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
