Latest news with #AndrewUshakov
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
After record-breaking Everest climbers revealed they use hypoxic tents to get altitude ready without acclimatizing on the mountain, we look at how the technology works
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Around 800 people attempt to climb Mount Everest each year, braving extreme conditions for the chance to say they've stood on top of the world. Along with rigorous physical and mental training, hopefuls need to prepare for the harrowing effects of altitude atop Earth's tallest mountain, where the amount of oxygen taken in with each breath is drastically lower than at sea level. Traditionally, climbers have acclimatized by spending significant time in the mountains, heading up and down to prepare their bodies for the dizzying heights, and reducing the impact of altitude sickness. This tried and tested method has proven effective for the past 70 years of Everest expeditions, but comes with one major drawback: time. Without four to six weeks to dedicate to acclimatization, many Everest hopefuls are now turning to modern technology to help them prepare, sleeping and exercising in specialist acclimatizing 'hypoxic' tents, which do away with the need to spend months in the mountains. 'You sleep like garbage if you're not acclimatized, you lose your appetite, so you wither away Brian Oestrike, CEO of Hypoxico Altitude Training Systems As alien as it may sound, hypoxic tents, otherwise known as altitude tents, have become increasingly common in recent years, used by alpinists and climbers to prepare for harsh conditions. This year, a group of British veterans in their forties and fifties used hypoxic tents in combination with controversial Xenon gas to speed-climb the mountain, summiting a record four days after arriving in Nepal and effectively going from sea level in London, to the highest peak on the planet in 5 days. The very next day, US-Ukrainian climber Andrew Ushakov claimed to have broken their record, after spending over 400 hours acclimatizing in a hypoxic tent. Ushakov says he went from New York to the Everest summit in just 3 days, 23 hours, and 27 minutes. So what are hypoxic tents, and how can they help climbers achieve these once-unthinkable feats? Read on for everything you need to know. Put simply, hypoxic tents mimic the low oxygen levels of high-altitude environments. The air at sea level contains 20.9% accessible oxygen, a number that drops dramatically the higher you get. At Everest base camp, it falls to around 10.4%. By the summit, it's down to just a third of the accessible oxygen quotient at regular sea-level. In healthy individuals, blood oxygen saturation levels sit around 98% to 100% at sea level. At altitude, that number drops to roughly 87% to 92% This has a weakening effect and can cause altitude sickness. Hypoxic tents simulate this mix with a generator or pump, which removes oxygen and replaces it with nitrogen, reducing the amount of oxygen in the air to high-altitude levels. Sleeping in the simulated altitude conditions of a hypoxic tent triggers your body to saturate your blood oxygen levels, releasing red blood cells and ready your system for conditions at 20,000ft (6,096m). 'As you expose yourself to altitude, your kidneys release EPO [erythropoietin], which starts this physiological change that leads to an increase in red blood cells, but more so into a better ability to transport and utilize oxygen,' Brian Oestrike, CEO of Hypoxico Altitude Training Systems tells us. Climbers like Ushakov use hypoxic tents to ready themselves for the unforgiving mountain conditions atop the globe's tallest peaks. Saturating your blood oxygen levels can be beneficial in several ways, reducing the risk of altitude sickness and preparing your body for the tiring effects of altitude. 'You improve your comfort and safety margin as you're ascending up through the mountains,' Oestrike explains. 'You sleep like garbage if you're not acclimatized, you lose your appetite, so you wither away as those things happen. By acclimatizing beforehand and using this equipment, you can offset your expedition, it improves your safety and your comfort margin.' By mimicking arduous alpine conditions, hypoxic tents can reduce the time it takes to acclimatize. 'Most people, if they're going to the Himalayas, historically have a six to eight-week expedition itinerary,' continues Oestrike. 'It takes that long for your body to slowly adapt and build the red blood cells that carry oxygen and allow you to climb safely." Ultra-running superstar Kilian Jornet slept inside a hypoxic tent for eight weeks before his maiden ascent of Mount Everest, mimicking altitudes of 13,000ft (3,962m) to 16,000ft (4,877m) without leaving sea level. He then became the fastest man to climb Everest alone and without oxygen, summiting the 29,000ft (8,850m) behemoth in just 26 hours. Although they're becoming increasingly popular with climbers and other extreme athletes, hypoxic tents do have their limitations and experts say they cannot be trusted as the sole method for acclimatization. "It's not the full acclimatization. I would say it's the first step," says Grégoire Millet, Professor of Exercise Physiology at the Institute of Sport Sciences in Lausanne, France. He explains that, even after months of sleeping in a hypoxic tent, "you will use some acclimatization, but not the full spectrum. You