A recent event has raised questions about whether using medical oxygen in Base Camp allows a stricken climber to later claim a no-O2 climb, if he recovers and reaches the summit. We checked with the team at The Himalayan Database. After some deliberation, they replied.
Yesterday, we reported that Ryan Mitchell of the U.S. had suffered some health problems near Everest Base Camp. He had just returned from a break in Kathmandu while waiting for the Icefall to open. Already in Gorak Shep, he felt sick, and his blood oxygen level had sunk to 35%. He was forced to use bottled oxygen while he recovered to prevent High Altitude Pulmonary Edema.
Still options for a No-O2 claim?
He then retreated down the valley to a lower altitude. In a post today, he reported he was in Lukla and felt better.
Mitchell and his team acted sensibly in a medical emergency. Nevertheless, his unfortunate bout of Acute Mountain Sickness prompted the community to wonder: If all went well from now on, and Mitchell recovered and climbed Everest without further oxygen, would his climb still be considered no-O2?
A member of a Belgian team prepares oxygen to assist a porter with Acute Mountain Sickness. Photo: Sophie Lenaerts
In the time of Himalayan chronicler Elizabeth Hawley, a single sip of bottled gas would completely invalidate a no-O2 claim. Yet we wanted to know if the criteria had changed since then, so we asked Billie Bierling of the current Himalayan Database team. She discussed the matter with fellow researchers Richard Salisbury and Rodolphe Popier. Their reply was as follows:
O2 is O2
“The Himalayan Database would consider this ascent as having used oxygen because we believe that on the same expedition, if you use O2 for whatever reason, it is an O2-supported climb,” they said.
Of course, they noted, there are variables — how long the gas was used, for what purpose, and how long before the summit climb. However, they continue using the same procedure as the late Elizabeth Hawley. In the final classification, any use of oxygen counts, regardless of the circumstances.
Oxygen cylinders before use on Everest. Photo: IMG
Similarly, climbers who use oxygen for medical reasons on the way down from a summit, or once they reach a camp — even at the base of the mountain — may also not claim a no-oxygen ascent.
