{"id":60085239,"date":"2025-06-10T12:44:27","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T11:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?p=60085239"},"modified":"2025-06-10T12:44:36","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T11:44:36","slug":"new-everest-route-seeks-to-make-ascent-less-deadly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/new-everest-route-seeks-to-make-ascent-less-deadly\/","title":{"rendered":"New Everest route seeks to make ascent less deadly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Each spring, climbers from around the world converge at Everest\u2019s South Base Camp in Nepal, hoping to summit the world\u2019s tallest peak. For the Sherpas guiding them, the journey grows deadlier each year. Rising temperatures are destabilising the Khumbu Icefall, the most treacherous part of the climb. A Nepali-French team has been working on a new route that may offer a safer path up Everest, their work offering a glimpse of how mountain communities are adapting to a warming world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At lower altitudes, this new route winds through rock rather than ice, featuring a mix of permanent via ferrata<\/em> infrastructure \u2013 steel steps drilled into the rock and fixed ropes to provide added security for climbers. In particular, the route is intended to protect Sherpas, whose work as guides requires them to make the ascent multiple times during each climbing season with different expeditions. It will be the first new path to the summit from Nepal since Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary established the current route with their historic 1953 ascent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerned by the growing risks posed by Everest\u2019s unstable icefall, French mountaineer Marc Batard and Nepali mountaineer Kaji Sherpa began working on establishing this alternative route in 2022. After facing delays due to bad weather, the route is expected to be completed in the autumn, though financing difficulties have thrown up another obstacle.

At nearly 8,850m<\/a>, Mount Everest, situated within Nepal\u2019s Sagarmatha National Park, is the world\u2019s highest mountain above sea level, and attracts hundreds of mountaineers hoping to reach the summit each spring. The Department of Tourism issued<\/a> 479 Everest climbing permits in 2023, 421 in 2024 and at least 444<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the mountain is also succumbing to climate change. Rising temperatures are thinning glaciers, forming supraglacial ponds and destabilising the current icefall route. Experts say that if climate change continues at this rate without sufficient preservation of glaciers, the safety of climbers and Sherpas, and livelihoods of local people, will be threatened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warming temperatures accelerate glacial activity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mount Everest, in the Central Himalayas, is part of the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH) range. A recent study<\/a> by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) found that the Himalayan glaciers in the HKH region disappeared 65% faster in 2011-2020 compared with the previous decade. This acceleration signals a dramatic shift in glacier behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closer to Everest, the Khumbu Glaciers, while not retreating rapidly, are steadily thinning, experts say. A study analysing<\/a> six decades of glacier mass change around the mountain found that ice loss has increased consistently since the early 1960s, with glaciers thinning by more than 100 metres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has direct consequences for mountaineers who rely on the Khumbu Icefall to access Mount Everest and neighbouring peaks Lhotse (8,516m) and Nuptse (7,855m).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everest\u2019s most dangerous passage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Khumbu Icefall is the fastest-moving section of the 15km-long Khumbu Glacier and is riddled with crevasses and towering seracs. \u201cKhumbu Icefall doesn\u2019t stay in one place after the ice breaks down. It is not stable,\u201d Kaji Sherpa tells Dialogue Earth. \u201cWhen huge pieces of ice break, crevasses are made. Due to icefall, accidents happen on [the] route.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"icy<\/div>
A supraglacial lake on the Khumbu Glacier, located right next to South Base Camp (Image: Ridhi Agrawal)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The climbing season of Spring 2014 was one of the deadliest, after an avalanche<\/a> in the icefall killed 16 Sherpas, bringing the climbing season to a halt. \u201cWith climate change, there are increasing chances of loss of life at the Khumbu Icefall,\u201d Kaji Sherpa notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warming temperatures are also accelerating changes on the glacier\u2019s surface. Researchers have observed the emergence of supraglacial lakes \u2013 pools forming on top of the ice. These can act like \u201cheatsinks, that eat away the ice, and slowly merge to form larger proglacial lakes [that form in front of or next to a glacier],\u201d explains Tenzing Chogyal Sherpa, a Kathmandu-based cryosphere analyst for ICIMOD. One such proglacial lake, Thyanbo, triggered<\/a> a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) last August, causing severe damage to Thame Village in the Everest region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF)?<\/span>
\n

