climb

democratize the climb to Everest

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a drone DJI Mavic 3 Pro Equipped with a Hasselblad camera, he has managed to capture something that until recently seemed impossible: the complete ascent of Mount Everest from base camp to the summit in a single continuous flight. For 43 minutes, the aircraft traveled 3,500 meters of altitude, crossing the Khumbu icefall, the South Col and the final walls until reaching 8,848 meters of altitude. The images reveal the normal route of ascent in all its magnitude, including the characteristic queues of mountaineers who each season try to crown the roof of the world. The challenge. At that altitude, the air contains barely a third of the oxygen available at sea level, temperatures can drop to -30°C and winds reach speeds that would make the flight of any conventional drone impossible. The team used the Mavic 3 Pro with a four-thirds CMOS sensor, a combination that allowed stability and image quality to be maintained in extreme conditions. Beyond the visual spectacle, this flight is part of a more ambitious project by DJI: to demonstrate that drones can save lives on the highest mountain on the planet. Drones in high mountains. The tests of DJI on Everest respond to a clear commercial strategy: convert their drones into rescue and logistics tools in extreme environments. The Chinese company seeks to demonstrate that these aircraft can transport medicines, locate missing mountaineers and facilitate emergency operations at altitudes where thin air complicates any human intervention. The best-known precedent occurred in 2018, when Scottish mountaineer Rick Allen was located on Broad Peak after 36 hours lost at more than 7,000 meters of altitude. thanks to a DJI Mavic drone. That rescue, coordinated by Bartek Bargiel, brother of the skier Andrzej Bargiel, who we will now talk about again, marked a turning point in the perception of drones as high mountain safety instruments. Qualitative leap. In 2025, the Nepalese company Airlift Technology began providing drone logistics services between Everest Base Camp and Camp One, separated by approximately 2.9 kilometers in a straight line but by a 700-meter difference in altitude and the dangerous Khumbu Icefall. What takes the Sherpas between six and seven hours of crossing, a drone completes it in six or seven minutes. Milan Pandey, the company’s drone pilot, explains that during the 2025 climbing season they transported ladders, ropes and oxygen cylinders following radio instructions from the Sherpas who install the fixed routes. Safer. The impact on the job security of these high mountain workers is significant. The so-called “icefall doctors” (Sherpas specialized in preparing and maintaining the passage through the Khumbu glacier) traditionally had to go up and down dozens of times each season carrying heavy equipment through unstable terrain where Almost 50 people have died since 1953. They can now request additional material without having to descend to base camp, which dramatically reduces risk. The key case. On September 22, 2025, Polish mountain skier Andrzej Bargiel completed a feat that combines extreme mountaineering with technological innovation: Ascended Everest without supplemental oxygen and skied down to base camp without removing skis. After almost 16 hours climbing in the so-called “death zone” above 8,000 meters, Bargiel began the descent along the South Col route. What was innovative was the role of drones in this expedition: his brother Bartek piloted one from base camp to guide him through the Khumbu Icefall, the most dangerous section of the descent. All this is seen in the full 31 minute documentary which records the adventure using cameras mounted on Bargiel’s helmet and aerial shots captured by drones. The footage reveals a extremely technical descent: ice, almost vertical walls, traversing exposed ledges and, in the final stretch of the Khumbu waterfall, slow maneuvers avoiding deep cracks and blocks of ice the size of buildings. The assistance of the drone was critical precisely in this sector: Bartek flew in real time over the glacier, identifying stable snow bridges, marking dead ends and choosing safe slopes. Visual democratization. Videos like these are part of a broader phenomenon. YouTube hosts thousands of recordings documenting mountain climbs, cave explorations, glacier traverses, and cliff flyovers that until a decade ago could only be captured by helicopters or million-dollar productions. An example is that of the Chinese photographer Ma Chunlin, who spent five years obtaining the necessary permits and carrying out test flights before achieving a definitive recording of the ascent of Everest. in one shot. Technically possible. This type of content responds to a technological evolution that has made accessible tools previously reserved for professionals. Models like the DJI Mavic Mini, which weighs 249 grams, allow users without prior experience to capture stabilized aerial shots in resolutions higher than Full HD. Portability is key: Foldable drones that fit in a backpack during long hikes have removed the logistical barriers that previously limited aerial photography to specialized equipment. The doubts. The proliferation of drones in natural spaces has generated debates about their impact. Regulations vary significantly between countries and regions: some National Parks prohibit its use entirely, while others allow flights with prior authorization. The balance between visual access to nature and the preservation of these environments (including the protection of wildlife that may be disturbed by the noise and presence of these devices) remains an open question. In Xataka | China doesn’t know what to do with so many drones. Their solution: create lower airspace

