Millions watch him Youtuber climbs Mount Everest - and glorifies the danger

The French streamer "Inoxtag" has set himself the goal of climbing Mount Everest without any previous experience. A YouTube documentary shows the conquest of the highest mountain on earth - but the images can be deceptive.

Influencers like to develop unusual ideas on their channels to increase their reach and popularity. Some pour large amounts of salt into their mouths and try to swallow it, others spend the night in Africa in the lions' territory and some attention-seekers tape their mouths shut before going to sleep so that they can only breathe through their nose during the night.

French Youtuber Inoxtag, whose real name is Inès Benazzouz, did not want to draw attention to himself in such a banal way. He set out to become a mountaineer within a year, climb Mount Everest and record the preparation and ascent on film. His handicap: he is completely unathletic and has never conquered a bigger mountain in his life.

Over 34 million clicks in just two weeks

Undeterred, Benazzouz embarked on the long journey of a summiteer - from training on smaller mountain walls in the Alps to the final step on the world's highest peak in the two-and-a-half-hour documentary "Kaizen. 1 Year to Climb Everest!". After the visually stunning mountaineering epic was released in French cinemas, Benazzouz posted the documentary on his YouTube channel just one day after its screen premiere.

Within two weeks, his film had generated over 34 million clicks. Almost 200,000 young people followed his journey from lame computer nerd to high-alpine Everest conqueror in cinemas in France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

For many young people, Inès Benazzouz became a role model and hero. He has achieved what actually seems unattainable. But as captivating and perfectly orchestrated as the summit conquering epic of a completely untrained average scrambler may appear, a closer look reveals that the main protagonist's alpine feat was planned down to the smallest detail in terms of organization, logistics and finances.

Grandiose success - with support

The easily misunderstood myth of "train a little today, conquer the highest peak on earth tomorrow" is easy to debunk - without wanting to diminish the achievement. The 22-year-old spent 365 days preparing for the Everest ascent down to the smallest detail. A rigorous intensive training program with professional mountaineers laid the foundations for his undertaking.

He also had a personal fitness trainer at his side. Although the entire preparatory process is also shown in the documentary, the dimension of the high alpine preparation is lost in the main part of the documentary in view of the enormous ascent scenario on Everest.

Once he arrives in Nepal, Benazzouz has everything he could possibly wish for on his ascent to the roof of the world. In addition to a professional mountain guide, he also has numerous Sherpas at his disposal. Most foreign mountaineers can only dream of such a complete package. The cheapest Everest providers offer basic ascent packages starting at around 30,000 francs. However, this does not include a personal mountain guide, experienced climbing Sherpas or support staff. Participants are also not provided with unlimited oxygen.

The French newspaper "Libération" estimates the total budget for the expedition at 1.2 million francs. The Youtuber has been able to secure financially strong sponsors to finance the expedition. In view of both the intensive preparation and the costly on-site support, the Internet star's ascent of Mount Everest is put into perspective. Fortunately, conquering the highest mountain in the world is a lot more difficult for imitators than the salt-in-the-mouth challenge.