can be fully acclimatized in the tent, and not acclimatized to the real mountain". In other words, hypoxic tents cannot fully prepare the body for the rigours and difficulties of climbing at very high altitudes. In the Himalayas, elite climbers (and paying clients) on expeditions aiming for the highest peaks enter what is known as the Death Zone, an extremely dangerous zone above 26,247ft (8,000m), where besides having to deal with temperatures potentially tumbling to -31°F (-35°C) and highly technical terrain, the oxygen in the air is so low it's impossible for humans to survive for long. "You have to go to the real mountain for at least a few days before you travel," advises Millet, an expert in acclimatization technology. He advises climbers to use the tents in combination with traditional acclimatization methods, like sleeping atop smaller mountains, before tackling any major peaks. "It's better to use the tents, and then before you go to the Himalayas, it's recommended that you go for at least a few days to the Alps," he says. He says your body acclimatizes differently at real altitude and, despite their many benefits, hypoxic tents cannot fully replicate the tough conditions and and lack of oxygen in the mountains. It's not just mountaineers who put hypoxic tents to good use. All manner of sports people, from swimmers to footballers, use simulated altitude environments to expand their physical capabilities and access the benefits of altitude training. 'If you can transport and utilize oxygen better, that leads to better performance benefits, and literally just more ability to consume oxygen,' says Oestrike. "Most of the elite athletes, they have a hypoxic chamber at home," adds Millet. "It's not a tent, but it's a real chamber. It's the same idea, you decrease the oxygen concentration in the room." By training and sleeping at altitude, athletes can increase what's known as their hemoglobin mass, which boosts the amount of oxygen they can utilize during exercise. As Millet explains, this requires considerably more time than mountain acclimatization: "Every 100 hours sleeping in the tent, you will increase your hemoglobin by one percent." Every member of the US Olympic rowing quad who won gold at the Paris 2024 games reportedly slept in hypoxic tents for six weeks before racing. Although they're designed for elite athletes, hypoxic tents can be useful to outdoor enthusiasts of all abilities, helping to build fitness and intensify workouts. When it comes to climbing, Oestrike suggests that hypoxic tents are even more useful to amateurs than professionals. 'Most people who are committed to an 8,000m (26,247ft) peak know what they're getting into, they know what the training looks like, and they know what it takes to prepare. 'High-level athletes are already training super intensively. So the person that's more modest and maybe needs to lose a little weight, they're going to see a greater upside.' Of course, hypoxic tents are not required for easy-to-medium-difficulty ascents. Nor are they absolutely essential to climb giants like Mount Everest. Traditional, slower, acclimatization has proven itself as an effective, stress-tested method of alpine preparation. Rather, hypoxic tents are an additional and convenient method of acclimatizing, to be used along with high-altitude climbing and intensive training. You can read our exclusive interview with Andrew Ushakov here. For more on climbing preparation, check out our expert guide. The best ice axes: for tackling frozen terrain The best climbing shoes: get a grip both indoors and out
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Peak speed: Sherpas say their traditions are at risk after record Everest ascents
There is nothing unusual about records being broken on Mount Everest. But last week, two sets of climbers turned heads with ascents that many had never thought possible: they went straight up from sea level to the world's highest summit in less than a week. On Wednesday, a team of four UK climbers, all ex-special forces soldiers, summited Everest having landed from London just over four days earlier. The following day, US-Ukrainian climber Andrew Ushakov said he had gone from New York to the top of Everest in under four days. With Everest standing at a staggering 8,849 metres, scaling safely to the top usually requires spending several weeks acclimatising at a lower altitude, normally Everest base camp, so the body can adjust to the lower level of oxygen. Without this acclimatisation, most climbers would sicken or die in the final stages of summiting due to the thin oxygen levels above 8,000 metres, known as the 'death zone'. Altitude sickness accounts for almost as many deaths as falls and avalanches on Everest. But using new methods and technologies, both the UK team and Ushakov acclimatised before even arriving on the mountain in Nepal, meaning they could skip base camp entirely. Some expedition leaders have claimed these pre-acclimatisation methods mark a new frontier in Everest mountaineering, increasing safety while reducing the two biggest blights on the mountain: rubbish and human waste. However, others – including the Nepalese sherpas whose culture and employment is hugely reliant on leading expeditions up to the highest peak of the Himalayas – have expressed concern that speedier ascents could heavily affect the local economy. There are also worries it will put even more pressure on the mountain, increasing the number of people ascending every season. Nepal typically issues about 400 permits for Everest each year, each valid for 90 days, with no rules for how long climbers spend on the mountain. There are concerns it could encourage more inexperienced climbers to go up by significantly cutting expedition times. Last year was one of the deadliest on record on Everest, which experts partly blamed on the numbers of novices attempting the climb. 