December 10, 2014
Helicopter view of the Dudh Kosi valley with Nuptse, Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam and Tengboche monastery (Eric Simonson)
There have been some recent assertions in the media that many Everest climbers are all jacked up on performance enhancing drugs. Speaking on behalf of the guides here at IMG who go to Everest every year, our experience is the exact opposite. Other than maybe using some Diamox on the first few days of the trek, when initially going to higher altitudes, our experience has been that few, if any, of our IMG Everest climbers take any kind of high altitude medications when climbing Mt Everest.
In an attempt to shed some light on this apparent big difference in opinion, some of our friends in the high altitude medical community are reaching out to Everest climbers with a survey. Their goal is to cut through the speculation and actually get some data, and we are supportive of this effort. If you are an Everest climber or know someone who is, please check out this survey information.
Eric Simonson