A team of eight Sherpa climbers and a small camp staff left Namche Bazaar yesterday for Mount Everest Base Camp. The Sherpas’ task is to find a route through the maze of seracs (hanging ice blocks) and crevasses from the broken Khumbu Glacier. They have been doing this every spring since 1993. This team is called the Icefall Doctors.
Every Everest climber, as well as those doing Lhotse and Nuptse, relies on Sherpas to forge a passage through this deadly obstacle course, which runs from the base of the mountain at 17,717 feet to the Western Cwm at 19,685 feet.
The original version of this story was published on ExplorersWeb.
Deadlier-Than-Death Zone
Among all the hazards on the South Side (Nepalese side) of Everest, the Khumbu Icefall is the one that cannot be avoided. No technology, supplementary oxygen, or climbing skills can save a climber if a serac collapses in the Khumbu Icefall.
Out of 340 people who have died on Everest since 1953, 48 have perished in the Khumbu Icefall. Most of them were Sherpa climbers working on the mountain. In 2014 alone, an avalanche fell on the Icefall and killed 16 workers.
This specialized crew seeks a relatively stable route to minimize risk and maintains it throughout the Mount Everest climbing season.
Icefall Doctors: Guardian Angels
The 2025 Sherpa team includes Tshering Tenjing Sherpa as Base Camp manager and the Icefall Doctors themselves: Ang Sarki Sherpa (Team Leader A), Dawa Jangbu Sherpa (Team Leader B), Dawa Nuru Sherpa, Nima Tenji Sherpa, Mingma Gyalzen Sherpa, Dawa Chhirri Sherpa, Lhakpa Sona Sherpa and Tendu Sherpa. Wangdi Gelbu Sherpa and Ngawang Thaten Sherpa are in charge of the kitchen.
The Icefall Doctors will remain in place for the next 3 months, since the route has to be constantly checked and maintained. The anchors on ropes and ladders weaken quickly as the Khumbu Glacier moves about 1 m every day. Fixing the Icefall was a task assigned to Sherpa climbers since the first expeditions to the South Side of Everest. Often, young Sherpas lacking money or experience take on this high-risk job.
A History of Risk for Icefall Doctors on Mount Everest
Things have gradually improved. The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), an NGO created by the local Sherpa community of the Khumbu Valley, has organized the work of these Icefall Doctors since 1993. Since 1997, the SCPP has had a yearly contract with Nepal’s Department of Tourism to continue the work. It is still dangerous, but it pays better and includes much-improved equipment and resources.
The SPCC is also in charge of managing the huge amount of waste from Everest Base Camp during the climbing season and minimizing damage to the environment. Additionally, the SPCC checks climbing permits, monitors illegal climbing, and implements waste management strategies at the various base camps in the Khumbu Valley, including Everest’s.
In a documentary on the history and work of the Icefall Doctors, Ang Nima Sherpa, who worked as one of them for 37 years, explained that New Zealand guides Rob Hall (who died in the 1996 disaster) and Gary Ball bestowed the “Icefall Doctor” name when they saw how these Sherpas used ice screws and hammers to cobble together a path through this broken terrain. It reminded them of the work of a surgeon.
Watch the documentary above (Runtime: 12 minutes).
