A huge, unstable chunk of glacier is blocking the route up Mount Everest from Base Camp in Nepal just as peak climbing season gets under way in the Himalayas. Icefall doctors – who fix ropes and ladders on the lower part of the route up the world's highest peak - can find no way round the 100-foot-high (30m) block of ice just under Camp 1. They say the only option is to wait for the ice block, called a serac, to melt – which they hope will happen within days. This delay means preparations are weeks behind schedule for the spring season when weather for Everest ascents is usually best, and fears are growing that climbers will be queuing to reach the summit again this year.
Purnima Shrestha, a prominent climber and photographer from Nepal, is currently acclimatising to summit Everest for the sixth time. We usually climb between Camp I, Camp 2 and Camp 3 back and forth during this acclimatising process. Delays in the opening of the route have added concerns of possible 'traffic jams' to the peak this year, she told the BBC from Base Camp.
The icefall doctors work for the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) that is responsible for securing ropes as far as Camp 2 on Everest, which stands at an altitude of 8,848.86m (29,031 feet). They reached Base Camp three weeks ago. By this stage in April, they typically would have fixed the route as far as Camp 3, but they are still blocked by the chunk of glacier about 600m below Camp 1. SPCC base camp coordinator, Tshering Tenzing Sherpa, mentioned that they have not found artificial ways to melt it, so they don't have any options other than to wait for it to melt and crumble itself.
Nepal's Department of Tourism is exploring different options, including airlifting teams to Camp 2, as they weigh the safety of the climbers against the timing of the season. Favorable weather is expected only until the end of May, which raises the urgency for resolving the ice blockage. With 367 climbing permits already issued, the pressure is on to ensure climbers reach their goal safely and efficiently despite the odds.
Purnima Shrestha, a prominent climber and photographer from Nepal, is currently acclimatising to summit Everest for the sixth time. We usually climb between Camp I, Camp 2 and Camp 3 back and forth during this acclimatising process. Delays in the opening of the route have added concerns of possible 'traffic jams' to the peak this year, she told the BBC from Base Camp.
The icefall doctors work for the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) that is responsible for securing ropes as far as Camp 2 on Everest, which stands at an altitude of 8,848.86m (29,031 feet). They reached Base Camp three weeks ago. By this stage in April, they typically would have fixed the route as far as Camp 3, but they are still blocked by the chunk of glacier about 600m below Camp 1. SPCC base camp coordinator, Tshering Tenzing Sherpa, mentioned that they have not found artificial ways to melt it, so they don't have any options other than to wait for it to melt and crumble itself.
Nepal's Department of Tourism is exploring different options, including airlifting teams to Camp 2, as they weigh the safety of the climbers against the timing of the season. Favorable weather is expected only until the end of May, which raises the urgency for resolving the ice blockage. With 367 climbing permits already issued, the pressure is on to ensure climbers reach their goal safely and efficiently despite the odds.
