Nepal: The passage through the
Khumbu Icefall, the route that leads to the world’s tallest peak, is so notoriously
dangerous that even experienced Sherpas hesitate to move when
the sun shines.
The Khumbu
Icefall, a river of ice—a kilometre or so, is normally crossed during the night
or early morning with climbers putting headlamps on their helmets.
Normally, the route is crossed between 3am and 5am, the time
when the ice blocks and the hanging glaciers are stable and avalanche risks are
low.
During the day, as the sun warms the mountain, the hanging
glaciers begin to melt and ice starts to crumble, causing avalanche risk.
On April 18, 2014, an avalanche resulting from a falling
serac had buried 16 sherpa guides in the
Khumbu Icefall that led to the cancellation of the season’s
expeditions.
The Himalayan Database has recorded 44 deaths on
the Icefall from 1953 to 2016. But there is good news.
Nearly seven decades after
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa became the first people to summit
Everest, using their own pioneered standard Southeast Ridge route, a
Nepali-French team claimed they have explored an alternative route to avoid the
treacherous Khumbu Icefall.
The Khumbu Icefall stretches from 5,500 to 5,800 metres and
lies just above the Everest base camp, where hundreds of climbers set temporary
tents annually during the spring climbing season. The first challenge for every
climber is to tackle the deadly Icefall.
“The alternative route that we have tested in November to
bypass the infamous Khumbu Icefall will be tested in the spring climbing season
next year to assess whether it is commercially feasible,” famed French mountaineer Marc
Batard told the Post. “We believe it is a life-saving detour.”
In September 1988, it took
Marc, the 70-year-old mountaineer born in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, only 22 hours and
29 minutes to reach the summit of Everest without using bottled oxygen, which
earned him an entry in the Guinness Book of Records. The record stood unbroken
for 10 years.
After 1988, he achieved a second Everest summit success in
1990. Now, Marc has returned to Everest after three decades. “My mission this
time is to save the lives of climbers,” said Marc, who has three children and
nine grandchildren. “I am confident the route will be commercially workable.”
Marc also plans to repeat
his Everest success as he plans to climb Everest by following the route he has
pioneered. “I am climbing the 8,848.86 metre Everest next spring without the
support of bottled oxygen,” Marc said.
If he succeeds, Marc would not only become the oldest
climber to reach the world’s tallest peak without using supplementary oxygen
but will also be a pioneer of the new route.
Marc claims that he and his team explored the new route this
November. The plan, however, started in spring. Marc came to
A seven-member team led by
Marc and Pasang Nuru Sherpa, including Marc’s son, climbed the new route from
November 15. The first phase trial lasted until November 21.
The team made Gorak Shep at 5,140 metres their base camp.
“We then hiked through the Mt Nuptse ridge, the neighbouring
mountain,” said Marc. The Nuptse (7,861m), Everest, and
“The new route follows a rocky spur below the flank of Mt
Nuptse,” Marc added. “The rocky spur, a vertical cliff, is a bit difficult. But
after it is climbed, the route from there becomes easy to navigate.”
Approximately, it takes seven hours to cover a distance of
around 1,000 metres to reach a spot at 6,200 metres using the new route from
Gorak Shep base, which adjoins Camp 1 at 6,065 metres just above the Icefall.
“This will completely bypass the treacherous Khumbu Icefall.
There is no danger of an avalanche in the Nuptse ridge,” said Marc. Camp 1 is a
temporary camp where most climbers spend a night.
According to Marc, out of
around 1,000 metre-long trails, they have discovered only 700 metres. The
remaining 300 metres was already in use. Marc plans two camps--one at 6,200
metres and another at 7,800 metres.
“But we need strong
equipment and investment to make this route commercially viable,” said Marc.
The mountaineer said that it requires anywhere between
300,000 and 500,000 euros to permanently install metal hooks or rock pitons by
drilling the rocky spur.
With metal railings, it can be used by larger groups and heavily loaded Sherpas who supply tonnes of tents, foods and oxygen cylinders up to Camp 3 and Camp 4, the climbers’ resting points.
“To date, the Khumbu Icefall is considered one of the most
dangerous climbing spots in the world,” said Pasang Nuru Sherpa, who plans to
climb Everest for the 15th time next year.
Experienced Sherpa guides fix ladders over the vast gaps in
the Khumbu Icefall where there are seasonally shifting and changing crevasses.
A team of icefall doctors first prepare the route through
the Icefall by installing hundreds of ladders across crevasses.
“For high-altitude Sherpa climbers, it takes around four or
five hours to navigate the icefall,” said Pasang Nuru. “This is a pilot
project. If it is successful, it will not only lessen the burden of
high-altitude workers but also prevent deaths.”
“It’s difficult to climb the rocky spur but it’s far better
than walking through the Icefall. It’s not tricky either. This route is safe,”
said Pasang Nuru. “If the new route proves well, someone should fund it. This
is a big project. We are expecting the government’s support as well.”
Marc wants to name the new route Sundare to pay homage to a
late Sherpa guide who inspired him to climb Everest and break a speed record in
1988.
Marc has climbed six of the world’s 14 mountains above 8,000
metres—three of the mountains in a single year.
His first eight-thousander was Gasherbrum II in
In 1988, Marc climbed Makalu (8,463m) and in September that
year, he climbed the summit of
“I am determined. I am coming back in spring next year to
test the life-saving project,” said Marc.
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