{"id":11257,"date":"2026-04-21T21:41:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T21:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=11257"},"modified":"2026-04-21T21:41:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T21:41:27","slug":"deadly-ice-prompts-a-critical-delay-on-mount-everest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=11257","title":{"rendered":"Deadly Ice Prompts a Critical Delay on Mount Everest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>Updated April 21, 2026 02:37PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Climbers in Nepal\u2019s Mount Everest Base Camp are getting antsy this week as they await the official start to the spring climbing season.<\/p>\n<p>But a critical delay in the Khumbu Icefall is preventing anyone from venturing onto the peak. And the setback, which has pushed the start of the season past its normal date, is raising anxieties that the mountain could become crowded and congested later in the season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re starting to get worried,\u201d Daniel Mazur, an American guide with the outfitter Summit Climb, told\u00a0<em>Outside.<\/em> \u201cWe came here to climb Everest, and we can\u2019t get on the mountain yet, and that is concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><\/p>\n<section id=\"\" class=\"content-card rounded-xl px-base-loose pt-base-loose pb-loose shadow-sm shadow-black\/10\">\n<h2>How a Delay in the Khumbu Icefall Is Impacting Life on Everest<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>A dangerous ice serac in the Khumbu Icefall has prevented workers from completing the route across the glacier<\/li>\n<li>The delay has prevented climbers, guides, and porters from venturing onto the mountain<\/li>\n<li>Some guides worry that the delay will prompt most of the summit teams to push for the top at the same time<\/li>\n<li>Guides are climbing other peaks to help their clients acclimatize to the elevation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- --><\/section>\n<h2>What Is the Khumbu Icefall?<\/h2>\n<p>The Khumbu Icefall, a treacherous tumble of glacial ice and rock rising above Base Camp, is the first obstacle that climbers face on their way up Mount Everest. Every year, a team of specialized Nepali workers called the Icefall Doctors charts the route up the glacier that climbers, guides, and mountain workers use throughout the season.<\/p>\n<p>The Icefall Doctors string ropes to demarcate the pathway, install ice screws and pitons up vertical walls of ice, and lay metal ladders across crevasses. Nobody can venture onto the peak\u2019s upper slopes until this critical job is complete.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2665585\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\">Problems in the Khumbu Icefall have slowed route fixers this year. (Photo: Photo by David Cheskin\/PA Images via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As of April 21, the route through the Khumbu Icefall has not been finished, guides and officials with the Nepal government told <em>Outside.\u00a0<\/em>The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), the government body that oversees the Icefall Doctors, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Guides and Nepali officials told <em>Outside<\/em> that the hiccup is due to a dangerous serac\u2014an unstable tower of glacial ice\u2014that looms above the glacier. At any moment, this massive block of ice could crash onto the route.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Icefall Doctors have worked in this sector for ten years, and they think the serac will fall any day now,\u201d Himal Gautam, the director of Nepal\u2019s Department of Tourism, told <em>Outside.<\/em> \u201cWe have to trust them. The Government of Nepal has always placed human safety at the core of our priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The caution is warranted\u2014the\u00a0icefall has been the site of some of the worst tragedies in Everest history. In 2014, collapsing seracs triggered an avalanche that killed 16 mountain workers. In 2023, a collapsing ice tower killed three people.<\/p>\n<h2>What a Delay Means for Climbers<\/h2>\n<p>The Icefall Doctors often complete the route in early to mid-April, and in 2025 the route <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/gripped.com\/news\/ropes-are-fixed-everest-is-open-for-2025\/\">was finished on April 11<\/a>. But setbacks are common. In 2024, the team didn\u2019t finish the route until April 17 due to crumbling and unstable ice.<\/p>\n<p>Delays in the icefall often impact the timetable that Everest outfitters must follow later in the season. Once the icefall route opens, a rope fixing team ascends higher on the peak to set the safety lines to the summit. Porters bring oxygen bottles, tents, and supplies to higher camps. And climbers and guides begin their acclimatization hikes\u2014ascents to higher altitudes that help their bodies adjust to the thin air.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy May 1,\u00a0you really need to be getting all of your camps built on the upper mountain and the Lhotse Face,\u201d Mazur said. \u201cSummit attempts really start taking off around May 14.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mazur is among the Everest outfitters targeting the early windows of clear weather that often occur\u00a0in the first or second week of May.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2704104\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2704104\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1233280760.jpg?width=1080&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 1x, https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1233280760.jpg?width=2048&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1233280760.jpg?width=2048&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\">One spot of frequent crowding is the Lhotse Face near Camp III (Photo: LAKPA SHERPA\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Other outfitters, however, wait for a second or third window of clear weather in late May. American guide Garrett Madison often tries to climb Everest later in the season to avoid congestion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the teams that are looking to summit early, this will definitely impact their schedule,\u201d Madison told <em>Outside.\u00a0<\/em>\u201cThere are a lot of people rearing to go. They\u2019re going to have to be more flexible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Madison said that early-season delays sometimes force everyone to climb at once, which results in congestion and crowding along the route. In 2012, Madison said, the route to the summit didn\u2019t open until mid-May, resulting in one of the worst instances of crowding in recent memory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a really short window,\u00a0and that created a ton of congestion higher on the mountain,\u201d Madison said. \u201cIt led to a famous photo of a line of climbers going up the Lhotse Face.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHopefully this year doesn\u2019t turn into that,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<h2>Everest Guides Make Alternative Plans<\/h2>\n<p>Mazur told\u00a0<em>Outside<\/em> that the dangerous serac is not visible from Base Camp. But throughout the week, he said, he has seen SPCC workers ascend into the Khumbu Icefall. Flying drones operated by the agency also buzz overhead throughout the day. He said SPCC officials have spoken to him about the hazard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt seems like everyone is waiting for this piece of ice to fall,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if it doesn\u2019t fall right away, we don\u2019t really know what will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thaneshwor Guragain, the general manager for guiding company Seven Summit Treks, said his company\u2019s large client list is \u201ccreating pressure\u201d amid the delay. Seven Summit Treks is one of the largest expedition operators on Everest, and its list of clients sometimes approaches 100 people.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2703093\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2400\" height=\"1350\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2703093\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/BaseCamp1.jpg?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 1x\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/BaseCamp1.jpg?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\">Climbers are waiting in Base Camp for the Khumbu Icefall to open\u00a0(Photo: PRAKASH MATHEMA \/ Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe are hopeful they will open the fixing lines; we have a lot of clients waiting for the Khumbu Icefall to open.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jiban Ghimire, general manager for the guiding service Shangri La Nepal Treks, told\u00a0<em>Outside\u00a0<\/em>that a longer delay could result in traffic jams occurring in the Khumbu Icefall if and when the route is completed.<\/p>\n<p>Mazur said he\u2019s already adjusting his climbing timetable due to the setback. Rather than completing his acclimatization hikes on Everest, he will take his clients up three nearby peaks: 23,494-foot Pumori, 20,305-foot Island Peak, and 20,075-foot Lobuche East.<\/p>\n<p>Ascending these peaks, he believes, will prepare his clients for the summit push if and when the route finally opens.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to keep going, keep moving,\u201d he said. \u201cWe already went through a lot of work just to get here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Ben Ayers contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/outdoor-adventure\/everest\/mount-everest-2026-delay\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Updated April 21, 2026 02:37PM Climbers in Nepal\u2019s Mount Everest Base Camp are getting antsy this week as they await the official start to the spring climbing season. But a critical delay in the Khumbu Icefall is preventing anyone from venturing onto the peak. And the setback, which has pushed the start of the season<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11257","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wild-living"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}