Four former British special forces soldiers set a new record on Wednesday by climbing Mount Everest in less than five days, without undergoing the usual acclimatisation process on the mountain, by using xenon gas before arriving in Nepal, which has generated controversy over the use of this substance for mountaineering.
The climbers had prepared in advance using hypoxic tents and specialized training techniques and, two weeks before their trip to the world's highest mountain (around 8,848 meters), they were given xenon gas, a treatment for altitude sickness.
The expedition team, made up of four former British servicemen, began their ascent on May 17, just one day after landing in Kathmandu from the UK, and reached the summit at 7:15am Nepalese time (1:30 GMT) on Wednesday.
However, the director of Nepal's Department of Tourism, the body responsible for overseeing climbing activities, Himal Gautam, told EFE that his office had not been notified of the use of xenon gas by the group of British climbers.
"The department has initiated an investigation into the matter," Gautam said.
Under Nepalese law, climbers and the agencies representing them must declare all materials and goods used during their expeditions, including medical substances and climbing records.
Reaching the summit of Everest usually involves a slow acclimatization process of more than a month during which climbers make gradual hikes to the mountain's Base Camp, where they do rotations to acclimatize, which is essential to adapt their bodies to the decreasing oxygen levels at high altitude.
Furtenbach Adventures, the Austria-based company that organised the expedition of the four former British soldiers, told EFE that nothing untoward happened during the expedition.
Its owner, Lukas Furtenbach, said that the use of xenon gas is a modern medical solution to prevent altitude sickness and assured that it was provided by a certified German clinic.
For the expedition organiser, who employs 120 local workers during the climbing season, the xenon solution can help develop shorter, more sustainable expeditions by reducing the amount of waste generated, conserving resources and limiting human waste in the fragile environment at the top of Everest.
An economic model at risk
However, the president of the Nepal Association of Expedition Operators, Dambar Parajuli, told EFE that if these rapid ascents become widespread, the economic model of climbing Everest could change.
If climbers can complete their expedition in just a few days, this could undermine the traditional model in which sherpas, porters, guides and cooks work for several weeks or months, which would seriously affect employment and income opportunities in Nepal's mountainous regions.In 2014, the World Anti-Doping Agency banned the use of xenon gas in athletes, arguing that it could unfairly affect their performance. While mountaineering is not subject to the same regulations as competitive sports, the use of substances that affect physical performance in extreme environments raises ethical and regulatory issues, Parajuli pointed out.
At altitudes above 8,000 meters - in the so-called "death zone" - oxygen levels are critically low, and even the healthiest climbers face an increased risk of altitude sickness, pulmonary edema or brain complications.