The price of extra virgin olive oil is rising again. The question is how far that climb will reach

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They run times convulsive moved in the oil market of Spanish olive. For both consumers who go to the supermarket in search of bottles and for farmers who sell their crops. After the increases and Down Price lived by one and the other in recent years, the oil mills have just encountered a surprise: the price of the extra virgin in origin has just exceeded the psychological barrier of the four euros per kiloan important ‘red line’ for the producers that had been touching for several months. The big question is how far that climb will reach. What happened? That the price at the origin of extra virgin olive oil has exceeded the psychological barrier of four euros per kilo. We know it thanks to the data of the last week (August 18-24) Disclosed By Asaja-Jaén, which has had access to updated information of the Poolred system. To be more precise, the Aove marks € 4,001/kg, the Virgin 3.53 and in Lampanant 3.29. Their values ​​are in tune with those of the Price and Markets Observatory of the Junta de Andalucía, which also places the extra virgin at source above four euros. With regard to consumption prices, for now, CPI boards show that the cost of olive oil in general has fallen 3.1% in June And it remains sensibly below of the values ​​a year ago. Why is it important? For several reasons. The main is that the Aove had been located below that value for months, as reflected The Andalusian Observatory or the platform Infaolivewhich shows that the extra virgin remained below four euros since practically beginning of 2025. Since then its graph shows that it has been oscillating around € 3.5/kg. Other sources They assure that the Aove does not reach four euros since December 2024. Are there more reasons? Yes. The second reason why this milestone is so important is that it has a symbolic background for oil producers. In the sector there are who considers that the four euros per kilo mark the ‘barrier’ that maintains the profitability of the farms. Others They hold that the minimum that covers production expenses is higher and set at € 5/kg. In any case, the truth is that the sector had been under that ‘red line’ for months. In May, for example, the Coordinator of Agricultural and Livestock Organizations (COAG) warned That while consumers paid about six euros per liter, the producers received less than 3.5 for the extra virgin, far from the between 5.55 and € 6.14/kg that, according to their calculations, had to mark the price of Aove the 2024/25 campaign. “It is a situation that cannot be maintained over time.” Why does the price upload? For several reasons. The main is the drift of the harvest. Although initially the farmers had a great campaign, driven by spring rains, which even led the government to endow a ‘nuclear button’ that the case would allow you to remove oil from the market to guarantee your “stability”, everything indicates that the campaign will be less prolific of the expected. So much so that a month ago the farmers launched A message to reduce optimism and emphasize the expectations of the sector. What can we expect then? “The current situation in the main autonomous producing community, Andalusia, leads us to think that the euphoria that reigned among the great market operators about a historical harvest is collapsing,” They warned in July from the union of small farmers and ranchers (UPA). Its production estimates for Andalusia then pointed to between 950,000 and 1.15 million tons, a figure holds the meteorology drift of the coming months. “That is, at best we would be in a situation similar to the 2024/2025 campaign”, They needed. Behind that lower production there is a cluster of factorsincluding high temperatures during flowering, the influence of pests, the impact of the latest heat waves on the size of the fruit or the plantation’s own veracular. UPA’s global estimate is that the production fork of the next campaign will move between 1.2 and 1.4 million of tons, a figure that responds to the cutting of forecasts in Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha. And how does the market leave? That is the other key that explains the drift of prices. Poolred data or the Andalusian Observatory show an increase in prices at source throughout recent weeks, but still sales have advanced at a good pace: a few weeks ago Asaja Córdoba celebrated that olive oil outlets reached last month the 147,000 t“the highest figures of the last ten years in a month of July at the national level.” The link, which reflects the stocks of merchandise that will remain between campaigns, is also promised short, with 270,000 tonsas required The economist. Another of the keys to the campaign is the behavior of the US market. The newspaper slides that between January and May the sales of Spanish olive oil in the US grew by 31.25%, although that rebound was not even to the value of sales. The big question is how tariffs will affect. July exports data (still free of fees) already show A fallalthough in the sector there are Optimistic voices They remember that there are faithful customers who already paid for Spanish oil when their price at source was much higher than the current one. Images | Wikipedia and Iloveaceite (Flickr) 1 and 2 In Xataka | More and more giants get into the Andalusian field and in the olive oil industry. The last: Pepsico

