Everest 2021: Avalanche Stops Climbing – Update 1

UPDATE APRIL 20, 2021: Correction for #everest2021. There was no avalanche that closed the Icefall today. I confirmed directly with Mike Hamill live from EBC just now. He had part of his team go to C1 today with no issues. I apologize for the misinformation.

The 2021 spring Everest season continues pretty much on track in spite of a few developments. The climbing permits issued by Nepal are approaching the 2019 record numbers so look for crowds similar to 2019 in the usual spots. The weather has been pretty normal as well.

An avalanche off the West Shoulder of Everest made a direct hit on the Khumbu Icefall blocking the route on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. The Icefall Doctors suggest it will take five days to repair.

The Icefall Doctors for this season are Icefall Doctors – Palden Namgel Sherpa, Ang Sarki Sherpa, Mingma Temba Sherpa, Dawa Jangbu Sherpa, Dawa Nuru Sherpa, Nima Wongchu Sherpa, and Phu Chhetar Sherpa.

During this downtime, let’s take a look at some of the stories thus far this season.

Storyline

The storyline thus far is that there is no storyline! The season is moving at a similar pace as previous seasons, even taking into account this delay due to the avalanche. Each year, something happens that throws a wrench into the well-planned schedules. In 2019 it was Cyclone Fani that shut the mountain down the first week of May.

The fixed ropes are set to the Yellow Band and may have made it to the South Col. This is a bit earlier than in the previous season but these delays won’t have too much of an impact on getting them to the summit by early May. Most teams like to have their acclimatization rotations completed by the end of the first week of May, so there is still plenty of time.

If there is a story, it’s the near-record number of permits issued. I went back and forth earlier this year saying it will be a record year due to the pent-up demand or it will be half of what a normal year has or about 200 permits. Well, it looks like a new record will be set. Climbers from India attracted by low-cost expeditions from Nepali operators are leading the charge.

Thus far COID has not been an issue, at least this is what we are being told officially and unofficially, but as I’ve said, Nepal is censoring bad news so don’t expect to hear anything about the virus.

Permits

Amazingly, there are still teams arriving in Kathmandu and on the trek to Everest Base Camp. The permits for Everest continue to grow approaching the 2019 record number of 382. On Everest, there are 284 male clients and 87 female. Overall there have been 659 climbing permits issued thus far for the spring climbing season generating $4.2 million in revenue for the Nepal government.

With these numbers, expect a crowd just like in 2019. The best hope for not repeating the chaos of 2019 is for a long weather window of low winds to spread out the inexperienced climbers and the crowds.

There is one 40-person Chinese national team on the Tibet side, otherwise, it’s closed to foreigners. They established their base camp this past week.

Injuries and Illness

A Sherpa suffered a broken leg on Monday, April 12, 2021. He was in the upper part of the Icefall. He was brought down by helicopter using what’s called a longline, which is basically a rope dangling a liter from the chopper. He’s reported doing well in Kathmandu. Shehroze Kashif aka The Broadboy (he’s the youngest person to have summited Broad Peak) posted this video on his Instagram page:

A climber who shall remain Anonymous is experiencing a perplexing set of medical uses as he tells in his Facebook post from last week. I’m told he was tested again and it came back positive, again: