Anxiety is mounting at Everest Base Camp, where hundreds of climbers and sherpas are stranded more than 5,300 meters above sea level, waiting for a massive block of glacial ice to clear the route to the summit. Known as a serac, the unstable ice block is obstructing the Khumbu Icefall, one of the most dangerous sections of the world’s highest peak.
Specialized high-altitude workers called “icefall doctors” have been on site for weeks, using drones, 3D imagery, and other advanced technology to monitor the serac’s movement. Normally, they fix ropes, ladders, and equipment for climbers at the start of the spring season, but this year the unstable ice has prevented them from establishing a safe route.
“Icefall doctors are trying everything in their power,” said Adriana Brownlee, co-owner of expedition company AGA Adventures. “They’re using latest technology, 3D imagery, drones, everything to try and get a clear picture as to timing and how feasible it would be for the serac to actually collapse.” She added that while some have suggested using salt to accelerate melting, the best approach is to let nature take its course: “If the mountains say no, it’s no, at the end of the day.”
Climbers continue to arrive, raising fears of overcrowding once the route opens. Bianca Adler, 18, who hopes to become the youngest Australian to summit Everest, reached base camp on April 20. She had planned to begin her rotation acclimatization climbs soon but now fills her time with training, hiking nearby ice towers, and practicing ladder crossings over crevasses. “I trust that they’re doing their best to make sure that everyone has a safe climbing season,” she said.
The situation recalls past serac-related disasters. In 2014, a serac collapse triggered an avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall that killed more than a dozen sherpas. In 2019, mountaineer Garrett Madison aborted an expedition due to a similar unstable serac. Gelje Sherpa, a former icefall doctor and co-founder of AGA Adventures, noted that climate change has made the icefall more dangerous. “When I was an icefall doctor, that time was fine because there was less warming in the icefall. Now it’s more dangerous inside the icefall because of global warming.”
Overcrowding has been a persistent issue on Everest. A notorious 2019 photo showed a long line of climbers on a ridge waiting to summit. Nepal has raised fees and proposed requiring climbers to have experience on a 7,000-meter peak, but demand remains high. As of April 15, Nepal had issued 297 Everest permits for the spring season out of 700 total for all mountains.
“People have put a lot of time, effort, and, of course, money into this expedition,” Brownlee acknowledged. Her hope is that expedition companies collaborate to stagger summit attempts and avoid queues. “Things like this happen, and the most important thing is just to respect the mountain,” she said.
