Everest Icefall Doctors: The Icefall is Very Complicated

Annapurna and Everest in our Himalaya 2026 coverage: here we tell you all the details of the progress

COVER PHOTO: Ryan Mitchell and Justin Sacket on Everest, waiting for the icefall to open (Photo Ryan Mitchell)

Now entering the second week of April, Annapurna, as usual, is beginning to take shape. At the moment, activity is at a standstill due to the very unfavorable weather conditions that began two or three days ago and are not expected to improve before the start of next week.

In this regard, we see that the weather offers a good opportunity starting next Monday the 13th, when the weather begins to clear, and will be optimal above 7,000 meters by Wednesday the 15th, meaning that the push could begin on Monday. And I say «could,» because, of course, this is what we can deduce from the forecast. Those who know are there, and they are the ones who will decide; we’ll see if it matches our prediction.

Annapurna and the forecast for the coming days at 8000m. As can be seen, a window of opportunity begins to open from Wednesday the 15th, with Friday the 17th being the most suitable day, so far, for a summit attempt. Meanwhile, the forecast for the 4500m base camp would be more than appropriate two days before this scenario we are seeing (Source: Snow Forecast).

Everest

Moving on to Everest, we see that opening the icefall is too complicated:

«We haven’t reached Camp 1 yet. It’s too dangerous, so it’s postponed for a few more days. Activity will resume up to Camp 1 in the next 2 or 3 days.»

This is the message we received late Friday (early Saturday in Nepal) from our source within the Icefall Doctors group.

It was striking how, after almost a month of work on the icefall, Camp 1 hadn’t been reached. Here’s the explanation. We’ll be keeping an eye on any updates.

But regarding the expedition teams, there’s already quite a bit of activity. Ryan Mitchell and Justin Sacket have been at Base Camp for several days, waiting for the icefall to open so they can advance. Meanwhile, they’re acclimatizing on the surrounding peaks, and we can deduce from this that they’ll get into excellent shape to pursue what brought them there.

Record-breaking female climber Kristin Harila (14x8000m record) is already in Namche Bazaar, trekking towards Base Camp, where she’ll attempt Everest without supplemental oxygen.

Brazilians on Everest

Meanwhile, the group of eight Brazilians who, as usual, will be on the summit of the world this year, are beginning to arrive in Kathmandu. Murilo Vargas, Carlos Santalena, Decio Gomes, Diego Ariel, Gustavo Cordoni, Leonardo Pena, Roberto Luchesse, Adalberto Neto, Francisco Campos, and Eduardo Gouveia are the names of those who will attempt another ascent of Everest, with Santalena already boasting several successful climbs.

Murilo’s attempt is particularly noteworthy. When interviewed a few days ago by Alpinismonline, he told us: «This year, nine of us mountaineers will be participating, including myself. Of these nine, six will be using hypoxic training methods.» Murilo’s proposal is very interesting. We will be following it closely.