Changes Coming to Everest as the Spring 2022 Climbing Season Gets Underway

By Blake Penson · Updated 2026-10-24

Blake Penson has climbed Everest twice and has 20 years in the mountains.

In spring 2022, two changes on Everest's south side were drawing attention: a study found that the South Col glacier, the highest on the mountain at about 8,020 m, had thinned by about 54 m in 25 years and could disappear by the middle of the century; and a French-Nepali team led by Marc Batard was trying to open a variant that bypasses the dangerous Khumbu Icefall via a spur below Nuptse. Lukas Furtenbach of Furtenbach Adventures told ExpedReview the glacier's retreat was making the upper route rockier, but not yet harder, and that the icefall was the bigger concern. What happened next: Nepal issued 325 Everest permits that spring; Batard abandoned his 2022 attempt at about 6,020 m because of illness; and the icefall remains the standard route. This article was first published on 23 March 2022 and was updated in October 2026 with what happened next.

Everest spring 2022: key facts

Nepal Everest permits, spring 2022	325 (Nepal Department of Tourism figures as reported)
South Col glacier	About 8,020 m; thinned about 54 m in 25 years (2022 study)
Projected loss	Could disappear by the middle of the century
Icefall bypass	Marc Batard's variant via a spur below Nuptse, from Gorak Shep to above the icefall
Outcome in 2022	Abandoned at about 6,020 m due to illness (Himalayan Database)
Standard route today	Still through the Khumbu Icefall

The 2022 season gets underway

When this article was first published, in late March 2022, most expeditions had arrived in Nepal and were starting the trek to Everest Base Camp, and many teams had sent advance staff to set up camp. The Icefall Doctors, the specialist Sherpa team who fix the ropes and ladders through the Khumbu Icefall each season, were already working on the route to Camp I, and the rest of the route to the summit was expected to be fixed by early May.

It was the first season in which travel to Nepal felt close to normal again after the pandemic, with quarantine and testing requirements dropped for fully vaccinated visitors. In the end, the Nepal government issued 325 Everest permits to foreign climbers for spring 2022, fewer than the record 408 of 2021. But while much of the season felt like business as usual, the mountain itself was changing.

The South Col glacier is melting

In February 2022, a team of scientists published a study in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, a journal in the Nature Portfolio, on the South Col glacier, the highest glacier on Everest, at about 8,020 m (26,300 ft). Using ice cores and data from automatic weather stations installed during a 2019 expedition, they concluded that the glacier is "destined for rapid retreat" and could disappear entirely by the middle of the century.

The study was among the first to look closely at how rising temperatures affect glaciers at the very highest altitudes, which had been thought to be too cold to melt significantly. The researchers estimated that the glacier, whose surface ice was about 2,000 years old, had lost about 54 m (177 ft) of thickness in roughly 25 years. They linked the loss to rising temperatures, the loss of the snowpack that used to protect the ice, and strong winds and sunlight. Once the snow is gone, darker ice is exposed, which absorbs more sunlight and melts and sublimates faster, so the process accelerates.

The long-term effects on the mountain's shape and ecology are still unknown, but for climbers the effects are already visible.

What does it mean for climbers?

Lukas Furtenbach, owner of Furtenbach Adventures, had guided expeditions on the south side of Everest since 2016, and told ExpedReview that he had seen the glacier retreat over six seasons.

"You can clearly see the topographic changes on the South Col glacier," he said. "On the col itself, there is more rock and sand and less ice-covered terrain."

"The first slope from the col up in the triangle is getting a bit steeper," Furtenbach added. "But both are not really affecting the climbing in a negative way. Not yet, I have to say."

As the ice retreats, more of the loose bedrock underneath is exposed. Furtenbach expected this to make the whole upper route rockier and more technical, but said it would not change the requirements for joining his team.

"All the route from the South Col to the Balcony and further on to the South Summit and the summit will become rockier and more technical," he said. "But mountaineers are great in adaptation. We know such developments from the Alps, and this can open new possibilities."

One of those possibilities, he suggested, could be a revival of the autumn climbing season on Everest, when there is more snow on the mountain. For most of the past few decades, almost all Everest expeditions have climbed in spring, before the monsoon.

Is the Khumbu Icefall becoming more dangerous?

The study focused on the South Col, but its authors also warned that warming would make ice movement in the Khumbu Icefall more likely, increasing the risk of collapses and avalanches and making the icefall less stable.

Furtenbach saw this as the more pressing issue for climbers. "The impacts on the Khumbu glacier and Khumbu Icefall are bigger and affecting the actual climbing and route setting more," he said.

The Khumbu Icefall is the most dangerous part of the standard south-side route. It is a steep, constantly moving section of the Khumbu Glacier, between base camp at about 5,300 m and Camp I at about 6,000 m, full of crevasses and unstable towers of ice called seracs. Climbers cross it on fixed ropes and aluminium ladders, usually in the early morning before the sun warms the ice. Sherpas carrying loads to the upper camps cross it many more times than clients, so they face the greatest risk. The route through the icefall changes every season, and sometimes during a season, as the glacier moves about a metre a day in places; the Icefall Doctors, coordinated by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, maintain it and repair it after collapses. A single collapse can close the route for days and delay an entire season's schedule. The worst accident in Everest's history happened there: on 18 April 2014, an ice avalanche killed 16 Nepali climbers.

