A team of icefall doctors has left the base camp to pave the way for the ‘spring’ season of climbing the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest. A team of nine youths from Namche has left for Mt. Everest.
There are three icefall doctors in the team. A team including three icefall doctors has gone to build the path as the season of climbing Mt. Everest is about to begin, said Yangjidoma Sherpa, information officer of the Mt. Everest Pollution Control Committee (EPCC) Namche.
An experienced and skilled person who makes a path in the snow is called an icefall doctor. This year, the road is being paved under the leadership of Aangsarki Sherpa. For years, the government has been delegating the task of building the path to Everest to the EPCC.
Khumbu has been deserted for quite some time after the COVID-19 pandemic started. Every year, a new path is built by replacing the old one damaged by snow. Icefall doctors will build a path to the summit of Mt. Everest by connecting aluminum fences.
Climbers can reach Mt. Everest only after clearing the snow-covered path from Icefall to Camp-2, hanging their cable and keeping the stairways.
From the Everest base camp at an altitude of 5,364 metres to the camp at an altitude of 6,400 metres, there are up to two dozen small and large icebergs. Since there are many holes below the Base Camp II, a lot of path construction work has to be done. There are no glaciers on Camp II. A team of climber technicians paves the way and ties the ropes from Camp II.
As the construction of footpaths is very risky, there is a tradition in the base camp to start the work by reciting prayers from the Lama as per the Buddhist tradition.
Every year in the ‘October’ and ‘Spring’ seasons work is started according to this tradition. The construction of the path has started to prevent any calamity during the construction, to return safely, to be protected by God and to make the journey successful without any accident among the climbers.
It is said that the road construction work in the area will be done only by trained icefall doctors and other workers will not have much work to do.
Sherpas, who have been working as icefall doctors for years, risk their lives while paving the way. They said that the path to climb the mountain has to be built with the help of ropes by digging snow and ice. As the path gets damaged in case of avalanche, the road has to be built in the same place many times.
Source : TRN,