'Climbing in just four or five days goes against traditional values and norms that we sherpas have always held,' says Nima Nuru Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. 'I believe the true significance of climbing Everest lies in the traditional way it has been approached, and acclimatising on the mountain is an important part of that. Just because technology exists, does that mean we allow anything?' The Nepal tourism ministry confirmed to the Guardian it had opened an investigation into the legality and ethics of the methods used by the climbers. 'The use of new technology of acclimatisation, such as in the medical lab or in an artificial environment, is a new issue for Nepal,' says Himal Gautam, director of Nepal's tourism industry. 'We understand we have to cope with the emerging technologies and innovation and we are not necessarily against it, but it does raise some issues. 'Our main concern is that there must be fair play and equal treatment to all the mountaineers.' Particularly controversial is the UK team's use of xenon gas, a still experimental method of promoting oxygen-carrying red blood cells in the body, which is a core component of acclimatisation. Use of xenon – otherwise known as an anaesthetic – in high-altitude climbing does not have any recognised scientific backing. The gas is also on the list of substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for its potential performance enhancing qualities, though that body has no jurisdiction over mountaineering. Its use by the British climbers last week was championed by their expedition guide Lukas Furtenbach, a renowned Austrian mountaineer who has been experimenting with xenon at high altitudes since 2020 after being approached by a German doctor and researcher. Furtenbach said that his own and others' experiences of using xenon, including on Everest in three previous years, had demonstrated that it not only sped up acclimatisation but also lowered lung pressure and cardio pressure at altitude, making it much safer and more comfortable. 'It's been clear to me we are ahead of the science on this,' he said. The gas was given to the British climbers in a clinic in Germany two weeks before they flew to Nepal, in a 30-minute treatment not unlike going under anaesthetic. The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation warned in January that, in the absence of clear evidence, xenon use on the mountains could be 'dangerous'. However Furtenbach was adamant that last week's Everest ascent proved it should be celebrated as a leap of progress. 'A one-week climb puts so much less strain on the mountain; less oxygen, less human excretion, less food to be carried, less of a burden on the sherpas, less garbage left behind,' he said. 'At a time when people are saying the environmental pressures on Everest are becoming unsustainable, this would reduce the carbon footprint dramatically.' He pushed back on allegations that climbers who used xenon would have an unfair competitive advantage over others. 'Our goal here is not breaking speed records,' said Furtenbach. 'I believe this is the next step in safe and responsible high-altitude mountaineering.' Ushakov meanwhile says he did not use xenon gas for his four-day climb. Instead he says he relied solely on hypoxic tents to acclimatise over months in his New York apartment, a technology also used by the UK team alongside their gas treatment. Rented for use at home – and mostly used at night while sleeping – these tents create low oxygen environments in order to get the body to adapt to the same conditions as high on the mountain. It is neither a fast nor easy process. Ushakov spent more than 400 hours, over several months, sleeping and preparing inside the tent in order to fully and safely acclimatise for his Everest climb. Though not new, the hypoxic tent technology is still only used by roughly 10-15% of climbers scaling the world's highest peaks. However, Brian Oestrike, CEO of Hypoxico which makes the tents, said their global popularity had significantly increased this year. 'This whole Everest season has been pretty crazy for us,' he said. 'Around 70 rentals just in North America alone.' Oestrike said he did not believe that use of the tents – which usually cost between $1,500 to $2,000 to rent – should be considered 'cheating' when it came to climbing the world's tallest peaks. 'The majority of our clientele are not trying to climb faster, they're just trying to have a safer expedition,' he said. 'I'm of the view that a climb is each person's own accomplishment and how they choose to use this technology is up to them.' But Khimlal Gautam, surveyor of the team that measured the new height of Everest in 2019, says there are bigger questions at play. 'Tomorrow, there might be technology that allows helicopters to reach the very tip of Everest's summit. If that happens, what will we do?' he said. 'Now is finally the time to develop a firm code of ethics for mountaineering.'
