Climber hopes to scale Everest in half the usual time

British-born climber Adrian Ballinger is using new techniques to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain, in half the time it takes using traditional methods

The new fast paced method involves acclimatising before travelling to the mountain. Ballinger, who has climbed Everest six times, told 5 live Breakfast:

“We pre-acclimatise in tents at home, mimicking the effects of altitude. We do that for two months before we leave and effective train our bodies to 17,500 feet.”

“And then we utilise new oxygen systems that deliver more oxygen more efficiently so for the number of bottles we carry we get a lot more oxygen and that enables us to climb higher and faster.”

Critics in the mountain climbing community have described the benefits of hypoxic tents as "quack science' but Ballinger believes the new approach can help people reach the summit of Everest in 30 to 35 days where most climbers take around 60 days using traditional methods.