Today, dozens of climbers crossed the newly opened route through the Khumbu Icefall on their way to Camps 1 and 2 on Everest. All went well, but doubts remain about how safe and practical this will be when hundreds more climbers begin filing back and forth in the coming days.
“More than 100 climbers and support staff crossed the Icefall this morning as they began acclimatization rotations and ferrying loads to Camp 2,” The Tourism Times reported today. However, most climbers will only venture into the Icefall in a few days. For now, mainly porters and staff are heading through to set up and supply camps.
Most are still waiting
“[The Icefall route] still requires a final check before we can start sending climbers up,” Furtenbach Adventures advised yesterday.
Ryan Waters of Mountain Professionals told ExplorersWeb that he didn’t expect to lead his team on a first rotation to Camp 2 until next week.
“Considering the sense of urgency, and not wanting to create too much traffic in the opening days, we will keep our climbers busy around the base of the mountain for a few days, allowing the climbing Sherpas time to get things going in an orderly way,” he said.
Difficult sections of the Icefall will delay heavily loaded porters and inexperienced climbers, creating traffic jams.
A climber crosses several ladders tied over a crevasse. Photo: EliteExped
Not everyone stayed behind. Anja Blacha of Germany, climbing with Imagine Nepal and eyeing Lhotse without oxygen, reached Camp 2 today. She intends to spend one or two nights there.
“The route is comparatively safer and shorter than in previous years, but the area of the ice blockage still needs to be considered risky,” leader Mingma G reported today. “We still hope to have a route more on the left side, with 9 to 10 ladders [joined together] to climb the wall, which will be safer.”
Still dangerous
“Remember, although the route is open, it’s still not safe,” warned Gelje Sherpa of AGA Adventure. “A large serac and constant rockfall begin after section four of the icefall.”
One of his team’s guides, Ongchhu Sherpa, participated in the rope fixing yesterday, so Gelje has up-to-date information.
The route apparently avoids crossing right below the gigantic serac that has stalled the works for days. However, it remains unclear how far the new route is and whether it might still be affected if the serac collapses. Expedition teams are not sharing details about the technical aspects of the route.
The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, responsible for the Icefall Doctors, has not issued any reports on their work, which is surprising. An added problem is the difficulty of some of the recently fixed sections. These include vertical sections and a huge crevasse that had to be bridged by three ladders tied together. (Check the video below.)
Mera Peak craze
Many teams are still acclimatizing on other peaks, especially nearby Mera Peak. At 6,476m, this trekking peak is higher than Everest’s Camp 2. Mera might see a record number of ascents this season due to the delays on Everest.
It is also the chosen training ground for no-O2 runner Karl Egloff and his climbing partner Nicolas Miranda. The Ecuadorians have climbed the peak every day this week from different routes:
