An unconventional trip up Mount Everest by British climbers has started a bit of a debate.

The group managed to fly from London, summit Everest and return home in under a week by using xenon gas. The gas is said to help climbers quickly acclimatise to high altitudes. 

The trip has left many people questioning the ethics of using the gas - and asked if one of mountaineering's greatest accomplishments should be made easier. 

New Zealand mountaineer Lydia Bradey says this isn't unethical, and it's not going to put sherpas out of work.

"You still need to have a base camp, which has to be created. You still need to have equipment, ropes up the mountain which are carried and fixed by sherpas...and you still need to have camps and gas canisters and oxygen bottles carried for the summit."

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An unconventional trip up Mount Everest by British climbers has started a bit of a debate.
The group managed to fly from London, summit Everest and return home in under a week by using xenon gas. The gas is said to help climbers quickly acclimatise to high altitudes.&nbsp;
The trip has left many people questioning the ethics of using the gas - and asked if one of mountaineering's greatest accomplishments should be made easier.&nbsp;
New Zealand mountaineer Lydia Bradey says this isn't unethical, and it's not going to put sherpas out of work.
"You still need to have a base camp, which has to be created. You still need to have equipment, ropes up the mountain which are carried and fixed by sherpas...and you still need to have camps and gas canisters and oxygen bottles carried for the summit."
LISTEN ABOVE

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The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Lydia Bradey: New Zealand mountaineer on the group who used xenon gas to speed up their summit of Everest

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/703ed3ff-a491-4365-af91-b2ee01840458/transcript