A meeting of a government-led mechanism overseeing the 2024 spring expedition in the Everest region has decided on the use of helicopters to shuttle necessary supplies to Camp II (6400 m) on Friday. The meeting has concluded with seeking formal permission from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to allow the use of helicopters. This means that, for the first time in the history of Everest expedition, helicopters will be used to ferry logistical supplies for expeditions above base camp (5300 m).
The government regulation permits use of helicopters above base camp only in case of search and rescue missions. Expedition operators are required to obtain prior permission from authorities to use helicopters above the base camp, which is generally allowed only for emergency search and rescue purposes.
The stakeholders present in the meeting which was held at the base camp reached an agreement to seek permission to use choppers to ferry expedition gears and rations up to Camp II on the way up, and then bring them down to the base camp after completion of the expedition.
Representatives of Department of Tourism, Nepal Army, Expedition Operators’ Association of Nepal, Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, Himalaya Rescue Association, Everest Summiteers Association, and Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality were present in the meeting.
The recommendation arises from practical need of the hour, said a personnel stationed at the base camp monitoring the ongoing Spring expedition. This year, there has been significant delay in opening up the route to Camp II due to serac collapse in the Khumbu Icefall. Icefall doctors had to abandon the usual route and opt the longer and more treacherous route through the western spur. “If we insist on using only human labor to move the supplies to higher camps, the opening of route up to the top will be delayed so much that there will only be a very brief window for summit”, he added.
The rope fixing work is expected to be completed by the second week of May, while the climbing season ends by the end of May.
Expedition companies had been pressuring the government to allow them to airdrop supplies to make up for the delay in opening up the route to camp II. Mingma Sherpa, chairman of Seven Summit Treks, had emphasized earlier this week to Everest Chronicle that a timely summit push would be impossible without helicopter airdrops of supplies to higher camps.
The Khumbu Icefall, a glacial river just above the base camp to Camp I, is the only access point to reach the summit of Mount Everest, Mount Lhotse, and Mount Nuptse.
The route through the Khumbu Icefall is typically opened by early April, providing agencies and workers with sufficient time to transport essential supplies such as food, tents, fuel, oxygen bottles and climbing gears beforehand. This year it was opened on the third week of April as the icefall doctors hit dead end twice due to serac collapse.
The route this year goes through Western Spur which is considered dangerous and had been avoided since the deadly avalanche in 2014 that claimed the lives of 16 Nepali guides.
“Airlifting supplies to higher camps will safeguard the lives of high-altitude workers, who have to pass through treacherous icefall section with heavy loads,” Rakesh Gurung, director at the Department of Tourism told Everest Chronicle, adding, “This year, the route goes through western spur, which is longer than the previous one. I quote one of the guides who sent me this information that the route this year is one and half hour longer than the previous one”, Gurung said quoting Narendra Shahi, one of the climbing guides, working for TAG Nepal Trek and Expeditions currently at base camp.
Gurung said the route up to Camp I has been found to be better than expected. Climbing guide from TAG Nepal Trek and Expeditions corroborates this as he tells Everest Chronicle that the route has less crevasses and fewer ladders.
“There are only three ladders up to Camp I, and ice on the ground is also decent. It might be safer, but it’s definitely longer,” Abiral Rai, one of the guides from TAG, who completed first rotation on Friday, told Everest Chronicle.
