Climbers confirm part of Mount Everest has collapsed
A British mountaineer has confirmed the Hillary Step, a famous rocky outcrop located near the peak of Mount Everest has collapsed, making the climb more dangerous.
Climbers believe the 2015 Nepal earthquake is the reason the formation, which was named after legendary mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, has been destroyed.
The 12 metre rocky crag was a near-vertical climb on the south-east ridge of the mountain and represented that last final effort climbers had to make before the summit.
British mountaineer Tim Mosedale said, “It was reported last year, and indeed I climbed it last year, but we weren’t sure for certain that the step had gone because the area was blasted with snow. This year, however, I can report that the chunk of rock named the Hillary Step is definitely not there anymore,”.
Mosedale told The Guardian that he felt emotional when he saw the collapsed step.
“It’s a piece of mountaineering history that has disappeared. Even non-mountaineers know the name and the association of the infamous Hillary Step,” he said.
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