Everest climbing season finally underway

KATHMANDU: The 2026 Everest (8,848.86m) climbing season is finally underway, with “icefall doctors” fixing ropes and ladders through the treacherous Khumbu Icefall along the route from Base Camp to Camp I.

Earlier, a 30-meter block of ice on the Khumbu Icefall had blocked the route, throwing mountaineering activities on the world’s highest peak this spring into uncertainty. The BBC wrote on April 23 that 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 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,” it wrote.

However, expedition companies now say that a route has been successfully opened through the ice block. “We would like to confirm that, as of 28 April, the Khumbu Icefall route is officially open, with the fixing team successfully reaching Camp I on Tuesday,” Seven Summit Expeditions, one of the largest Everest operators, said in a social media post on Tuesday. “The route has been fully established with ladders, ropes and anchors through the Icefall.”

The opening of this crucial section means hundreds of climbers currently at Base Camp can now begin rotations to Camp I for acclimatization.

The icefall doctors, deployed by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), are responsible for opening the route and securing ropes from Base Camp to Camp II via the Khumbu Icefall. From there, teams deployed by the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal (EOAN) up to the summit.

The delay in opening the route to Camp I disrupted acclimatization schedules, as climbers make multiple rotations between Everest Base Camp, Camp I and Camp II to prepare for higher altitudes.

According to the Department of Tourism, a total of 425 climbers, including 98 women, from 42 expedition teams are attempting Mt Everest this season. Similarly, 111 climbers have received permits for Lhotse (8,516m) and 42 for Nuptse (7855m).

Climbers attempting Lhotse and Nuptse also use the Khumbu Icefall route.