adventure is going over there, meeting with the people, enjoying the commraderie, the spirit of the mountain. This kind of thing sucks the spirit out of the experience, the thing that really should motivate you, you know? Clash: Speaking of Xenon, it seems that more and more folks are climbing for Guinness records. I remember Ed Viesturs joking with me that now it's the first person with a blue and a red shoe to the top carrying a potato. I'm sure those Xenon climbers will want a "fastest" Everest record, too. Norgay: For those kinds of people, the records might mean something, but on a bigger scale, I don't think they mean anything. It's just for individual ego, I guess. A lot of people up there have no business, and they are risking the lives of others. Sherpas only make about $5,000 for the [10-week] Everest climbing season, taking a whole lot of risks. Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary drink tea in the Western Cwm, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary drink a celebratory cup of tea at Camp IV in the Western Cwm after their successful ascent of Mount Everest, Nepal, 30th May 1953. Mount Everest Expedition 1953. (Photo by George Band/Royal Geographical Society via Getty Images) Royal Geographical Society via Getty Images Clash: It can be downright dangerous, too. Norgay: A few years ago, two women were climbing Shishapangma to compete for a Guinness record. They both ignored weather warnings, and went for the top from different sides of the mountain on an iffy day. Both were killed, unfortunately, in separate avalanches. Sometimes people are willing to take it that far, and the consequences there were not good. We live in a very different world today, Jim. Their two Sherpas - Mingmar and Tenjen Lama - unfortunately died as well. My thoughts and prayers are with all of the deceased. Clash: I'll ask you this, and I'm sure you've addressed the subject many times. In 1953, did your father or Ed Hillary set foot on the Everest summit first? Norgay: What they had always said was they had made it to the top together, and that's what we always believed. It wasn't the two of them, by the way, but the 500 support people behind them. Later, I think Ed said in his book, that he, physically at least, was the one to step on top first. Clash: As for the George Mallory and Sandy Irvine mystery, do you personally think they made it to the top of Everest in 1924? QOMOLANGMA, TIBET - APRIL 29: (CHINA OUT) An Olympic flag waves in front of Mt. Qomolangma (Mount Everest) from the media center at the Rongbuk Base Camp as organisers prepare to cover the ascent of the Beijing Olympic flame to the world's highest peak on April 29, 2008 in Qomolangma, Tibet. The torch bearers are waiting for some good weather before they start the relay. (Photo by Cui Jun/Visual China Group via Getty Images) Visual China Group via Getty Images Norgay: I think what they did was an amazing feat at the time. I remember when Conrad [Anker] found Mallory's body in 1999, one of the members of his expedition I spoke with afterword said he didn't think so. Mallory's route on the North (Tibetan) side of the mountain is even tougher than the Nepalese side [the route Tenzing and Ed took]. In any case, getting to the top is just half of the journey. You need to make it back alive. But it's still a mystery. I think they found Irvine's boot last year, and I'm sure somebody's going to go look for his camera next.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- The Independent
British climbers first to scale Mount Everest using new method
A team of four British climbers has etched their names in mountaineering history, becoming the first to summit Mount Everest using Xenon gas, significantly reducing the acclimatisation period typically required for such a feat. The expedition, organised by Austria -based Furtenbach Adventures, saw the climbers reach the 8,848-metre (29,032 ft) peak in under five days after leaving London. Traditional Everest expeditions involve weeks or even months of acclimatisation on the mountain, allowing climbers' bodies to adjust to the extreme altitudes. This process is crucial for safety, as attempting the ascent without proper acclimatisation poses severe risks. Before their climb, the British team inhaled Xenon gas in Germany in a procedure designed to accelerate the acclimatisation process. In addition to the Xenon gas treatment, the climbers utilised specialised tents simulating high-altitude conditions during their preparation at home. While on the mountain, they used supplemental oxygen, a standard practice for Everest climbers. Xenon, a colorless and odorless gas present in trace amounts in the Earth's atmosphere, possesses certain anesthetic properties and has recognised medical applications. 'Xenon improves the acclimatisation and protects the body from altitude sickness and the effects from the hypoxic environment,' Furtenbach told Reuters in a text message from the base camp, referring to the low oxygen environment in the mountains. Furtenbach, who has logged four Everest ascents, said Xenon gas was used by guides before but 'it is the first time for clients', or ordinary climbers. Xenon made the climb safer and shorter as it kept the climbers properly acclimatised, he said. 'Shorter expedition also means less garbage, less resources, less human waste in this sensitive environment,' Furtenbach said. Piles of garbage dumped by climbers have been an issue on Everest in recent years. American climber and guide Adrian Ballinger of the Alpenglow Expeditions company called the use of Xenon a 'stunt ... it's never seemed like the type of experience we want to provide.' 'Everyone should climb the mountain in a form they are proud of. If these climbers are proud of this style, then that's their choice,' Ballinger said. Nepal has issued permits to 468 people to Everest during the current March-May climbing season and more than 200 have already topped the summit so far. Nepal does not have any rules on how many days climbers must spend acclimatizing or making practice climbs. Their permits, which cost $11,000 each, are valid for 90 days.