A sudden release of water from a lake formed by meltwater from a mountain glacier, which is held back by ice or a moraine (rocks and sediment carried along by the glacier).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u26a0\ufe0f These floods can be prompted by an earthquake, avalanche or the accumulation of too much meltwater. GLOFs are often extremely destructive, and are a growing threat in the Himalayan watershed.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This pattern of glacial lake expansion suggests that internal glacier temperatures are slowly rising. A 2017 study<\/a> found that the coldest ice in the Khumbu Glacier was 2C warmer than the mean annual air temperature. This means the internal temperature of the ice was warmer than the air outside, says Chogyal Sherpa, who contributed to the research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGlaciers are warming up from the inside and might be more vulnerable to even minor atmospheric warming,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new route: innovation born of necessity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The via ferrata<\/em> infrastructure, with fixed ropes, offers a more secure alternative to the unpredictable Khumbu Icefall. Already widely used in the Alps, via ferrata <\/em>routes offer a scalable solution to the dangers posed by climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It presents \u201ca solution to mitigate the risk of fatal accidents and a solution [to ensure] sustainable and adap[tive] mountaineering tourism in the Everest region,\u201d says Antoine Erout, an expedition member for the new route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"man<\/div>
A member of the Nepali-French team drills holes into the rockface for permanent steel steps, part of the via ferrata<\/em> infrastructure they are installing (Image: Marc Batard\u2019s rope specialist team)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"ropes<\/div>
The new route avoids the Khumbu Icefall and goes via the Nuptse ridge to reach Everest Camp 1. Navigating over rock rather than ice, the aim is to use steps and fixed ropes to ensure safer passage for climbers (Image: Marc Batard\u2019s rope specialist team)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The route begins from Gorakshep (5,140m), the last camp for meals on the existing route before South Base Camp, ascending an old trail toward Sundar Peak (5,880m), a path last used decades ago, bypassing the Khumbu Icefall (5,486m). It then reaches the ridge of Nuptse, before an abseiling descent of several hundred metres in the west valley of Everest to rejoin the normal route to Everest Camp 1 (6,065m) and the summit, says Theo Livet, an expedition member who directed a documentary about the route, with another<\/a> on the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere will be fixed ropes on the via ferrata<\/em> section for security, and some fixed ropes at points along the path where a fall could be dangerous,\u201d Livet tells Dialogue Earth. These are used with a jumar \u2013 a portable handle clamped onto a rope \u2013 for additional safety. A mix of vertical climbing and trekking, the route allows some flexibility. \u201cYou can walk on the rocks; you don\u2019t have to take the vertical climb,\u201d Livet notes, adding that the vertical climb helps porters carry provisions to higher camps more quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bypassing of Khumbu Icefall is crucial especially as the growing influx of climbers could destabilise the ice on the existing Nepal route. \u201cIncreased foot traffic on the already unstable ice formation accelerates the compaction and cracking of the ice surface continuously,\u201d notes Mohan Bahadur Chand, a glaciologist and assistant professor at Kathmandu University\u2019s Department of Environmental Science and Engineering. \u201cThis, along with waste [left by climbers], speeds up the melting along the route, leading to weakening of fast-moving icefalls [such as Khumbu], which is currently accelerated by the increased temperature and changes in precipitation patterns.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the ability of the expedition to complete the route may be in jeopardy. Last month, Batard announced<\/a> in a Facebook post that the team were unable to complete the route during their latest journey due to a lack of funding, and called on the Nepali government to commit to financing the project. Talks are now ongoing, with the hope of reaching an agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adapting to climate change in the Himalayas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sherpas interviewed by Dialogue Earth describe how the Khumbu Glacier has changed over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is one of the busiest glaciers in the world,\u201d says Chogyal Sherpa of Khumbu Glacier, on which many mountaineers, tourists and workers live for over three months. \u201cYou won\u2019t find such density of people living on a glacier for a long time [anywhere else].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"yellow<\/div>
Everest\u2019s South Base Camp sits atop the Khumbu Glacier, serving as the starting point for climbers attempting to summit the world\u2019s highest peak from the Nepal side. The camp is busy for over three months of the year, and this prolonged human presence is impacting the stability of the glacier (Image: Ridhi Agrawal)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This prolonged human presence is also affecting the glacier\u2019s climate. \u201cThe unpredictability and extremity of weather events \u2013 unseasonal snowfall, no snow, heavy snow, too much rain, and sometimes no rain at all \u2013 is becoming more frequent,\u201d explains Chogyal Sherpa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSnow on the mountains has been melting, exposing rocks,\u201d adds Pasang Nuru Sherpa, who has been guiding the expedition for the new route. \u201cThis increases