These Mountaineers Want to Climb Everest From London in Seven Days. Their ‘Secret Weapon’: Xenon Gas

Despite becoming a tourist monster with hundreds of ascents each year—and a growing garbage problem—Mount Everest remains a peak few can conquer. Climbing it is expensive, physically grueling, and typically requires weeks of acclimatization to high altitude. Most expeditions spend several weeks at base camp, hiking to nearby peaks to prepare their bodies before entering the so-called “death zone” above 26,200 feet, where oxygen levels are dangerously low.

Now, a group of Britons is attempting the entire climb in just seven days using a gas commonly used as an anesthetic. The approach has generated buzz—and controversy—in the mountaineering world.

A “walk” from London to Everest. The itinerary sounds like something out of science fiction or a Mission: Impossible film. Al Carns and his three former military teammates plan to fly from London to Kathmandu, take a helicopter to Everest Base Camp, and summit the mountain in just a few days. The entire round trip—door to door—would take about 168 hours.

Click on the image to view the original post on X.

Three days up, two days down. “The clock starts when we leave Heathrow… And it stops when we arrive back,” Carns told The Washington Post. “We think probably a day of travel, then three days to go up, two days down and the last travel day.”

The project, dubbed “7 Days Mission Everest,” launched from London on Friday, May 16. The team aims to raise funds for veterans’ charities and make history by dramatically reducing the time needed for an Everest expedition.

“I always say there’s a 30% chance of us doing this in seven days, and about 70% chance of us doing it under 21 days,” Carns said. Even if they miss the seven-day goal, finishing in 21 days would beat the fastest expedition from London to Everest on record.

The secret: xenon gas. Carns and his team, all former soldiers, have undergone months of intense physical training. They’ve also spent nights in hypoxic tents that simulate high-altitude oxygen levels—a common technique among elite climbers. But neither fitness nor tents explain how they plan to summit Everest and descend in just five days.

The answer is xenon gas.

More from Xataka On

A Student Rescued From Mt. Fuji Forgot His Phone and Climbed Back Up to Get It. You Can Imagine What Happened

What’s xenon used for? Xenon is a noble gas discovered in the 19th century and used as an anesthetic for decades. But Carns’ team is interested in it for another reason: its potential to stimulate red blood cell production and speed up acclimatization to altitude.

The four men inhaled a sub-anesthetic dose of xenon mixed with oxygen during a one-hour session under medical supervision. According to the Post, the supervising doctor said the gas’s most intense effect comes 10 to 14 days after inhalation. The team took their dose on May 5, roughly 11 days before departing for Nepal.

Why xenon? The idea came from Lukas Furtenbach, a veteran climber and expedition operator who previously helped shorten Everest climbs using hypoxic tents. With help from an anesthesiologist, he began experimenting with xenon for altitude adaptation. Furtenbach says he’s already used the method himself.

“One side effect of using Xenon is that it triggers the body’s EPO production, and that results in an increase of red blood cells in the blood,” he said. “That’s the same effect that you have when you are acclimatizing at real altitude.” He maintains the goal isn’t to boost performance but to protect climbers’ tissues from hypoxia.

A debate at the summit. The approach has sparked debate within the climbing community. Supporters say shorter expeditions reduce danger, waste, and environmental impact on the mountain. But critics point to cost—this expedition runs about $170,000 per person—and to questions about fairness and efficacy.

“When oxygen first came on the scene in alpine mountaineering, it was seen as a taboo, and that it shouldn’t be done. Now, it’s used by everybody. Helicopters to base camp were seen as a taboo, but now quite a lot of people do that as well,” Furtenbach said.

Skeptics, however, see xenon use as a “provocation.” Adrian Ballinger, a longtime Everest guide, said: “People should be able to climb how they want to, but it isn’t mountain climbing, it’s mountain tourism.”

Dr. Peter Hackett, a physician and expert on altitude sickness, is more pointed in his criticism. “Does xenon increase red blood cells? Well, that’s never really been shown conclusively,” he said. “It does increase EPO transiently but in one study that was done in athletes it did not increase red blood cells and it did not increase their exercise performance. But that’s one study done under certain circumstances and it needs to be studied again under varying circumstances.”

The UIAA speaks out. Interest in xenon has grown enough that the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) issued a statement in January. It warned that no current evidence supports the claim that inhaling xenon improves mountain performance.

“According to current literature, there is no evidence that breathing in xenon improves performance in the mountains, and inappropriate use can be dangerous,” the UIAA stated. “Although a single inhalation of xenon can measurably increase the release of erythropoietin, this increase is not sustained over four weeks use, nor is it associated with any changes in red blood cells. According to the literature, the effects on performance are unclear and probably non-existent.”

The UIAA also noted xenon’s limited use in medicine and the fact that it isn’t approved in all countries. “From a medical point of view, off-label use without a scientific basis and with unknown health risks must be rejected.”

Image | Ben Lowe (Unsplash)

Related | Mount Everest Is Growing Faster Than Previously Believed. The Reason: One River ‘Stole’ Water From Another 90,000 Years Ago