You cannot climb to the Madrid subway with an electric scooter. In China’s, robots are already a passenger

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In October 2023, An incident with the battery of an electric scooter It caused the closure of a subway line in the capital of Spain for three hours. That led the authorities to prohibit The entrance of these devices to public transport Until 2027. In China, there are other battery devices that are already driving at ease by the subway network: robots. Which until not long ago was science fiction material, Today is a reality. The world is pushing the development of robots and, while until recently the demonstrations by companies such as Boston Dynamics They were limited to bailongos robots focused on professional environmentstoday what come to us are machines created for all types of ends. Boxing robots, football robotshumanoid robots that We can buy for what a car costs and even Robot dogs for blind people. And something that everyone has in common is that they are already being tested, one way or another, In China. The latter is an army of robots that already go from side to side for the Shenzhen subwaytaking trains and rising in elevators. And it has all the meaning of the world. Robots assault the subway A few days ago, 41 company robots VX Logistics They began to circulate through different Shenzhen Metro lines. They have a processor that allows artificial intelligence tasks, have Lidar sensors With “viewing” panoramic and that AI work allows them to make decisions in real time to make the best decision when it comes to their destination. The goal of this robot squad is to bring supplies to stores 7-Eleven located inside the stations and, for this, they not only take the subway: they are also capable of going up and down in a totally autonomous way and without supervision by the elevators of the stations. With considerable size and an aesthetic that resembles that of Robots-Camareros They are appearing in some Spanish restaurants, these machines They can load up to 130 kilos of weight. At the moment, it is a pilot program to see how they manage to distribute among the more than 100 stores 7-eleven distributed by the Shenzhen network, with nine million of daily customers, but the goal is to expand their scope. There are elements to take into account in all this. VX Logistics is part of Vanke, a Chinese real estate giant who is also co -owner of the Shenzhen Metro. But, beyond the marketing that has “free” more than 40 autonomous robots for the subway, as we read in SCMP It is something focused on solving a classic network problem: the refueling of stores. Li Yanyan is a manager of one of these stores and, as he explains to the local medium SZ News, “the distributors had to park on the surface, download the merchandise and take it manually to the inside. Now, with the robots, it will be easier and more comfortable.” They don’t say What will happen to those deliverymenif they will be in charge of providing the goods to the robots or if their function will be reduced more. What is known is that, as the company itself has communicated, the robots will be perfected based on their real -world performance. Now, apparently, These robots only operate in valley hoursin which less people are using the network. And less bad that they only operate in valley hours, because agile, what is said agile, are not. What has caused is that the first days of robots work, travelers are They will look or take pictures. The robots were already prepared for this, with a screen that shows a friendly “face” when it crosses someone. We will see how they develop and how long it will take to see similar robots in other stations, but what is clear is that China is pushing strong in the robotics segment For the “day to day” and Shenzhen is one of the lungs of his industry, with approximately 1,000 robotics companies only in that city, 18 of them Focused to humanoid robotics. Images | VX Logistics In Xataka | A Chinese firm has just presented a quadruped that challenges the limits. Boston Dynamics no longer has a clear path

