A Drone Delivered Oxygen Bottles on Mt. Everest In a Proof-of-Concept Test

June 10, 2024

In April of 2024, DJI did a drone test. They flew it from the Mt. Everest Base Camp to Camp 1 in a proof-of-concept test designed to show that drones could, in fact, be used to deliver supplies and cart away trash on the roof of the world.

The test was done in conjunction with Nepalese Airlift, a video production company called 8KRAW, and local guides. The drone used was a FlyCart 30, which is a workhorse of a drone capable of carrying up to 33 pounds.

The DJI drone carried three oxygen bottles through the thin air above the base camp, which sits at 17,389 feet above sea level. Camp 1 sits at 19,685 feet, which is a height that the human body decidedly does not like. But carrying the supplies necessary for survival to those heights is not easy, to say the least, so having the help of a drone is a real boon to would-be climbers. On the way back, it took 33 pounds of trash with it. The Inertia