It would normally take seven hours to carry climbing equipment from Mount Everest’s base camp to camp one by foot. Soon it could take 15 minutes.
When the main climbing season starts next month on the world’s tallest mountain, expedition companies will test drones that can airlift loads as heavy as 16kg.
The drones would be able to bring the ladders and ropes used to set the climbing routes, carry oxygen cylinders, remove waste left behind, and potentially deliver hot meals.
They would significantly lighten the burden for Nepalese mountain guides, with drone operators hoping they’d also reduce the chances of fatal accidents for sherpas – which have been rising due to climate-change related thawing.
Airlift, a Nepalese company, has been successfully testing Chinese DJI drones on the most dangerous parts of Everest for about a year.
One barrier is the cost – $70,000 or more per drone.
Photo credit: LAKPA SHERPA/AFP via Getty Images
