Everest in five days: British team’s speed climb triggers probe

Ex-special force soldiers climb in record time after xenon gas treatment in Germany. Nepal launches an inquiry.

Four former British special forces soldiers have set a startling new precedent on Mount Everest, reaching the summit in under five days without the traditional acclimatisation process. Their rapid ascent of the planet’s tallest peak has drawn sharp scrutiny from Nepali authorities, not for the climb itself, but for the controversial use of xenon gas prior to their arrival in Nepal.