This explains the PVPC climb in May

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Almost a month after the blackout that ravaged Spain, Portugal and southern France, the event has caused A wave of reactions in which the debate has been more than served. The main cause of the discussion has been the stability of the Spanish electrical system in a context of high penetration of renewable energy. Although initially the lack of inertia was indicated as possible cause, subsequent reports indicate that the level of inertia In the system it was adequate and exceeded European recommendations. Research has pointed to A series of anomalous eventsincluding oscillations in the electricity grid and generation losses in southwest regions, which triggered the collapse. However, there are still inquiries to continue to determine exactly the origin of the failure. It is a process that will take time: that they tell USA either Italywhere similar research took years. But in the meantime, the priority is to guarantee stability at all costs. The problem is that this security has a price. A price to pay. The Electricity of Spain (REE) has intensified The energy support with gas plants to ensure speed of response to any mismatch. This greater “firmness and flexibility” implies cost overruns that are already beginning to be noticed in the receipt of the light of many homes. In depth. The May electrical bill will be more expensive for about a third of domestic consumers: those that are welcomed to the regulated market (PVPC). According to the countryan average family with a consumption of 249 kilowatts hour (kWh) in May will pay 4.08 euros more in April. That represents an approximate rise of 8% compared to 50 euros from the previous month. The increase is not due to the price of energy itself, but to an increase in the so -called “adjustment services”, costs associated with maintaining the balance of the electrical system in real time. In May, these services have been more expensive to 3.59 cents per kWh. In the coming months. Despite this punctual rebound, the general context of the electrical system is favorable. The average May cost is below € 14/MWh, very close to the historical minimum registered in April 2024, according to the data of the Iberian Energy Market (OMIE). In addition, now the impact only affects the regulated market, but in the medium and long term it will have consequences for those in the free market, when they renew contracts or change company. What if the support had been given by the nuclear? Although they provide stable generation, their lack of flexibility prevents them from reacting quickly to events such as the blackout. In fact, during the April 28 crisis, nuclear power plants were automatically disconnected and took more than other sources to work again, such as Several experts explained to us. In addition, the high renewable generation of these months has forced to operate the idlewhich further limits its role as system support. Therefore, the reinforcement has fallen to the most expensive gas plants, and the extra cost is over the invoice. A photo for summer. In the last daily balances of Ree, corresponding to the last days of May, A strong renewable prominence is confirmed in the Spanish electrical system. However, this advance is not exempt from challenges since to guarantee the stability of the network in an environment of high renewable penetration, it will be necessary to strengthen investment in technologies of storage, MicroRedes and backup systems that ensure a safe and continued supply. Image | Pexels Xataka | The electricity bill is rising again in Europe and Spain. A perfect storm of gas is to blame

Some mountaineers want to climb Everest from London in seven days. There is controversy because there is “trick”: Xenon gas

