As the climbing season on Mount Everest approaches, Nepali Sherpas are set to receive much-needed assistance in the form of drones. Raj Bikram, CEO of Airlift Nepal, explained that the drones will help Sherpas carry heavy equipment like oxygen cylinders and medicines and even help in cleaning up trash along the difficult routes between Base Camp and Camp One.

Successful test drive for trash removal

Airlift Nepal has started using drones to help clean up Mount Everest. In their first test, a drone successfully carried nearly 1,100 pounds of trash from Camp One to Base Camp, according to a report in CNN. It took 40 flights to move the trash because each drone can carry only about 66 pounds. To be safe, the operators decided to limit the weight to 44 pounds per flight. Airlift has two drones, but only one is being used on Everest this year. The second drone is a backup. Each drone costs $70,000, and that’s the price before they even start flying them.

The role of sherpas and drones in climbing

The experiment with drones began in April 2024 after China's DJI donated two drones to Airlift Nepal. The team spent a month learning the challenging terrain and dealing with issues like wind speed and visibility. According to Mr Pandey, a key member of the team, the Sherpas guide them on where the equipment needs to be delivered. "Once they find out 'here we need a ladder', 'here we need a rope', they will send us the coordinates via walkie-talkie, and then we fly the equipment there," he explained.

Mr Pandey hopes that the use of drones will help make the work of the Sherpas safer and easier. "We hope that our drones will actually make this a safer profession and bring more people back to this climbing tradition. It's what our country is known for, and without the expertise of the Sherpas, we would never be able to navigate this terrain," he added.

 

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