South China Morning Post
21-05-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
British climbers conquer Mount Everest in record time using Xenon gas innovation
Four British climbers became the first to scale Mount Everest on Wednesday using Xenon gas, which helped them save several weeks that mountaineers need to get used to high altitudes, an official of their expedition organising company said. Normally, climbers spend several weeks or even months on the mountain to allow their bodies to adjust to higher altitudes before trying to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain. It is extremely dangerous to go up if the climber is not properly acclimatised. The British climbers, who had inhaled Xenon gas in Germany before embarking on the expedition, climbed the 8,848 metre (29,032 feet) peak in less than five days after departing London, said Lukas Furtenbach of the Austria-based Furtenbach Adventures that organised the expedition. They slept in special tents that simulate high-altitude conditions at home before heading to the mountain, and used supplemental oxygen like other climbers during their ascent. A British team of veteran ex-special forces soldiers: Alistair Carns, Kevin Godlington, Anthony Stazicker, Garth Miller, summited Everest thanks to the help of Xenon gas. Photo: Handout Xenon is a colourless and odourless gas found in very small amounts in the earth's atmosphere and is known to have some anaesthetic properties and medical uses.
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Reuters
Britons become first to scale Mount Everest with the help of Xenon gas, organiser says
KATHMANDU, May 21 (Reuters) - Four British climbers became the first to scale Mount Everest on Wednesday using Xenon gas, which helped them save several weeks that mountaineers need to get used to high altitudes, an official of their expedition organising company said. Normally climbers spend several weeks or even months on the mountain to allow their bodies to adjust to higher altitudes before trying to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain. It is extremely dangerous to go up if the climber is not properly acclimatised. The British climbers, who had inhaled Xenon gas in Germany before embarking on the expedition, climbed the 8,848 metre (29,032 ft) peak in less than five days after departing London, said Lukas Furtenbach of the Austria-based Furtenbach Adventures that organised the expedition. They slept in special tents that simulate high-altitude conditions at home before heading to the mountain and used supplemental oxygen like other climbers during their ascent. Xenon is a colourless and odourless gas found in very small amounts in the earth's atmosphere and is known to have some anaesthetic properties and medical uses. 'Xenon improves the acclimatisation and protects the body from altitude sickness and the effects from the hypoxic environment,' Furtenbach told Reuters in a text message from the base camp, referring to the low oxygen environment in the mountains. Furtenbach, who has logged four Everest ascents, said Xenon gas was used by guides before but 'it is the first time for clients', or ordinary climbers. Xenon made the climb safer and shorter as it kept the climbers properly acclimatised, he said. 'Shorter expedition also means less garbage, less resources, less human waste in this sensitive environment,' Furtenbach said. Piles of garbage dumped by climbers have been an issue on Everest in recent years. American climber and guide Adrian Ballinger of the Alpenglow Expeditions company called the use of Xenon a 'stunt ... it's never seemed like the type of experience we want to provide.' 'Everyone should climb the mountain in a form they are proud of. If these climbers are proud of this style, then that's their choice,' Ballinger said. Nepal has issued permits to 468 people to Everest during the current March-May climbing season and more than 200 have already topped the summit so far.
