Just when things started to go smoothly on Everest, local authorities unexpectedly revoked the license that allowed outfitters to fly cargo drones up the Khumbu Icefall. This has again stalled progress and spread frustration among everyone in Base Camp, including the drone pilots, who are trying to reverse the decision.
“We don’t know the exact reason,” Airlift Technologies CEO Raj Bikram Maharjan told ExplorersWeb. “This season is already delayed…so all the Sherpas and expedition operators depended on us to help them deliver oxygen cylinders and gear.”
Everyone in Base Camp is shocked and frustrated, he added. “We also planned to bring down 10,000kg of garbage this year.”
The new drone can take up to 50kg from Base Camp to Camp 1 at 6,000m. Photo: Airlift Technologies
The drone service started last year to assist the Icefall Doctors in carrying gear and spotting potential passages among the seracs and crevasses. It worked so well that the licensed local company in charge, Airlift Technologies, acquired bigger drones and expanded the service to also cater to Sherpas fixing the route above Camp 2. It would allow outfitters to airlift oxygen, supplies, and gear for 1,000 rupees ($6.50) per kilo.
The new drone, DJI FlyCart 100, made in China, can carry up to 100kg at sea level, but to ensure they work from Base Camp at 5,350m to Camp 1 at around 6,000m, the pilots set a load limit of 50 kg.
Authorities have revoked the license for the Chinese drone currently operating and rejected a second license for the U.S.-made model, the FreeFly Alta X Gen 2, which was even more powerful. The reason quoted was “concerns related to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operations Regulations” and “security sensitivities requiring wider stakeholder consultation,” The Tourism Times reported.
Essential during Icefall blockade
When the work on the Icefall route ceased for three weeks, first due to bad weather and then because of an unstable serac that threatened to fall on the route, drones were an essential tool. The route finally opened earlier this week, but the delay has caused heavy traffic of porters at the Icefall. Again, everything that a drone can carry to Camp 1 will spare a porter from doing that dangerous route on foot.
Last week, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department of Tourism tentatively granted permission for a total of 10 helicopter flights to Camp 1, which would carry gear and perhaps workers to Camp 1, to alleviate the serious delay in fixing the route and pitching the camps.
Some companies have reportedly applied for some of these airlifts, but no flights have occurred yet. To make things even more complex, the unstable serac has not yet fully collapsed, so the Icefall Doctors are begging climbers to be extremely cautious and to move as quickly as possible through that section on the left side at the top of the Icefall.
The drone pilots are hoping to speak to the authorities on Monday and convince them to allow drones to fly again on Everest, Maharjan said.
