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The Khumbu Icefall is located at the head of the Khumbu Glacier and the foot of the Western Cwm. It lies at an elevation of 5,486 meters (17,999 feet) on the Nepali slopes of Mount Everest, not far above Base Camp and southwest of the summit. The icefall is regarded as one of the most dangerous sections of the South Col route to Everest's summit.

Overview

The Khumbu Glacier moves an estimated 0.9 to 1.2 m (3 to 4 ft) down the flank of Mt. Everest every day. Ice entering the fall takes approximately 4.3 years to emerge at the base, which is 600 metres (2,000 ft) lower and 1.5 kilometres (1 mi) away horizontally. The speed of ice flow and the precipitous elevation drop create a bergschrund (ice berg shoulder), characterized at the top by massive transverse blocks that calve off the upper glacier, creating gaping crevasses (of over 100 m deep and often over 15 metres or 50 feet wide). As these massive initial glacial segments descend the fall, they are slowly twisted and crushed by the churning pressure of glacial flow, generating increasingly tortuous crevasse fields in the middle of the fall and a chaotic maze of smaller blocks toward the bottom of the fall.

Due to constant glacial motion, snow bridges concealing crevasses and overhanging ice blocks (called seracs), ranging in size from several tons to thousands of tons, can open or collapse with little warning, generating extreme danger for climbers. Crossing the Khumbu Icefall is so dangerous that even extensive rope and ladder networks installed by professional guides cannot prevent loss of life.

The official Himalayan Database records 44 deaths in the icefall between 1953 and 2016. No deaths were recorded between 2017 and 2021.

Prudent climbers place emphasis on avalanche and crevasse-fall survival and rescue techniques prior to entering this terrain. Most climbers try to pass through the icefall before sunrise, when it is usually less mobile due to freezing in the nighttime cold. As sunlight warms the area, ice-melt causes friction within the structure to decline, which increases the rate of flow and hence, crevasse opening and ice-block or serac collapse. The most dangerous time to cross the fall is generally mid-to-late afternoon. Experienced, acclimatized climbers can ascend the icefall in a few hours, while inexperienced or non-altitude-acclimatized climbers may take 10–12 hours to complete the passage. "Camp I" on Everest's South Col route is typically slightly beyond the top of the Khumbu Icefall.

2014 avalanche

Around 6:30 am local time on 18 April 2014, 16 Nepalese climbers were killed by an avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall. Only 13 bodies were recovered. Nine others sustained blunt trauma injuries. The climbers were preparing the route through the dangerous icefall for the spring climbing season when the avalanche engulfed them.

1970 avalanche

On April 5, 1970, a tragic accident occurred when 6 Sherpas lost their lives after a serac struck them while they were in the Khumbu Icefall. They were assisting in the production of the Canadian documentary The Man Who Skied Down Everest, featuring Japanese alpinist Yūichirō Miura. Miura later became the first person to successfully ski down Mount Everest.

References

1. UNITEC Institute of Technology. "Hillary Challenge". Ministry of Education, Wellington, New Zealand. Archived from the original on 2008-09-06.
2. "Mount Everest avalanche kills 12 Nepalese guides". CBC News. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
3. ^ Krakauer, Jon (21 April 2014). "Death and Anger on Everest". The New Yorker. Retrieved 22 April 2014. Of the twenty-five men hit by the falling ice, sixteen were killed, all of them Nepalis working for guided climbing teams.
4. Burke, Jason; Rauniyar, Ishwar (18 April 2014). "Mount Everest avalanche leaves at least 12 Nepalese climbers dead". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
5. Amgain, Ghan. "Khumbu Icefall". Himalayan Partner. Retrieved 27 October 2024.

v t e Mount Everest
Topography and landmarks	Base Camp Geneva Spur Hillary Step Hornbein Couloir Kangshung Face (East Face) Kangshung Glacier Khumbu Glacier Khumbu Icefall Lhakpa La Lho La North Col North Face Norton Couloir Rongbuk Glacier South Col South Summit Three Pinnacles Three Steps "Green Boots cave" Western Cwm
Expeditions	1921 British reconnaissance 1922 British 1924 British (Affair of the Dancing Lamas) 1933 British aerial reconnaissance 1933 British 1935 British 1936 British 1938 British 1950–52 British–Swiss–US reconnaissance 1951 British 1952 Swiss 1953 British 1960 Chinese 1963 American 1975 British SW Face 1976 British–Nepalese SW Face 1979 Yugoslav West Ridge 1996 Indo-Tibetan Border Police 2006 Philippine 2007 Altitude Everest expedition Earth Day 20 International Peace Climb Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition
Notable fatalities	Francys Arsentiev (Sleeping Beauty) Peter Boardman Green Boots Sandy Irvine George Mallory Hannelore Schmatz David Sharp Joe Tasker
Committees	Joint Himalayan Committee Mount Everest Committee
In media	Beyond the Edge The Climb (book) The Climb (2007 film) The Epic of Everest Everest (1998 film) Everest (2015 film) Everest (Indian TV series) Everest '82 Everest: Beyond the Limit EverestMax Expedition Everest (roller coaster) Into Thin Air The Man Who Skied Down Everest Mount Everest webcam Paths of Glory Peak The Conquest of Everest The Wildest Dream Wings Over Everest
Years	1970 disaster 1974 avalanche 1988 disaster 1996 disaster 2012 2013 2014 avalanche 2015 avalanches 2016 2017 2018
Mount Everest massif	Khumbutse Lhotse Lingtren Nuptse Pumori
Records	Times to the summit 20th-century summiters
Mountain guides	List of Mount Everest guides Sherpas

27°59′45″N 86°52′22″E / 27.99583°N 86.87278°E / 27.99583; 86.87278

• Glaciers of Nepal
• Icefalls
• Mount Everest