- Nepali sustainability advocate Sushil Khadka warns the shortcut could ‘make Mount Everest a racing car competition,’ accelerating environmental damage and economic losses - ‘People that are using xenon still have to climb the same mountain, the same distances, the same difficulty … It doesn’t make the climb easier – it makes it safer,’ says expedition organizer Lukas Furtenbach ISTANBUL Instead of gathering for a traditional puja ceremony at Everest Base Camp – where climbers seek blessings