Everest Short: Jakob Muehlbacher

Everest Short: Jakob Muehlbacher

From Cool Conversations with Kenton Cool by Cool Conversations

May 12, 2026 · 46 min · Episode 168

About this episode

Kenton Cool interviews expedition doctor Jakob Muehlbacher about his experiences and insights from working on Everest.

This week, Kenton sits down with expedition doctor Jakob Muehlbacher and asks for his insights into working on Everest. Jakob is back on Everest for the fourth time. He first took the role of expedition doctor in 2023, then combined the role with a summit in 2024, and has continued as doctor in 2025 and 2026. He is fascinated by high-altitude medicine and deals with a whole spectrum of issues from 'easy' gastro distress and coughs and colds, to pulmonary issues often providing remote advice to guides higher up the mountain. Interestingly, Jakob supported the Xenon team last year and he and Kenton have an interesting discussion about the use of hypoxic tents before travelling to altitude. Listen now to hear a medical professional's view of working on Everest.

People in this episode

Host: Kenton Cool

Guest: Jakob Muehlbacher

Topics covered

  • high-altitude medicine
  • expedition medicine
  • Everest
  • pulmonary issues
  • gastro distress

Keywords

  • Everest
  • expedition doctor
  • high-altitude medicine
  • pulmonary issues
  • gastro distress
  • hypoxic tents

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Xenon

Places: Everest

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