Four British climbers who used Xenon gas to summit Everest faster come under scrutiny of Nepal govt

Kathmandu, May 22 (PTI) Four British mountaineers who reached the summit of Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, on Wednesday by using Xenon gas, have sparked controversy.
     The British climbers, who had inhaled Xenon gas before embarking on the expedition, climbed the 8,848.86 metre peak in less than five days after departing from London, according to Lukas Furtenbach of the Austria-based Furtenbach Adventures that organised the expedition.
     They left London on May 16 and reached the top of Everest on May 21.
     Xenon made the climb safer and shorter as it kept the climbers properly acclimatized.
     The officials of Nepal’s Tourism Department are inquiring into the matter after learning that the British climbers used the gas, which is normally not allowed.
     “We are inquiring with the climbers, the team leader and the organiser of the expedition in this regard,” said Himal Gautam, director of the Tourism Department, when asked for comment.
     The climbers did not take permission from the department before using Xenon, he added. Mountaineering is an adventure and all should get equal opportunity and fair play, he said.
     “We are also investigating whether the climbers have violated the law by using Xenon and whether they are subject to legal action,” he said.
     The climbers claimed that they used the gas for safety purposes and to increase the number of climbers in the mountains, but there are other negative consequences too, Gautam said.
     This may adversely affect the mountain tourism in the country and also have negative impacts on the Sherpas, and other people who depend upon mountaineering for their livelihood, he added.
     This will shorten the stay of the climbers, which will naturally affect the tourism business as a whole, Gautam said.
     Normally climbers spend several weeks on the mountain to acclimatise their bodies to higher altitudes before attempting to scale the higher mountain peaks.
     But using Xenon helps them to save several weeks that the climbers need to adjust to higher altitudes in the mountains.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)