A massive, unstable chunk of glacier, known as a serac, is blocking the route up Mount Everest from Base Camp in Nepal just as the peak climbing season begins, according to multiple reports. The ice block is about 100 feet (30 meters) high and located just under Camp 1. The delay means preparations are weeks behind schedule for the spring climbing season, and fears are growing that climbers will be queuing to reach the summit again this year.
Icefall doctors working for the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) reached Base Camp three weeks ago but have been unable to find a safe alternative route around the serac. According to BBC News - World, Tshering Tenzing Sherpa, the SPCC base camp coordinator, described that no artificial methods have been found to melt the ice, so the only option is to wait for it to melt and crumble naturally. Ang Sarki Sherpa, an icefall doctor, told BBC News - World that the serac was reached on 10 April and the crevasse below is melting, and he expects the serac to collapse because its lower part is weak. However, no safe alternative route to Camp 1 has been found, and scaling the serac is considered too risky.
We haven't found artificial ways to melt it so far, so we don't have any options other than to wait for it melting and crumbling itself.
By this stage in April, the route would normally be fixed as far as Camp 3, but it is still blocked about 600 meters below Camp 1. Sherpas hope the rope-fixing work to Camp 2 will be completed within a few days after the ice melts. The delay has set preparations weeks behind schedule, with the route normally fixed to Camp 3 by now but still blocked below Camp 1.
Nepal's Department of Tourism is exploring options including airlifting teams to Camp 2 by helicopter, according to BBC News - World. Ram Krishna Lamichhane, the director general, described that they are thinking about airlifting the rope-fixing team and their logistics to Camp 2 so they can open the route above that altitude for now, while waiting for the ice to melt at the obstruction site. Meanwhile, climbers like Purnima Shrestha, who is acclimatizing to summit Everest for the sixth time, continue their preparations. According to BBC News - World, Shrestha described that delays in opening the route have added concerns of possible traffic jams to the peak this year. Favorable weather is expected only until the end of May, adding urgency to the situation.
We reached it on 10 April. The crevasse below is melting.
Exactly when the serac will melt and collapse remains unknown, as does whether the helicopter airlift plan will be implemented. The number of climbers expected to attempt the summit this season has not been confirmed, and it is unclear if there are other potential hazards on the route besides this serac.
There is no choice. We spent four days touring the area, looking at every place from the mountain to the right and left.