Xenon-powered Sagarmatha Ascent Lays Bare A Policy Ambiguity

Four British former special forces soldiers — Major Garth Miller, Colonel and Veterans Minister Alistair Scott Carns, Anthony James Stazicker and Kevin Francis Godlington — reportedly set a record on May 21 by climbing Sagarmatha, the world’s highest peak, in under five days and landed straight into a huge controversy.

What is the controversy all about? 

Instead of acclimatizing on the mountain (as part of preparations for the ascent), a process that takes six to eight weeks, the team used xenon, an inert gas, to help them pre-acclimatize to low oxygen at high altitudes.

While organizers said the use of xenon was behind such a fast ascent, many in the mountaineering industry have criticized this method.  

The ascent in question is a "record ascent" of the highest mountain without acclimatization in the Himalayas, but it's not the fastest ascent of the highest peak, which still belongs to Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, who climbed from the base camp to the highest summit from the south side in 10 hours, 56 minutes and 46 seconds on May 26, 2003. The xenon-aided (powered?) team was accompanied by five Sherpa guides and a cameraman.

Pre-acclimatization

The four former soldiers slept for six weeks in special tents before traveling to Nepal to help them acclimatize to decreased levels of oxygen at high altitude.

They then flew to the base camp from Kathmandu and started climbing straight away, Lukas Furtenbach, the expedition organizer, said. They used supplemental oxygen, like other climbers, during the expedition.

This approach of climbing the highest peak is controversial as climbers usually spend weeks going up and down between base camp and higher camps — a process known as acclimatization — before making the final push for the summit to get used to the death zone (above 8,000m), where available oxygen is only a third of that present at sea level.

According to the BBC, the medical commission at the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) – the umbrella group for mountaineering organizations around the world – issued a cautionary statement after Furtenbach revealed his plans. It warned of the absence of clinical research or scientific proof about the safety and efficiency of using xenon at high altitudes. A previous assessment by the same body also warned that drugs designed to induce EPO could potentially increase the risk of blood clots capable of triggering strokes or pulmonary embolisms.
 Per the BBC, some climbers have also pointed out that substances that artificially increase the amount of EPO in the blood including xenon — are banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada)  — in  competitive sport..

A policy ambiguity

When contacted, Himal Gautam, director of the Department of Tourism in Nepal, pointed out that the department had launched a probe into the event.  

In a press release, the department stated that its attention has been drawn toward news reports pointing out at the use of xenon for Sagarmatha climbing. The department said it was conducting a study and analysis by questioning the team leader of the expedition in question, team members and the agency concerned.

Asked for comments, ace climber Minga David Sherpa said: The use of such gas can impact the very existence of sportspersons, mountaineers and athletes, especially the mountaineers. It gives rise to a critical question: Who is the real athlete and who is a normal individual? Unlike the use of (supplemental) oxygen in climbing, which is a widespread practice, the use of xenon will impact the existence of climbers themselves, I think.

Jinesh Sindurakar, chief administration officer of the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), said recently they were studying and discussing the matter from different perspectives and had not yet arrived at a conclusion. 

"What will be the stance of the government in this matter? What policy does it have regarding its use? What about the Department of Tourism?"  

In short, the NMA also seems to be expecting the government to clear the policy fog surrounding the controversy and come up with a clear stance.