A group of Sherpa climbers have opened the route to Mount Everest that had been blocked for two weeks by chunks of ice and a giant serac, allowing mountaineers to make attempts to reach the summit, officials said on Tuesday (April 28).

The annual climbing season for the 8,849‑m (29,032‑ft) peak runs from April to May, months which offer the best weather conditions in which to reach the windswept summit.

But a massive 100‑ft (30‑m) serac, or column of ice, had blocked the path above base camp this month. Parts of it have now melted and broken away, allowing Sherpa climbers, called the icefall doctors, to fix ropes, place ladders and carve a safe route through the treacherous Khumbu icefall to Camp I located at 6,060 metres (19,880 ft).

Hundreds of mountaineers from different countries have been stranded at the Everest base camp for more than two weeks ahead of making summit attempts next month.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

EVEREST BASECAMP, KHUMBU REGION, SOLUKHUMBU DISTRICT, NEPAL (APRIL 22, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

1. SHERPAS WALKING UP AND DOWN SLOPES AT BASECAMP TO ACCLIMATISE

2. SHERPA ENTERING TENT AS SNOW FALLS

3. SHERPAS STANDING AMID SNOWFALL

4. SNOW FALLING

5. SHERPAS WALKING AMID SNOWFALL

EVEREST BASECAMP, KHUMBU REGION, SOLUKHUMBU DISTRICT, NEPAL (APRIL 28, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

6. SHERPAS LIGHTING FIRE LAMPS AND PERFORMING PRAYERS AHEAD OF JOURNEY

7. SHERPAS PRAYING IN FRONT OF FIRE

8. SHERPAS WALKING PAST TENTS / AUDIO OF FELLOW SHERPA SAYING, (English) “Good luck!”

EVEREST BASECAMP, KHUMBU REGION, SOLUKHUMBU DISTRICT, NEPAL (APRIL 28, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

9. SHERPA PREPARING BELONGINGS, SPEAKING

EVEREST BASECAMP, KHUMBU REGION, SOLUKHUMBU DISTRICT, NEPAL (APRIL 29, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MOUNTAIN GUIDE AND CLIMBER, ANG TSHERING LAMA, SAYING:

“So my plan now is to wait for the thing to open up. It did open up yesterday. I know all the people had to rush, but I am not. We have a team going up, climbing, but we will wait for the good weather. We will wait for the whole thing to set up. And then we will go up. We are in no rush like any one else. You know, the mountain has the last say.”

EVEREST BASECAMP, KHUMBU REGION, SOLUKHUMBU DISTRICT, NEPAL (APRIL 22, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

11. ROWS OF TENTS AT BASECAMP

12. CLIMBERS TREKKING UP SLOPE

EVEREST BASECAMP, KHUMBU REGION, SOLUKHUMBU DISTRICT, NEPAL (APRIL 28, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

13. SHERPAS PREPARING INSIDE TENT

14. SHERPA TURNING ON HEADLAMP, PUTTING ON HELMET INSIDE TENT

15. VARIOUS OF SHERPAS PUTTING ON BOOTS