![\"Jumar](\"http:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/everest_2003_186.jpg\")
<\/a>Simply put, a thin nylon rope aka “fixed line” is anchored to the mountain side marking the path aka “route” climbers should take. The rope is about the thickness of your thumb and is attached to the climber’s harness using a carabiner and a jumar. To see how the rigging is set up, Tim Mosedale <\/a>has a nice description on his site. While it may seem silly that mountain climbers need a rope to mark the trial, there’s more to it than marking the path.<\/p>\n In general the route is set by dedicated teams of Sherpas on the Nepal side and Tibetans on the Tibet side.<\/p>\n On the south side, the Icefall Doctors, a team of eight dedicated Sherpas install aka “fix” the route from Everest Base Camp to Camp 2 in the Western Cwm each year. They first scout the route for the safest and most direct path, then they carry on their backs hundreds of pounds of rope, ladders, ice screws and pickets into the Icefall and the Western Cwm to create\u00a0the route.<\/p>\n The ropes\u00a0must be reset each season because the ultraviolet rays from the sun will rot the ropes causing them to fail under the weight of a climber’s fall. \u00a0In addition, the route must be maintained daily through the season given the Icefall is a moving glacier and can move up to three feet a day. This movement will cause ladders to drop into crevasses, bend them or move them into a dangerous area. The Doctors inspect the route at least once a day throughout the season to keep it open and safe.<\/p>\n From Camp 2 to the summit on the south side, a coalition of Sherpas from multiple commercial teams work together to set the route. This is more of tradition to have the commercial teams do\u00a0this work but there are calls to have the Icefall Doctors\u00a0assume responsibility from EBC to summit.<\/p>\n Again, they carry ropes and the anchors on their backs and work together to fix the “fixed rope” aka safety lines to the mountain side. In 2017, a major change occurred when the Nepal government allowed the ropes and anchors to be helicoptered to Camp 2 thus saving an estimated 78 Sherpa loads thru the Icefall. This was a pure safety decision.<\/p>\n On the Tibet side, a dedicated team of Tibetan climbers perform the same duties but they set the route from Advanced Base Camp to the summit and the commercial teams do not participate in the effort. The ladder at the 2nd<\/sup> Step, installed in 1975 is attached permanently but has been replaced a couple of times.<\/p>\n On both sides the labor\u00a0and material are funded thru climbing permits or collections from the teams.<\/p>\n In addition to marking the route, which is extremely useful in whiteout conditions, the fixed line also provides a safety net for a climber in the event of a fall. If the 1996 climbers had been able to follow the fixed rope to the South Col, many would have lived.<\/p>\n The problem that is occurring in recent years is that the line can only support so much weight and it is common to have 30, 50 or even 100 people attached to the same rope. While, amazingly it has never happened, if the climbers were to fall together the lines would fail under the load. So in many high traffic areas, there are dual lines established, one for climbers ascending and one for descending climbers. In 2017, this dual route is established on the Lhotse Face.<\/p>\n There are two routes on the Hillary Step but one is designed for climbers to rappel down, just off the Hillary Step proper, and onto an exposed ledge. It has not been used since it was established a few years ago as it requires skills most Everest climbers lack.<\/p>\n But sometimes there is simply not enough room for dual ropes. Also, remember that it takes human effort to haul the gear high on the slopes and attach it to the mountain.<\/p>\n The way the ropes is attached is by using ice screws, primarily in the Icefall or very icey areas but more often by driving an aluminum picket into the snowy mountain side and attaching the rope using another segment of rope. All in all this is very time consuming and it takes days to get the route set to the summit. That is why we rarely see summits in April as the Tibetans and Sherpas are busy establishing the route while the climbers are acclimatizing.<\/p>\n Is this really necessary? Certainly Everest has been climbed successfully without the use of fixed ropes, but this has been by exceptionally skilled and experienced Alpinists like Reinhold Messner. Ueli Steck, attempting a traverse from Everest to Lhotse said he doesn’t need fixed ropes. In 2007, Conrad Anker climbed the 2nd Step on the North side without using the ladder as a test the see if it could be done.<\/p>\nWho Does the Work?<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Why Fixed Ropes?<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a>2017 Update<\/h3>\n