the risks of rock falling, putting lives in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these dangers, Sherpas must continue working. \u201cWe have to raise our families, and risk our lives,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Phurba Tsering Sherpa, a tea house owner on the South Base Camp trail whose grandfather summited the mountain 10 times, puts it: working on Everest, there is a 50-50 chance between survival and death. These odds led Phu Chettar Sherpa to leave his job as an icefall doctor after seven years, during which he re-fixed ropes at around 5,000m elevation each season due to the shifting of the Khumbu Icefall. \u201cMy family was unhappy with that kind of job because of safety concerns,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGlaciers in general react very fast to variations in climate; the Khumbu Icefall is not an exception,\u201d says Erout, adding that \u201cit has become much more hazardous and sensitive to global warming\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The future of mountaineering in a warming world<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In recognition of growing global threats to the cryosphere, the UN declared 2025 the International Year of Glaciers\u2019 Preservation<\/a>, with 21 March designated as World Glaciers Day. Few places symbolise the urgency of glacier loss more starkly than on Khumbu Icefall, where new crevasses and seracs are formed each season as ice recedes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mountaineers are at the forefront of the climate crisis \u2013 their profession is at the mercy of the weather<\/blockquote>Tenzing Chogyal Sherpa, Kathmandu-based cryosphere analyst for ICIMOD<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo profession is as close to glaciers as mountaineers,\u201d Tenzing Chogyal Sherpa tells Dialogue Earth. \u201cMountaineers climb them, interact with them and walk on the glaciers. They are at the forefront of the climate crisis. Their profession is at the mercy of the weather.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, Chettar Sherpa, the former icefall doctor, has noticed troubling changes. He notes that peaks like Island Peak<\/a> (6,165m) and Lobuche Peak (6,119m) in the Sagarmatha National Park now appear more like kalo patthar<\/em> (black rocks), with little to no snowfall in winter. Even the Nepali Everest trail is turning \u201cmore and more rocky\u201d \u2013 particularly near Crampon Point, where the Khumbu Icefall begins, he says. These changes increase risk for climbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDepending on the evolution of the Khumbu Icefall and possib[ility] of serious accidents with climbers, the new route could soon[er] or later become the normal route to Everest,\u201d says Erout.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The broader impacts of climate change are also affecting local livelihoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"people<\/div>
Lukla airport is the main gateway to the Everest region in Nepal. Increasingly erratic and extreme weather due to climate change is impacting its ability to operate \u2013 another threat to the economy of a region that relies on tourism and mountaineering (Image: Markus Thomenius \/ Alamy)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In Lukla, the main gateway to the Everest region, the weather is notoriously unpredictable. The airport\u2019s operationality is weather dependent, says Chogyal Sherpa. \u201cBad weather can lead to backlogs, causing cascading effects on bookings,\u201d threatening the region\u2019s tourism-dependent economy, he notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As climate change accelerates, bringing more erratic and extreme weather \u2013 and with it, rapid glacier thinning \u2013 the stakes are greater than mountaineering. What\u2019s under threat is the entire future of mountain life itself \u2013 its economies, communities and ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cClimbing is the primary income of the local people, and restricting climbing [due to] increased risk [from climate change] will directly affect them and the country\u2019s overall tourism,\u201d says Chand. He warns that there will be \u201cecological and cultural consequences in terms of water availability for local communities, agriculture, hydropower, and traditional life may be altered\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chand notes that a global reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to pre-industrial levels is key to slowing down the effects of climate change on glaciers, snow and permafrost. \u201cWe have no alternatives,\u201d he says. \u201cIf [ice melting continues], even a new route won\u2019t be sustainable due to the increased risk in these highly fragile environments.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With expeditions and livelihoods on the line amid melting ice and destabilising glaciers, a French-Nepali expedition is constructing a new route up the world\u2019s highest mountain<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50000775,"featured_media":60085286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[761],"tags":[50042205,50040713,50041595,20000022],"hashtags":[],"country":[20000113],"class_list":["post-60085239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","tag-culture","tag-glaciers","tag-global-heating","tag-himalayas","country-nepal"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew Everest route seeks to make ascent less deadly | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With future expeditions and livelihoods on the line amid melting ice and destabilising glaciers, a French-Nepali team is constructing a new route\" 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