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Everest Open for Autumn Business

Despite Mount Everest’s popular season being in the spring, the fall season often has a number of expeditions aiming for the summit.

The Nepalese Sherpa Icefall Doctors have started to “repair” the route through the Khumbu Icefall between Basecamp and Camp One.

The Icefall Doctors carry light-weight aluminum ladders to fix up seracs and over crevasses.
The Icefall Doctors carry light-weight aluminum ladders to fix up seracs and over crevasses.

In April, an earthquake triggered a number of avalanches, which killed 18 people on the mountain.

A Japanese team has already arrived in Nepal for a 2015 attempt. So far this year, no one has stood on the summit of the world’s highest mountain. They are the only scheduled expedition so far. The team said they are nervous about the conditions of the glacier.

Nepal’s Sherpa community are reportedly keen to rebuild the Khumbu route as soon as possible. Some have called the decision to attempt the mountain this year as foolish.

The president of Nepal’s mountaineering association, Ang Tsering Sherpa, 41, said the Japanese expedition is “risky and dangerous.” The autumn season brings enough risks as it is.

The doctors have already surveyed the icefall and carried in a number of ladders. Ang Tsering Sherpa, says the autumn season on Everest is short and the doctors will decide when it should end after October 8. The Khumbu Icefall rope and ladder installers only make $4,500 for their efforts. Worth it?

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