They say that in any journey, the first steps are the hardest. This adage fits the popular climbing route up the Southern face of Everest like a (down-filled) glove. Even the most seasoned Everest guides dread the crevasse-strewn Khumbu Icefall which acts as a deadly gatekeeper for the rest of the mountain. More climbers have died here than anywhere else on the mountain, mainly from collapsing seracs that frequently strafe the exposed route with ice boulders that can weigh multiple tons. Since the first expedition, the stretch has claimed at least 40 lives including 16 Sherpas in 2014, according to the Himalayan Database.
Every year, the famed “Icefall Doctors” set fixed ropes and ladders through the labyrinth that leads up to Camp I simply because there are no other options. Unless you believe 70-year old climbing guide, Marc Batard. This French Everest legend is convinced that he knows a better way.
This season, Batard is preparing to lead the first group of climbers to the summit via an entirely new route that he admits is yet to be fully explored. “This new route might take some time and a lot of equipment before coming to commercial operation. But it will save many lives,” he told the Everest Chronicle.
The proposed route lies beneath the rocky spurs of Mount Nuptse that lie to the east of the towering southeast ridge that has been home to the heavily trafficked commercial for several decades. What sets Batard’s route aside is that climbers can bypass the deadly Khumbu Icefall.
Batard happens to be one of the persons to climb Everest solo and without use of bottled oxygen. This year he also intends to summit without bottled oxygen, making him the oldest person in history to do so. In his experience, climbing Everest from the Nepal side is becoming riskier each year as climate change continues to destabilize the mountain.
Batard has eschewed the traditional Basecamp, and has set up his expedition near the Sherpa settlement of Gorak Shep. His team includes his own son Alan as well as his climbing partner Pasang Nuru Sherpa, and his son Tenji. A few other European climbers are expected to join him, but exact details are unknown. The team plans to first climb Nuptse and then summit Everest via the new route.
During an exploratory trip in November, his team summited an unnamed 5,880 meter peak via the new route. Batard later named this peak Sundare dada, after a late friend.
Batard said that his team was only using a limited amount of rope-fixing equipment due to the small team size and a lack of adequate resources. For a full-scale commercial expedition, he estimated that up to 500,000 Euros worth of equipment would be necessary.
“We will install more equipment this year, but it won’t be enough for a commercial expedition,” said Batard.
Batard has the support of the French embassy in Kathmandu which has been lobbying the Nepal Government to install permanent equipment along his new route.
Nepali officials at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation have hinted that Batard’s new route would be given official recognition if it is indeed as safe as he claims. “Climbing permits could be issued via the new route if it turns out to be viable,” Rajaram Giri, a MoCTCA official, told members of the media following Batard’s briefing on the new route.
Still, most guides and expedition agencies are not convinced about the viability of the proposed new route. They cite the amount of rock climbing required on the route and believe that only skilled alpinists may be able to successfully climb it. Despite the risks inherent in the Khumbu Icefall, the existing route is passable by climbers with limited experience and expertise.
“No one will follow that route,” said Lakpa Sherpa, climbing guide and founder of 8k Expeditions. “Climbing Everest on that route is like reaching Camp III directly. Besides, climbers will have to cross a massive ridge directly from base camp.”
While Batard and his group make their way up the lower spurs of Nuptse, over 300 climbers will be attempting to reach the summit via the traditional southeast ridge route. Tragically, the Khumbu Icefall has already seen its first victim this year – Ngima Tengi Sherpa, who was found dead from unknown causes on April 14th.