The search for a new route

One response to the icefall's dangers has been a search for a way around it. In November 2021, a team of French and Nepali climbers came to Nepal to find one. The well-known French mountaineer Marc Batard, famous for fast ascents of Everest without supplemental oxygen in the 1980s, told local media that the variant starts from Gorak Shep, follows a rocky spur below the flank of Nuptse, including a vertical cliff, and joins the normal route at Camp I, above the icefall.

Batard said his team would return in spring 2022 to test whether the route was a feasible alternative. The plan was to equip the steepest sections with metal rungs and cables, like a via ferrata, so that climbers could clip in safely.

Furtenbach was doubtful that it would be easier. "As far as I can say, yes, it would require more technical ability than climbing the icefall," he said. "But Marc Batard might prove me wrong."

He said he was interested to see how the experiment unfolded, but did not think the route would stop porters and Sherpas from having to carry loads through the icefall.

"I am very interested to see the outcome of their efforts this season," he said. "But for now, I don't see this new route, actually not a new route but a variant, either objectively safer or a better choice for clients of commercial expeditions. And for sure not for Sherpas with heavy loads on their backs. But we will see."

"I would rather see permission for operators to shuttle equipment and oxygen to Camp II with helicopters to save the many Sherpa rotations," he added. "Exposure time in the icefall is the key."

What happened next (update, October 2026)

Four and a half years later, here is how the stories in this article turned out.

The 2022 season. The spring 2022 season was relatively calm. According to the season summary by the Everest blogger Alan Arnette, about 240 of the 325 permitted foreign climbers reached the summit from Nepal, supported by about 399 Sherpas and other high-altitude workers, for about 640 summits from the south side.

Batard's variant. According to the Himalayan Database, Batard's spring 2022 expedition, registered as a Nuptse expedition via a "Khumbu Icefall (diversion)" route, reached a high point of about 6,020 m on 29 April 2022, after fixing about 700 m of rope. The team abandoned the attempt in May because of Batard's illness. The Nepali authorities had also required the team to hold permits for Nuptse as well as Everest, since the start of the route lies on Nuptse. Batard returned in autumn 2023 to continue equipping the variant, and French media reported plans to install around 500 steel rungs on its rock walls, but funding was a challenge. As of 2026, the variant has not replaced the icefall, and commercial expeditions on the south side still climb through the Khumbu Icefall.

The icefall. The icefall has remained dangerous. In April 2023, three Sherpas were killed there when they were caught by falling ice. The 2023 season was also the deadliest on record, with 18 deaths, and a then-record 478 permits were issued.

Base camp. Melting on the Khumbu Glacier has also affected base camp itself. In mid-2022, Nepali officials said they were considering moving Everest Base Camp to a lower, more stable site, because the thinning glacier and running water were making the current camp unstable and uncomfortable. The idea has been debated since, and is covered in our article on whether Everest Base Camp should be moved.

The glacier and the route. Expedition leaders continue to report more exposed rock and less snow on the upper mountain in dry years. Furtenbach's prediction that climbers would adapt has held so far: the route above the South Col is still climbed every spring, but conditions vary more from year to year.

Why it matters for climbers choosing an expedition

The issues raised in 2022 remain relevant to anyone planning an Everest climb. The time spent in the icefall, the number of crossings needed for acclimatisation, and the way an operator handles changing conditions high on the mountain all affect risk. Some operators reduce the number of icefall rotations by acclimatising on other peaks or at home in hypoxic tents, as Furtenbach Adventures does with its "flash" expeditions; others follow the traditional schedule of several rotations through the icefall. Neither choice removes the risk, but it is worth asking any operator how they approach it.

When comparing operators, ask:

• How many times will you cross the Khumbu Icefall, and how does the operator manage time in it?
• How does the operator acclimatise, and what is the alternative if conditions in the icefall are bad?
• How experienced are the Sherpa team and the expedition leader, and how do they make turnaround decisions?
• How does the operator support its Sherpa staff, including insurance and safety training?

Read more in our guide to climbing Everest via the South Col, our comparison of the Khumbu Icefall and the K2 Bottleneck, Lukas Furtenbach's interview on flash climbing, and our guide to how to choose an Everest operator.

Frequently asked questions

Is the South Col glacier on Everest melting?

Yes. A 2022 study estimated that it had thinned by about 54 m in roughly 25 years and could disappear by the middle of the century.

Is there a route on Everest that avoids the Khumbu Icefall?

Marc Batard has worked on a variant via a spur below Nuptse since 2021, but as of 2026 commercial expeditions on the south side still climb through the icefall.

How many Everest permits did Nepal issue in spring 2022?

Nepal issued 325 Everest permits to foreign climbers in spring 2022.

Why is the Khumbu Icefall dangerous?

It is a moving section of glacier full of crevasses and unstable seracs, and climbers and Sherpas must cross it several times to reach the upper camps.

Does the melting glacier make Everest harder to climb?

So far, the upper route has become rockier in places but is still climbed every spring. Lukas Furtenbach said in 2022 that the changes were not yet affecting the climbing in a negative way.