Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) gave an update that icefall doctors’ team have departed for Everest Base Camp from their Namche Bazaar office. Icefall doctors is a group of brave sherpas that risk their lives to construct and maintain a safe passage through the icefall for hundreds of climbers.
They will prepare and secure the Khumbu Icefall Route for the spring 2023 climbing season. The route is used by climbers who aim to summit Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhotse and Mt. Nuptse. Before starting their work, icefall doctors will be receiving on-site training from Khumbu Climbing Center instructors at Everest Base Camp from 2nd March to 6th March.
Everest 2023: A Tale of Two Sides
For the fourth consecutive year, China will not allow foreign climbers to climb Everest from its side, due to the COVID situation as well as rise in political tension. Even though China has resumed work and student visas, there’s no information regarding tourist visas. Tour operators from Tibet are hoping for China to issue tourist visas from spring so that the Everest climbing and expedition can be resumed from autumn.
It is already late for expedition planning for this year and tour operators still haven’t got any response back from China. Therefore, some operators have canceled their 2023 Tibet expedition and are transferring all clients to the Nepal side. It means there will be increase in the number of climbers on Everest from the Nepal side.
Hence, it is believed that Nepal will see an increase in the number of climbers attempting not only Everest, but also other high mountains in Nepal such as- Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu and Annapurna.
Everest Climbing Ascent Analysis Data
The following table shows the number of members above the base camp as well as successful ascents from the south (Nepal) side for each year from 2016 to 2022.
Ascent Analysis From year 2016-2022 Members only
| Year | Members above Base Camp | Ascent |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 352 | 268 |
| 2021 | 419 | 190 |
| 2019 | 560 | 397 |
| 2018 | 543 | 398 |
| 2017 | 520 | 322 |
| 2016 | 433 | 313 |
Note: The data is taken from The Himalayan Database
Everest Climbing Success Rate
The following table shows the success rate of Everest summit for each year from 2016 to 2022, based on the data from the Himalayan Database.
| Year | Success Rate |
| 2022 | 26.13 |
| 2021 | 45.34 |
| 2019 | 70.89 |
| 2018 | 73.29 |
| 2017 | 61.92 |
| 2016 | 72.28 |
