Kathmandu, May 28 (EFE).- Veteran climber Kami Rita Sherpa, who returned to Kathmandu on Wednesday after scaling Mount Everest for a record 31st time, has warned that melting snow—likely driven by global warming—is making climbing the world’s highest peak increasingly dangerous.
“Snow is melting, possibly due to global warming,” he said. “This has put everyone at risk, especially high-altitude guides.”
He said that melting snow heightens the risks, particularly in the Khumbu Icefall—a notoriously perilous section of the Everest climb.
“Guides have to go up and down through the Icefall more than 30 times each season,” he said.
“Foreign climbers usually through it three to four times during acclimatisation. Most of them are scared.”
The Khumbu Icefall, located just above Everest’s base camp at 5,500 to 5,800 meters, is the first major obstacle for climbers attempting the summit.
Hundreds of climbers pitch temporary tents at the base camp to prepare for the ascent every spring, and all must cross the Icefall to continue upward.
The Icefall, a slow-moving river of ice about a kilometer long, is so dangerous that even experienced Sherpas often hesitate to cross it once the sun rises.
Climbers typically attempt the crossing between 3 am and 5 am, when lower temperatures keep the ice blocks and overhanging glaciers more stable.
As the sun climbs higher, the warming mountain air increases melting, destabilizes ice formations, and significantly raises the risk of avalanches.
Expedition organizers said the weather was erratic this spring, particularly with a high wind factor, which forced many climbers to give up.
Despite these hazards, Everest saw fewer casualties this year than in recent seasons.
According to preliminary reports, three climbers—two from India and one from the Philippines—died on Everest this season.
Himal Gautam, director at Nepal’s Department of Tourism, told EFE that the final tally of successful climbers is still being compiled.
“Preliminary estimates suggest a success rate of 40 to 45 percent among the 468 climbers who were issued permits this season, which ended on Tuesday,” he said.
These figures exclude Sherpas, who are not required to obtain permits or pay the hefty climbing fees—$11,000 for foreigners and Rs 75,000 ($550) for Nepalis.
The deadliest year on Everest remains 2015, when a devastating earthquake in Nepal triggered a series of avalanches on the mountain, killing 20 people.
The Himalayan Database, which records all expeditions to Nepal’s peaks over 7,000 meters since 1905, has not included those 2015 deaths in its official count.
Before that, one of the most tragic incidents occurred on Apr. 18, 2014, when an avalanche near base camp killed 17 Sherpa guides.
Fatalities on Everest have varied over the years.
In both 2016 and 2017, five climbers lost their lives. In 2018, four climbers died, followed by nine deaths in 2019.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the mountain saw no ascents. Five climbers died in 2021, and the number dropped to three in 2022.
The year 2023 marked a sharp increase, with 18 deaths, while 2024 saw eight fatalities.
More than 9,000 mountaineers have summited Everest from Nepal since Tenzing Norgay and the New Zealander Edmund Hillary first set foot atop the world’s highest peak in 1953. EFE
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