Khumbu Icefall: Unsteady & deadly<b>A RIVER OF ICE.</b> In this photograph from May 2003, mountaineers pass through the treacherous Khumbu Icefall on their way to Mount Everest near the Everest ...

The Khumbu Icefall is one of the most dangerous obstacles to cross on the path to Everest's summit. As global temperatures rise due to climate change, this icefall will only become more treacherous.

The “icefall doctors” are back on the world’s highest mountain. They’re preparing for the first climber to ascend Everest since Nepal’s devastating earthquake in April.

The Icefall is a maze of pinnacles, seracs, towers, crevasses and stunning sculptural formations. It is unfathomable, literally and otherwise. Crevasses, hitherto appear on a smooth surface overnight.

The Icefall Doctors, a team of specialist Nepalese climbers have returned to Mt Everest to rebuild the route destroyed in a deadly avalanche last April.

But Icefall Doctors and fixed ropes and experienced guides don't mean it is safe. Almost 30 climbers have died on the Icefall, most killed in avalanches or when they were crushed by falling seracs.

An icefall is a frozen cascade of ice, often on a gigantic scale. The Khumbu Icefall is a monster of the species, wrote John Hunt, leader of the 1953 expedition in his book The Ascent of Everest.

Three icefall doctors—Sonam Tshering Sherpa, Ang Sarki Sherpa and Dawa Nuru Sherpa—make their way across a frozen pond at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall.

Nepal is changing the path through Mount Everest's treacherous Khumbu Icefall, where 16 Sherpas were killed by a collapsed piece of glacier last spring.

Photo taken on Jan. 9, 2019 shows a tourist enjoying the scenery of icefall at Yuntai Mountain scenic spot in Jiaozuo, central China's Henan Province. (Xinhua/Feng Dapeng ...

Melting ice has made the icefall less stable. On April 12, a team of Sherpas set out to reopen the trail to the top of Mount Everest for the season. On the way down, Lakpa Sona Sherpa stopped for ...