A non-athlete climbs Everest
with a broken arm, no acclimatization,
and in hope to set the world record

Last year, I tried to climb Everest in 6 days w/out acclimatization, but suddenly lost vision in the death zone and nearly died.

This May, I aim to climb in just 5 days with doctors NOT recommending me to go.

Spoiler: I have a broken arm.

The Challenge

Regular time to climb Everest - 42 days from sea to summit without prior acclimatization. Rapid ascent - 25 days. World record - 12 days. I want to challenge what professionals say is impossible - to climb Everest in just 5 days.

I will fly from Istanbul to Kathmandu, then - to Everest base camp, and the same night will start climbing to the top of the world.

Andrew is a man who has built everything—his business, his family, his stability—only to risk it all for something as intangible as a number on a stopwatch.

Approach

Acclimatization is the key reason why people spend so much time to climb high mountains. In the altitude, your body affected by 2 factors: reduced % of oxygen (simply speaking) and reduced air pressure. If an ordinary person gets to the top of Everest without prior acclimatization, they will die in a matter of hours.

I want to avoid that long 40-50 days expedition by simulating acclimatization at home, spending time in a hypoxic tent. The problem is that this technology exists for more than 20 years, mostly used for medium level altitudes, and is not a magic pill. It helps to get ready for the 1st factor (reduced % of oxygen), but has no effect on the 2nd factor (air pressure), which mainly caused my blindness and nearly cost me life in 2024.
‍
Many people tried to climb Everest faster using hypoxic tents, and the fastest known time so far belongs to Roxanne Vogel, who climbed Everest in 2021 from sea to summit in 12 days.

The Path

sea-to-summit - 5 days. total path - 5 years.

In 2020, I climbed my first mountain - Ojos del Salado in Chile (6893m). That was really hard to go up, but on the way down my friend got altitude sickness and we had to carry him. It was probably the hardest day in my life. But self-reflection I went through that day and later helped a lot in different areas of my life.
‍
I realized that reaching the edge of possible is the best way of self-improvement that could happen to me.

For this year's expedition, I spend 400+ hours in a hypoxic tent and do 7-9 workouts per week on top of that, which could be up to 4,5 hours long each. Balancing different aspects of life is not easy, but it is something that could lead to a better, more fulfilled life in the future. Even though I'm writing this with 3 fractures after the recent avalanche.

EVEREST 5-DAY CHALLENGE: HUMAN LIMITS, TECHNOLOGY, AND SURVIVAL

Andrew Ushakov is preparing to summit Everest in just 5 days from sea level — an expedition that skips traditional acclimatization and pushes the boundaries of high-altitude human performance. This mission is supported by a cutting-edge research team led by Professor Yannis Pitsiladis, one of the world’s foremost experts in sports science and human performance.

Professor Pitsiladis, a member of the International Olympic Committee’s Medical and Scientific Commission, is globally known for founding the SUB2 project — a landmark initiative that brought together science and athletes to break the two-hour marathon barrier. His work focuses on applying genomics, wearable technology, and real-time data to better understand and extend the limits of human performance.

“ What excites me is understanding the limits of human performance. What can man do? ”

— New York Times, “Man vs. Marathon”

The Everest 5-Day Challenge builds on this vision by using real-time biometric monitoring and AI-powered environmental analytics to ensure climber safety and gather unprecedented data.

Read more

Sensor & smartwatch → API (weather + AI) → insights on user devices.

Principles

No doping

Climbing mountains is another kind of physical activity. I believe that every climber should follow the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and shouldn’t use dexamethasone, xenon, etc., except in an emergency. It is unethical and dangerous for a climber and for others to use doping in the mountains.

Clean Everest

Everest is the Wonder of the world, is a sacred mountain for both people or Nepal and of Tibet. But because of some people's irresponsibility, it is very polluted, especially at Camp 4 (7900m). My team and I will bring down at least 10 kg of that garbage per person while descending, to leave the mountain cleaner than it is now. We'd like to launch this initiative for every climber and every sherpa, so that future generations can enjoy the mountain too.

Everest Camp 4 pollution situation.

The climber

Regular life

Andrew Ushakov, 40

I am a proud father, husband, and a son. Some people say I am a bookworm, with four Master's degrees, including Columbia University and London University. At my work, I take part in designing some of the most complicated buildings in the world, including sky-scrappers in Manhattan. This job requires thorough calculations and risk mitigation.

Mountain life

Andrew Ushakov, 40

I started climbing mountains in 2020 after deciding to feel the life in full. Since then, I have climbed eight high mountains, fighting snow storms in Alaska, helping people with HACE in Andes, and getting frostbites in Antarctica. My greatest passion is to break the limits of what is possible in different areas of life.

The team

No significant achievement can be done alone. I am fortunate to have some of the smartest people I know who help me to get ready (Dr. Irina Zelenkova), to climb (Nimsdai Purja), and to advise (Valentyn Sypavin). Many thanks to my family, friends, and business partners who supported me all this way, and special thanks to the great filming crew that we have!

Obstacles

One-armed

While doing a regular climb in Cotopaxi mountain in Ecuador, on March, 16 2025, I got under the most devastating avalanche in the history of this mountain country. Swept with more than 40 (!) other people, I was dragged for more than 2,500 feet (800 meters).

Read more

Maybe Blind

Trying to climb Everest in 6 days in May 2024, I experienced sudden loss of my vision, and not one, but three times.

First, at 6,100m, at the notorious Khumbu Icefall. I didn't have any days in reserve to rest, so my choices were either to stop expedition and go home, or to continue going blind through crevasses and ice bridges, hoping that I can start seeing later. I chose to go, and in 3-4 very hard hours, I luckily started to see again.

Read more

Mental part

Sleeping for months in a hypoxic tent, long workouts, diet, issues at work, some family stuff, bad memory of last year’s failure on Everest, and the main challenge: no one, ever, climbed such a mountain in so few days without acclimatization.
‍
Another part of the mental challenge was (and is) PR. Last year, trying to set the speed world record on Everest, I posted nothing about it. Zero posts, zero interviews, just a few pictures by myself for memories (way less than people do on a weekend trip). This year, some of my friends insisted that I share the project, because it could inspire a few people in a good way. Thanks for your feedback, whatever it could be!