Four former British special forces soldiers have set a new Everest climbing record. The team of Major Garth Miller, Colonel Alistair Scott Carns, Anthony James Stazicker, and Kevin Francis Godlington summited the peak without any traditional acclimatisation, completing the ascent in just five days.
The British team began their climb on May 16, accompanied by five Sherpa guides and a cameraman, and reached the summit by the morning of May 21—completing the journey in 4 days and 18 hours.
Everest’s first climbers, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, took over two months to summit in 1953. While traditional climbers typically spend 6–8 weeks on Everest, the expedition team claimed Xenon gas-enabled pre-acclimatisation.
The use of Xenon gas has, however, drawn global attention. Xenon is also used as an anaesthetic. It stimulates the production of erythropoietin (EPO), a protein that helps the body generate red blood cells and haemoglobin, improving oxygen distribution.
In January, the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) issued a statement warning that “there is no evidence that breathing in Xenon improves performance in the mountains, and inappropriate use can be dangerous.”
The record for the fastest Everest ascent still belongs to Nepal’s Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, who reached the summit in just 10 hours and 56 minutes in 2003.
