4 Friends Plan To Summit Mt Everest In 7 Days, A 'Noble' Gas Is Set To Make The Expedition Possible

Four men from UK aim to climb Everest in just one week using anesthetic gas called Xenon to cut acclimatization time. Experts warn it could harm the brain and lungs, calling the plan risky.

A pilot, politician, businessman, and entrepreneur from the UK plan to summit Everest in just seven days using the anesthetic gas xenon to cut acclimatization time. Their rapid climb involves flying to Kathmandu, taking a helicopter to base camp, and reaching the peak within days. Experts have raised serious concerns, warning the gas could be risky to the brain and lungs.

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Four men from the UK including a pilot, politician, businessman, and an entrepreneur has decided to climb the Mount Everest this month. This descision was made over a couple of beer, when four ex-military friends had been speaking about taking on an adventurous trip to raise money for a veteran's charity, when one of them brought up the idea of summiting Everest.

The idea, initially denied by Al Carns, a British lawmaker, is now set to be pursued by four climbers, a report in CNN said. The four climbers have decided to reduce the expedition from two months to seven days.

"We’re all busy people. My response was, 'No way I can spend four to six, maybe even eight weeks out climbing Everest — it’s just almost impossible," AI Carns told CNN.

However, it was later countered by a friend who brought the prospect of climbing the Everest via a noble way, he had heard about. The idea was to summit the Everest by altering the acclimatization process that could allow them to reach the peak in under seven days by by inhaling a noble gas called xenon ahead of the expedition. 

How Will Xenon Help The Climbers?

The four climbers are set to reduce the time of the expedition using a noble gas Xenon— which they plan to inhale 10 days before their journey.

They have planned to fly from UK to Kathmandu, from where they will be taken to the base camp via a helicopter and further attempt to climb the Everest in a few days. This would be made possible by inhaling Xenon, ten days prior to the expedition. This preparation is part of a specialized tour by Furtenbach Adventures.

In conversation with CNN Travel, Lukas Furtenbach, CEO of Furtenbach Adventures said, "Before you can go to climb Mount Everest, you need to adapt your body to the low levels of oxygen.”

"You can do this in a traditional way — trekking to base camp and then several rotations on the mountain, and then, after weeks of acclimatizing, your body is ready to build enough red blood cells, and then you can start your summit attempt," he further said.

Moreover, he also emphasized that he had spoken at length with a doctor who was an expert in noble gasses, including xenon, which also sometimes works as an anesthetic. He was convinced of its potential to increase the production of erythropoietin, also known as EPO which is a hormone naturally produced by human kidneys to facilitate the production of Red blood cells in the human body. Although he also stated the side-effects of EPO that it increases the count of RBC's in the blood, the same effects are experienced when you are acclimatizing at real altitude.

Experts have raised serious health concerns about using xenon gas for high-altitude climbs like Everest. As an anesthetic, xenon can impair brain function and breathing, increasing the risk of cerebral and pulmonary edema. Medical professionals warn that its intended effect which is boosting red blood cell production usually takes weeks, not days. The International Climbing Federation says there's no proof xenon improves mountain performance, and using it without supervision could lead to severe side effects or death. This substance has also been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) since 2014.