Could flying drones make life safer on Mount Everest?
Nepali officials believe so. Earlier this week, officials with the Pasang Lhamu Khumbu Rural Municipality—the local agency that oversees the Nepali side of the mountain—tested a Chinese cargo drone at Base Camp, to see if the device could haul garbage and gear off the peak. Officials say that the aerial device could someday reduce the number of trips that porters make through the deadly Khumbu Icefall.
“We want to alleviate the burden on Sherpas who risk their lives hauling garbage from high altitudes, which can often be a formidable task,” Jagat Prasad Bhusal, the chief administrative officer of the municipality told Outside. “At such high altitudes in this region, even removing a small piece of chocolate can prove to be a challenging task.”
The group conducted test flights on April 29 and 30 using a FlyCart 30, an industrial delivery drone built by Chinese company DJI. According to Bhusal, the experiment had promising—but not exactly perfect—results. On Monday, April 29, operators flew the craft from Base Camp, which sits at 17,600 feet, up to Camp I, which is at 19,900 feet, however they were unable to land the drone at the higher camp. The extreme altitude in the Himalayas presents a challenge for rotor-powered aircraft like helicopters and drones, since spinning blades generate less lift in thin air. On Tuesday, April 30, operators repeated the trip, but this time with two oxygen tanks in tow. Bhusal said the load weighed approximately 40 pounds, and the drone completed the journey.
“Our outlook on this initiative is optimistic,” he said. “We’re encouraged by its performance.”
Helicopters used for ferrying gear and rescuing climbers on Everest are specifically designed with more powerful engines than traditional models to overcome the altitude. Drones, too, are diminished at high altitudes. DJI claims the FlyCart 30 has a maximum flying altitude of 19,600 feet. The 40-pound payload used in the recent test was less than the carrying capacity of the FlyCart 30, which DJI lists at 66 pounds.
Mountain environments present other challenges for aerial drones: topographic features can block the radio signals that transmit directions from the drone operator. Bhusal said the group did experience “range problems” during practice flights, but that the team devised a solution. They plan to send a second drone operator higher onto the mountain to take control of the vehicle for the next round of tests. The FlyCart 30 allows multiple pilots to control it, and a pilot located at a higher altitude is less likely to have his signals blocked by hillsides, he said. “We’ve developed a workaround,” he said. “We will be sending a technician to Camp 2, which should resolve the signal issue once the route is available.”
Following the test, officials told The Kathmandu Post that they expect drones to start hauling trash back to Base Camp as early as 2025.
Cargo drones could represent a breakthrough in the years-long effort to reduce danger in the Khumbu Icefall. The cascading glacier, which towers above Base Camp, presents deadly occupational hazards for the hundreds of workers that haul gear up and down the mountain for expeditions on the Nepali side. The icefall is prone to avalanches and collapsing ice towers, and it is riddled with dozens of crevasses. But no other routes exists from Base Camp to Camp I, so anyone wanting to venture higher onto the peak must navigate the sector.
Over the years, Sherpas have refined safety strategies in the Khumbu Icefall to try and mitigate risk. Every year the route through the glacier is charted by a group of specialty workers called the Icefall Doctors, and in recent years they have sought to thread the passage away from slopes that produce frequent avalanches. Porters usually ascend through the icefall early in the morning, when ice is firmer and less susceptible to collapse. And in recent years, some expedition operators have ferried gear to and from higher camps via helicopter as a way to reduce manpower.
Despite these efforts, the Khumbu Icefall is frequently the site of death and disaster. In 2014 an avalanche swept down the icefall and killed 16 climbing Sherpas, and last April, three guides died after a collapsing ice serac buried them. According to the Kathmandu Post, at least 50 people have died in the icefall since 1953.
And not all of these strategies are likely to last. Earlier this year the Pasang Lhamu Khumbu Rural Municipality enacted a series of rules governing expedition operations, and one law prohibits operators from ferrying gear to higher camps via helicopter. But according to Everest Chronicle, officials recently walked the rule back after dangers in the Khumbu Icefall delayed Icefall Doctors from completing the route by 12 days. Instead, the local municipality will allow helicopters to deliver gear to Camp II, located at an elevation of 20,997 feet. “Airlifting supplies to higher camps will safeguard the lives of high-altitude workers, who have to pass through treacherous icefall section with heavy loads,” Rakesh Gurung, director of Nepal’s department of tourism, told the publication.
Ben Ayers and Tulsi Rauniyar contributed to this report.Â