Mount Everest: Sherpas to repair dangerous Khumbu Icefall route
A team of specialised Nepalese Sherpa mountaineers have begun work to repair the climbing route on Mount Everest, Earth’s highest mountain. Four months ago, in April 2015, the route was destroyed by a devastating earthquake. Eighteen mountaineers and support staff were killed when the earthquake triggered an avalanche which swept through Everest base camp.
Apa Sherpa, Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer who holds the record for reaching the summit of Mount Everest more times than any other person
The team of Sherpa mountaineers, known as the Icefall Doctors, have begun surveying the mountain. They plan to fix ropes through the Khumbu Icefall in the next few days. The Icefall doctors say they hope the restored route will attract mountaineers back to Everest for the autumn season.
Khumbu Icefall
The Khumbu Icefall route is a notoriously treacherous stretch of moving and cracking ice, which climbers must negotiate after they leave base camp on their way to Camp 1 on the mountain. Without the ropes fixed by the Icefall doctors, this would not be possible.
A Sherpa on the Khumbu Icefall route
A Japanese climbing team has already arrived in Nepal ahead of their planned attempt on the summit next month. On Tuesday (25 August), climber Nobukazu Kuriki left Kathmandu for the Everest region, to begin acclimatizing for the climb. Kuriki, who has lost all his fingertips and one thumb to frostbite, is so far the only person scheduled to climb Everest during the challenging autumn climbing season.
Kathmandu city, Nepal
Said the intrepid Japanese,
"I do feel nervous and afraid. This is only natural before attempting the challenge of climbing Everest, particularly after the earthquake and at this time of year."
Nepal's lucrative climbing industry was destroyed by April's earthquake and the avalanches that followed. The government and Sherpa community, who depend on foreign climbers for a livelihood, are keen to rebuild it as soon as possible.
Climbers' tents at the Mt Everest base camp
But some in Nepal criticise the decision to reopen the route so soon. The president of Nepal's mountaineering association has described Kuriki’s expedition as "risky and dangerous", saying climbing in the autumn already brings the additional risks of cold temperatures and strong winds.
The famous outpost of Naamche Bazaar in the Khumbu region close to Mount Everest. The town is built on terraces in what resembles a giant Greek theatre.
(All images - credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence)