Arab News
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Arab News
Ukrainian climber released from detention days after record-breaking Everest ascent
'Andrew is now out of custody after a misunderstanding,' said Ushakov's public relations team 'He is currently working to clarify all matters with the relevant authorities'Katmandu: Ukrainian climber Andrew Ushakov, who completed a journey from sea level to the summit of Mount Everest in a record four days, has been released on bail following his arrest for carrying undeclared foreign currency, a Nepali official told Reuters on Tuesday.'He has to face the charges in court,' said Chandi Prasad Ghimire, director general of the Department of Revenue Investigation. 'If he chooses to raise hands (not fight the case in court) he forfeits the bail money.'Ghimire had previously said that the bail was set at $60,000 — three times the amount allegedly carried by Ushakov, 40, when he was taken into custody on Sunday.'Andrew is now out of custody after a misunderstanding,' Ushakov's public relations team told Reuters on Tuesday. 'He is grateful for the support he has received and is currently working to clarify all matters with the relevant authorities.'Ushakov, a structural engineer who lives in the United States, flew from New York to Nepal on May 15 before scaling Everest without the usual period of several weeks of said he did not use Xenon, the gas inhaled by four British former special forces soldiers who scaled Earth's highest mountain last week, in five days, after leaving London. The climbers used Xenon to pre-acclimatize themselves to the low-oxygen environment they would encounter as they journeyed toward the 8,849-meter official Nakul Pokhrel said that the undeclared foreign currency was detected during baggage screening as Ushakov readied to board a plane leaving Katmandu, Nepal's capital carrying foreign currency worth more than $5,000 is required to declare it to the authorities in Nepal.
Straits Times
27-05-2025
- Straits Times
Ukrainian climber released from detention days after record-breaking Everest ascent
Andrew Ushakov, a Ukrainian man living and working in United States as an engineer speaks during an interview with Reuters, who said that he completed a journey from sea level to the summit of Mount Everest in a record time, at a mountaineering gear store after completing his summit, in Kathmandu, Nepal, May 23, 2025. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar/File Photo KATHMANDU - Ukrainian climber Andrew Ushakov, who completed a journey from sea level to the summit of Mount Everest in a record four days, has been released on bail following his arrest for carrying undeclared foreign currency, a Nepali official told Reuters on Tuesday. "He has to face the charges in court," said Chandi Prasad Ghimire, director general of the Department of Revenue Investigation. "If he chooses to raise hands (not fight the case in court) he forfeits the bail money." Ghimire had previously said that the bail was set at $60,000 -- three times the amount allegedly carried by Ushakov, 40, when he was taken into custody on Sunday. "Andrew is now out of custody after a misunderstanding," Ushakov's public relations team told Reuters on Tuesday. "He is grateful for the support he has received and is currently working to clarify all matters with the relevant authorities." Ushakov, a structural engineer who lives in the United States, flew from New York to Nepal on May 15 before scaling Everest without the usual period of several weeks of acclimatisation. He said he did not use Xenon, the gas inhaled by four British former special forces soldiers who scaled Earth's highest mountain last week, in five days, after leaving London. The climbers used Xenon to pre-acclimatise themselves to the low-oxygen envionment they would encounter as they journeyed toward the 8,849-metre summit. Police official Nakul Pokhrel said that the undeclared foreign currency was detected during baggage screening as Ushakov readied to board a plane leaving Kathmandu, Nepal's capital city. Anyone carrying foreign currency worth more than $5,000 is required to declare it to the authorities in Nepal. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Ukrainian climber released from detention days after record-breaking Everest ascent
KATHMANDU, May 27 (Reuters) - Ukrainian climber Andrew Ushakov, who completed a journey from sea level to the summit of Mount Everest in a record four days, has been released on bail following his arrest for carrying undeclared foreign currency, a Nepali official told Reuters on Tuesday. "He has to face the charges in court," said Chandi Prasad Ghimire, director general of the Department of Revenue Investigation. "If he chooses to raise hands (not fight the case in court) he forfeits the bail money." Ghimire had previously said that the bail was set at $60,000 -- three times the amount allegedly carried by Ushakov, 40, when he was taken into custody on Sunday. "Andrew is now out of custody after a misunderstanding," Ushakov's public relations team told Reuters on Tuesday. "He is grateful for the support he has received and is currently working to clarify all matters with the relevant authorities." Ushakov, a structural engineer who lives in the United States, flew from New York to Nepal on May 15 before scaling Everest without the usual period of several weeks of acclimatisation. He said he did not use Xenon, the gas inhaled by four British former special forces soldiers who scaled Earth's highest mountain last week, in five days, after leaving London. The climbers used Xenon to pre-acclimatise themselves to the low-oxygen envionment they would encounter as they journeyed toward the 8,849-metre summit. Police official Nakul Pokhrel said that the undeclared foreign currency was detected during baggage screening as Ushakov readied to board a plane leaving Kathmandu, Nepal's capital city. Anyone carrying foreign currency worth more than $5,000 is required to declare it to the authorities in Nepal.
