The Deadly Khumbu Icefall Is Becoming Even More Dangerous: How Climate Change Is Transforming Everest’s Most Lethal Section
Conquering Mount Everest has always been a dangerous endeavor. Before climbers following the South Col route can reach Camp 1, they must face one of the most deadly sections: the Khumbu Icefall — a 2.6-kilometer stretch of slowly shifting ice just above Base Camp.
The icefall, similar to a waterfall, is where the glacier drops over a cliff. The ice above fractures into massive blocks called seracs, while the ice below cracks open, creating deep crevasses. Everything at Khumbu is enormous: seracs can be 30-meter-tall towers of ice, and crevasses can be 30-meter-wide canyons in the ice.
This documentary examines the growing dangers of the Khumbu Icefall, the role of climate change in making it more unstable, and the efforts of the “Icefall Doctors” who risk their lives to prepare the route each season.
1. The Khumbu Icefall: Everest’s Most Dangerous Section
The Khumbu Icefall is so dangerous that a specialized team of experts, known as the “Icefall Doctors,” is responsible for finding a safe route through it each year. They place ropes and ladders to help climbers navigate the shifting ice walls and deep crevasses.
Between 1953 and 2019, 45 people lost their lives in the Khumbu Icefall . The three main causes of death are avalanches on the icefall (49%), collapsing ice (33%), and falls into crevasses (13%) .
The icefall’s movement is what makes it unstable. The glacier is essentially a slow-moving river of ice gradually flowing down the mountain. This constant motion creates deep crevasses and deadly avalanches.
2. Climate Change: Making a Dangerous Place Worse
This year, the Icefall Doctors delayed the Everest climbing season by 12 days due to unsafe conditions . Low winter snowfall and high temperatures made the ice towers and bridges unstable, forcing them to reassess the route multiple times.
As global temperatures rise, the Khumbu Icefall is expected to become even more dangerous. Paul Mayewski, a climate scientist and Everest researcher from the University of Maine, explained: “When you go up there at one time of day and come down the next day, things can look very different.”
Rapid melting is causing glaciers like the Khumbu to shrink and erode. While this creates more lakes and streams, it also increases the risk of avalanches, ice falls, and more dangerous crevasses.
“There is a potential that it will get worse as the climate warms because the ice becomes more mobile. The warmer it is, the more water there is flowing. That flowing water obviously destabilizes the ice,” Mayewski said .
3. The Changing Face of Everest
Research by Mayewski shows that conditions are changing across Mount Everest, not just at the Khumbu Icefall. One-third of the ice at the South Col — Everest’s highest glacier — has disappeared over the past two to three decades .
“Even just walking around the Base Camp area, there are a lot of places where melting is happening,” he said.
The changing conditions are also exposing more bodies and garbage that had been buried for decades. The cleanup campaigns in recent years have recovered hundreds of bodies and tons of trash from the mountain.
4. Will Everest Become Unclimbable?
Despite the increasing risks, Mayewski does not believe that climate change will make climbing Everest impossible in the foreseeable future.
“Can people still climb it? Yeah, I think they still will. Is it more dangerous? Yes — it was already very dangerous,” he said .
The climbing industry continues to adapt, with the Icefall Doctors working tirelessly to find new routes and ensure safety. However, the growing instability of the icefall serves as a stark reminder of the impact of climate change on the world’s highest peak.
Primary Sources:
Business Insider — Khumbu Icefall delays and conditions (2024)
Alan Arnette — Icefall mortality statistics (1953-2019)
University of Maine — Paul Mayewski research on Everest glaciers
The Himalayan Database — Climbing records and fatalities
Smithsonian Magazine — Everest cleanup and climate impact (2024)