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Although it has become a monster touristifiedwith Hundreds of promotions every year and a large amount of garbageEverest remains a mountain within reach of a minority. Crown her It is not cheapit demands a good physical form and a considerable time investment to acclimatize at its altitude. Mountaineers usually pass several weeks in the base camp and move through the mountain and the neighboring peaks to prepare their bodies before entering The “Zone of Death”more than 8,000 m, named for its low levels of oxygen. Now a group of British has proposed to complete an entire expedition in just seven days thanks to the help of a gas that is usually used as anesthetic. And that is generating A considerable stir In the world of mountaineering. A “walk” from London to Everest. The itinerary is so surprising that it sounds like science fiction or the script of the new movie of the saga ‘Mission Impossible’. What have proposed to Carns and three other colleagues, all ex -military, is to go and return to Everest from London in a week. With summit included, of course. Its roadmap plays to a plane in London, fly around 7,5400 kilometers to Katmandu, in Nepal, then complete the journey to the Everest base camp aboard a helicopter and finally ascend to the top of the world in just a few days. In total around 168 hours. Nothing to do with the weeks of acclimatization that EVrest usually demands. Click on the image to go to Tweet. Three days of upload, two of descent. “Time begins to count when we leave Heathrow and stops when he returns,” I commented carns Recently a The Washington Post. “We probably thought of a travel day, then three days of upload, two of descent and the last day of travel.” The goal It is ambitious: to fulfill a journey to Everest of seven days “door to door” from London and, incidentally, “redefine what is possible in mountaineering at great altitude.” The mission is called “7 Days Mission Everest”he planned to start from London on Friday 16 (his updated advance can be followed Through its website) and its objective, beyond marking a milestone in the history of Everest, is to raise money for charity organizations dedicated to supporting war veterans and their families. “I always say that we have a 30% chance to get this in seven days, and about 70% of doing so in less than 21 days,” Comment Carns. Even if in the end that last goal, the team would be achieved considerably the duration of traditional expeditions and get a national record. The fastest expedition from London to date lasted 21 days. And how are they going to do it? That is the key. Carns and his companions are ex -military in good shape and throughout the last months have undergone a demanding training. Not just that. For several months the four sleep in hypoxic campaign stores Installed in their homes, spaces that reproduce oxygen levels that will be found at high altitudes and those that mountaineers usually resort to mitigate the symptoms of high high evil. However, neither training nor acclimatization are nothing new nor explain how the carns team intends to raise and lower the mountain in a matter of five days, a ridiculous time if compared to the weeks and weeks of acclimatization to which the mountaineers who travel to Everest usually submit. The key to your mission is another: The xenon. That is what explains that they aspire to finish the expedition in seven days instead of the Between six and seven weeks that usually last the normal missions. And what is the xenon for? Xenon is a noble gas discovered in the nineteenth century and was used for decades as a powerful anesthetic in medicine. The British team has noticed it, however, for another reason: its supposed usefulness to increase the production of red blood cells and accelerate high altitudes acclimatization. In other words, prepare them for the conditions that will be found in the most dangerous area of ​​Everest, after 8,000 meters high. With that purpose the four ex -military inhaled a “Subanesthetic concentration” of xenon gas mixed with oxygen, a single one -hour dose they received under medical supervision. According to Explain to The Washington Post The doctor responsible for the protocol, the treatment shows its most intense effects between 10 and 14 days. They received their dose on May 5, about a week and a half before they got on the plane that took them to Nepal. The advantages of xenon. Behind the idea is Lukas Furtenbach, a veteran mountaineer at the head of a company that organizes expeditions and that years ago already managed to reduce the duration of the climbs to Everest thanks precisely to the use of hypoxic stores. Together with an anesthesiology expert, he explored the use of gas for acclimatization, a use that Furtbanch has already tried in his own meats. The key would be in the usefulness of the xenon to increase the production of erythropoietin, or EPO, a hormone generated by the kidneys to stimulate the generation of red blood cells in the body. “One of the side effects is that it triggers the production of EPO and that produces an increase in red blood cells in the blood. It is the same effect that occurs to acclimatize to a real altitude,” Furtenbach points out. The idea, insists, is not to improve the performance of mountaineers who undergo treatment, but to protect their tissues. The debate, served. The idea has generated expectation, but also an interesting debate in the world of mountaineering. Furtenbach defends that less days at Everest also translate into less hazards, Less waste generation and lower environmental impact for the mountain. Expeditions like Carns’s are not cheap in addition (their cost is around $ 170,000), so they are not likely to end up replacing traditional campaigns. “When oxygen first appeared in mountaineering, it was considered a taboo. Now everyone … Read more

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