Permits & Rules

Mount Everest Has a New Rivalry: The US and China Are Racing to Fly Cargo Drones on the World's Highest Mountain

A Chinese drone can now haul a season's oxygen bottles up the Khumbu Icefall in ten minutes flat. When an American rival tried to join it this…

By Laxman Rawal · Jul 27, 2026

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A Chinese-made drone can now ferry a full load of oxygen bottles from Everest Base Camp to Camp I in about ten minutes — a supply run that used to take a Sherpa six or seven hours through the Khumbu Icefall. An American rival wanted the same airspace this…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

What this means for trekkers

The guide's take None of this touches the standard Everest Base Camp trek — drones fly the technical ground above Base Camp, not the Khumbu trail you'll walk. What it does show is how fast Everest logistics are changing: in one season, drones have already…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

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