Records & People
The Icefall Doctors fix the ladders and ropes through the Khumbu Icefall each spring, and in 2026 a 28-metre serac made it the latest route opening…
By Laxman Rawal · Sep 19, 2026
Key facts 8 Icefall Doctors from the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) build and maintain the Nepal-side route through the Khumbu Icefall The route opened on 28 April 2026 , after a 19-day delay What blocked it: a serac about 55 m long, 37 m wide…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The Icefall Doctors work for the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, which is based at Namche Bazaar. For spring 2026 the SPCC named Ang Sarki Sherpa as chief leader and Dawa Jangbu Sherpa as team leader. The team left Namche in early March and took…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The Kathmandu Post reported that the serac had multiple cracks and could collapse at any time, so the team could not simply climb underneath it and carry on. The eight Icefall Doctors were joined by 16 mountain guides from expedition operators. Mingma G's…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Alan Arnette's season reporting says the route normally opens between 2 and 16 April. Opening on 28 April was about twelve days after the latest date in that usual window. Ladder counts also vary widely: roughly 28 in 2013, as few as 5 in 2024, and eight so…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
On 18 April 2014, at about 6:30 in the morning, an ice avalanche in the icefall at roughly 19,000 feet killed 16 Nepali mountain guides, most of them Sherpas, and injured nine. It was the deadliest single day in Everest's history. Afterwards a number of…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
If you want to see the icefall from below, the classic route is our 12-day Everest Base Camp trek or the slower 14-day version , which gives your body more time at altitude. For the mess left on the mountain once the season ends, read our report on Everest's…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
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