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

nytimes.com

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

#51

Post by acquisitionsilk »

comrade1234 wrote: post #11

So they slept in hypoxia tents which activates the hypoxia-inducible factor molecule, but they also took xenon which also activates the molecule. So, it's not clear if the xenon actually did anything? Back during the 2000 dot-com boom crash I met a guy who got into a top business school in part by writing about the challenges of climbing Everest. He confessed drunkenly at a party to me that he'd never even left the U…

If the business school is silly enough to accept people based partially on the idea that they climbed Everest, perhaps he was right to treat the task of getting in to the place as essentially theatre.

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

#52

Post by smartbit »

Euphorbium wrote: post #18

Would nitrous work as well?

Nitrous gas inactivates the cobalamin form of vitamin B₁₂ by oxidation. [0]

Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency …… at levels moderately lower than normal, a range of symptoms such as feeling tired, weak, lightheadedness, headaches, dizziness, rapid breathing, rapid heartbeat, cold hands and feet, low-grade fevers, tremor, cold intolerance, easy bruising and bleeding, pale skin, low blood pressure, sore tongue, upset stomach, loss of appetite, weight loss, constipation, diarrhea, severe joint pain, feeling abnormal sensations including numbness or tingling (pins and needles) to the fingers and toes, and tinnitus, may be experienced.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrous_oxide#Safety

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12_deficiency#Signs,_...

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

#53

Post by FirmwareBurner »

acquisitionsilk wrote: post #51
comrade1234 wrote: post #11

So they slept in hypoxia tents which activates the hypoxia-inducible factor molecule, but they also took xenon which also activates the molecule. So, it's not clear if the xenon actually did anything? Back during the 2000 dot-com boom crash I met a guy who got into a top business school in part by writing about the challenges of climbing Everest. He confessed drunkenly at a party to me that he'd never even left the U…

If the business school is silly enough to accept people based partially on the idea that they climbed Everest, perhaps he was right to treat the task of getting in to the place as essentially theatre.

Isn't most business success about convincing people to buy expensive tulips while you (legally) walk away with the money and leave them holding the bags, then rinse and repeat? Seems like he'd be the right person for the job.

And then you wonder why so many young people flirt with communism or want to see the capitalist system burn to the ground. What's the point of ethics and hard work if those who just lie their way into much better opportunities will out-earn you by orders of magnitude? Granted, it's a bit more complicated than that, often those people also have connections, but the feeling still stands.

Not sure if meritocracy has been on a decline, or that we're now just more aware of it due to the internet.

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

#54

Post by sixQuarks »

mensetmanusman wrote: post #45
sschueller wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because others are exploited and risk their lives to get these people up that peak. If it was only them going up on their own without expectations to be rescued if something goes wrong no one would have a problem with it.

[flagged]

People are definitely starting to get white savior fatigue these days. Several comments like this in response, whereas in the past you’d seen none.

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

#55

Post by robertlagrant »

timschmidt wrote: post #27
_joel wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Breathing in an inert gas is easier and much safer than injecting something into your body.

Xenon acts like an anesthetic so it's possible to OD on.

True, but they did it ahead of time in a controlled way.

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

#56

Post by formerly_proven »

A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #21

Boss Lowe wrote about doping with xenon gas more than a decade ago: https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/another-use-xenon Also, and quite interestingly, xenon isn't the only element that does this. Cobalt does something very similar: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6157393/ Athletic use is probably more common than people think. And I'd be absolutely shocked if Xe gas weren't already being used in race…

It’s kinda curious that xenon can be used both for performance enhancement _and_ as a general anaesthetic.

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

#57

Post by elif »

meindnoch wrote: post #48
_joel wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Breathing in an inert gas is easier and much safer than injecting something into your body.

Casually breathing in an anaesthetic gas for prolonged periods is easier and much safer than injecting a widely used medicine? Are you out of your mind?

When you put it that way it sounds like something you'd hear from a hippie crack user

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

#58

Post by elif »

nokeya wrote: post #17

“Days instead of weeks on the mountain foot” - that’s the crucial point. Less time -> less money spent on accommodation, supplies, personnel there. Obviously they don’t want to lose income.

Nah the logic is less time on the mountain > more climbers per climbing season.

They will do this math eventually and then they will require xenon prep.

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

#59

Post by ivape »

lm28469 wrote: post #5

[flagged]

I never blame the individual for this. Society has been pushing the concept of "success" and "achievement" for quite a while. I'm of the superstitious opinion that something divine forced the hand of AI to put an end to our endless pursuits and re-think this whole life of "work".

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

#60

Post by TheCondor »

Lio wrote: post #44
jppittma wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not both? Also detection?!? That’s crazy. Everybody should be doing this. The raison d’etre for these sorts of bans is their perceived negative health consequences. You almost certainly safer using whatever PED you can get your hands on if you’re trying to climb Everest.

> Why not both? Because if you can inject EPO then you don't need xenon. With EPO you can generate as many red blood cells your body can handle.

Including too much, people have died from this.

The point remains though, this is recreation so why not just hire Dr Ferrari and take cera or epo

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