Mt Everest season opens late, with climbers undeterred by huge ice block, high travel costs

KATHMANDU, Nepal, May 7, (AP): An unstable ice block dangerously hanging over the key trail on Mount Everest, high travel costs and increased permit fees haven't deterred hundreds of climbers from attempting to scale the world's highest mountain. Around 410 climbers and an equal number of their Nepali climbing guides are at the base camp gearing up for the ascent to the nearly 8,850-meter-high (around 29,000-foot-high) peak this month during the much anticipated window of good weather on the mountain.

Climbers began gathering last month at the base camp, which is at an altitude of 5,300 meters (17,340 feet). But for more than two weeks, a massive and unstable block of ice, or serac, stalled them from moving further up the peak. "Icefall doctors,” the elite guides deployed by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, or SPCC, to lay the yearly climbing route by setting ropes and securing aluminum ladders over crevasses, usually finish the task by mid-April.

But not this year. The team opened the Icefall route only on April 29 but also issued a warning: "The serac has multiple cracks and may collapse at any time. SPCC strongly urges all expedition operators and climbers to exercise extreme caution.” The serac was likely to remain, and the new trail dug by the the team passes below the serac.

The serac is part of the Khumbu Icefall, a constantly shifting glacier with deep crevasses and huge overhanging ice that can be as big as 10-story buildings. It's considered one of the most difficult and trickiest sections of the climb to the peak. Climbers, their guides and expedition outfitters are both eager and cautious about the situation on the mountain.

Renowned mountain guide Lukas Furtenbach, who has 40 international climbers, 11 guides and 90 Sherpas on Mount Everest, said that he was worried. "Anyone who says they’re not concerned is either inexperienced or not paying attention,” Furtenbach said from the base camp. "The serac is a real, objective hazard.” He said that the the route was more complex and exposed than last year in one section.

"The Icefall is constantly changing, but right now it’s not just more broken - it’s also forced into a line that passes under unstable features,” he said. This year, the team is reducing loads, minimizing exposure time, carefully timing movements through the Icefall, and relying on highly experienced Sherpa and guides for risk assessment.

Other expedition operators are also cautioning their members about the risks and closely monitoring the situation. "If you go in the morning, it might be safer because the ice is frozen, but in the afternoon it becomes dangerous as weather gets warmer, with the risk of ice melting and falling,” said Ang Tshering Sherpa of the Kathmandu-based Asian Trekking. "It is very necessary to be cautious this year.”