Everest 2026: Icefall Doctors Launched

The backbone of every Everest season on the Nepali side are the Icefall Doctors, a team of highly skilled Sherpas who establish the climbing route and set the thin nylon safety rope from Base Camp to Camp 2 in the Western Cwm.

Today, they left Namache Bazaar for EBC, where they will receive refresher training under the watchful eyes of the Kuhumbu Climbing Center teachers. Next, they will use drones to scout the route and, around March 16, begin the laborious task of setting ice screws, pickets, v-threads, and other techniques to attach the rope to the moving ice. And of course, there are the ladders that are hauled to deep, open crevasses, thus providing passage for the thousands of trips through the Icefall this season.

For spring 2026, I expect 900 to 1,000 total summits from both sides combined, exceeding the previous high-water mark set in 2019, when 877 climbers summited (661 from Nepal, 216 from Tibet. A realistic breakdown for 2026 would include at least 225 summits on the Tibet side (members and hired combined) and well over 800 from Nepal, compared to 731 from Nepal and 120 from Tibet in 2025.

In the Podcast, I introduce the season and review some of my background posts on costs, total summits and deaths, route figures, and more.

The Docs

The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee released information on the Icefall Doctors. With the arrival of spring, preparations are underway for the 2026 Mt. Everest climbing season. Today, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC)’s Icefall Doctors departed from our head office in Namche Bazaar and are en route to Everest Base Camp.

From March 5 to March 10, the team will participate in refresher training at Everest Base Camp conducted by instructors from the Khumbu Climbing Center (KCC). A traditional puja ceremony will be held on March 16, after which the team will officially begin setting up a route through the Khumbu Icefall. Over the next three months, the Icefall Doctors will be stationed at SPCC’s Everest Base Camp office to set up and maintain the Khumbu Icefall route, ensuring safe passage for mountaineers attempting Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhotse and Mt. Nuptse.

The Spring 2026 Icefall Doctors Team includes:

• Base Camp Manager: Tshering Tenzing Sherpa
• Icefall Doctors: Ang Sarki Sherpa (Chief Leader), Dawa Jangbu Sherpa (Team Leader), Tendu Sherpa, Ngima Tenji Sherpa, Phura Chheten Sherpa, Dawa Chhirri Sherpa, Sonam Geljen Sherpa, and Mingma Gyaljen Sherpa (pictured)
• Kitchen Staff: Wangdi Gyalbu Sherpa and Ngawang Thanten Sherpa
• Assistant: Tshering Thendu Sherpa
• Garbage Management Staff: Yubraj Baniya

How Many Ladders and When?

History shows that the Docs usually get the route set between April 2^nd and 16^th:

Of course the finding a safe route is the first order of business. As this picture shows, the route has varied over the years due to the movement of the Icefall, serac releases off Purmori, and serac releases off Everest’s West Shoulder. The Docs try to find the fastest route with the least exposure, and at times change it mid-season for safety reasons.

The First Icefall Climbs

George Mallory, while seeking a route to climb to the summit of Everest, is said to have sighted the Icefall in the early 1920s and said it was “terribly steep and broken … all in all the approach to the mountain from Tibet is easier, ” thus shifting his efforts to Tibet.

It wasn’t until 1950 when Charlie Houston and Bill Tilman led a British reconnaissance team to scout a possible route from Nepal that the Khumbu Icefall was considered feasible.

In 1951, another British team led by Eric Shipton climbed through the Icefall but stopped just short of the top due to a wide crevasse. To cross the crevasses, the early expeditions used long tree trunks brought up from the treeline after they ran out of ladders.

A 1952 Swiss team overcame that obstacle by climbing into the crevasse and crossing a dangerous snow bridge. They reached 8500 meters using today’s Southeast Ridge route but failed to summit. Of course, John Hunt’s 1953 British expedition made the first summit using that same route.

Icefall Bypass?

70-year-old French alpinist Marc Batard, twice in 2021 and 2022, attempted to establish a route to bypass the Khumbu Icefall by climbing on the flanks of Nuptse with a team of four French climbers and two Sherpas. He’s currently raising money for another attempt in 2026. He hopes to finish the route through what he calls “the traverse” to the Western Cwm and Camp 1 this spring. Nuptse is the southern wall above the Icefall.

The Nuptse alternative was established by Russian climbers Chochia and Shamalo in 2011, and the Soviet climber Bozhukov had proposed it several years earlier. See this excellent blog post for details and images. In 2013, Russians Urubko and Bolotov attempted to repeat it, but the attempt ended with the death of Bolotov when a rope broke while he was rappelling off the ridge and into the Western Cwm. This is another great blog post with details and images.

The Benegas Brothers advocated for this for many years, but could never make it a reality due to the objective dangers and climbing difficulty. I believe the hope of climbing Nuptse’s flanks to bypass the Icefall is over, as the route is too difficult to be used commercially.  

So, is an alternative route to the Icefall a good idea? Yes, while not the most dangerous section, it is dangerous and carries a constant risk of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, so your safety is somewhat out of your control. Is the Nuptse alternative the best one? Well, it may be the only viable option. Of course, climbers could climb the highly technical Lho La Pass to gain the West Ridge before attempting the harrowing Hornbein Couloir. But even then, most climbers would still return to EBC via the Khumbu Icefall. Note that no guide offers this as a commercial Everest route. 

See this 2026 post I made discussing this option in detail

Here’s to a safe season for everyone on the Big Hill.

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything

The Podcast on alanarnette.com

Here’s the Podcast of the Weekend Update

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Everest 2026: March 1 Weekend Update

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Previous Everest 2026 Season Coverage Posts

• Welcome to Everest 2026 Coverage – An overview of what to expect during the Spring 2026 climbing season
• Everest 2026: Rumor Fire Season
• Everest 2026: Icefall Doctors Launched

Background

• Everest by the Numbers: 2026 Edition – A deep dive into Everest statistics as compiled by the Himalayan Database
• Comparing the Routes of Everest: 2026 Edition – A detailed look at Everest’s routes, commercial, standard, and non-standard
• How Much Does it Cost to Climb Everest: 2026 Edition – My annual analysis of Everest climbing costs, from solo and unsupported to fully guided