They used Xenon to climb Everest in days – is it the future of mountaineering?

Use and Effectiveness of Xenon

• Thread notes xenon wasn’t used on the mountain, only during preparation alongside weeks of hypoxic-tent training, which muddies attribution: unclear how much xenon itself contributed.
• Mechanism discussed: xenon and hypoxia both trigger hypoxia-inducible factors and boost endogenous EPO/red blood cell production; some argue that if you can inject EPO, xenon is an overcomplicated route.
• Others highlight safety: xenon is an anesthetic with overdose risk, requires expert administration, and is expensive; comparisons to nitrous oxide note serious vitamin B12–related side effects there.
• Several commenters reference sports and WADA bans and say meta-analyses show minimal or no proven performance gain, suggesting hype exceeds evidence.

Ethics, Fairness, and “Cheating”

• Debate over whether xenon violates “climbing ethics” if bottled oxygen, hypoxic tents, fixed ropes, and Sherpa support are already accepted.
• One line of argument: if you condemn xenon as unethical, consistency would require banning oxygen and Sherpa assistance, which most consider unrealistic.
• Others contrast Sherpas’ lifetime of adaptation and experience with foreigners “huffing gas” and doing a rapid ascent, and say only the former really deserves admiration.
• Analogies used (sailing vs cruise ship, forklifts vs barbells) probe where to draw the line between legitimate aid and hollowing out the challenge.

Commercialization and PR Skepticism

• Multiple comments note that every xenon–Everest story traces back to a single guiding company selling very high-priced xenon-assisted, hypoxia-tent packages.
• This is seen as textbook PR: media relay the operator’s claims while burying or soft-pedaling scientific skepticism and the role of conventional aids like supplemental oxygen.
• Some suggest xenon may function more as marketing and placebo than as a proven game-changer.

Safety, Access, and Risk

• Concern that anything making Everest “easier” will further lower the bar, attracting underprepared clients and increasing catastrophe risk in the death zone, where rescues are extremely dangerous.
• Others respond that this process began long ago with commercial guiding and oxygen, and that policy should focus on quotas, safety, and environmental impact rather than purity tests.

Everest, Ego, and Environment

• Strong anti-Everest sentiment: seen as a trash- and corpse-littered symbol of wealth, vanity, and “life as a competition,” with heavy local and environmental costs.
• Some advocate shutting or drastically restricting climbing on Everest, or even replacing it with an engineered mass-tourism solution (e.g., cable car) that’s cleaner and safer.
• Others defend personal goals: even if thousands have summited, it can still be a meaningful individual achievement, and outsiders shouldn’t dictate which ambitions are “valid.”

Off-topic: Meritocracy and Capitalism

• An anecdote about lying about Everest on a business-school application sparks a long tangent on business being “theatre,” unethical advantage-seeking, declining meritocracy, and broader disillusionment with capitalism.
• Counterarguments stress that most businesses do create mutual value and abusive behavior is not the norm, but there’s extensive back-and-forth on exploitation, regulation, consolidation, and “free markets” in practice.