At Everest Base Camp, the logistics are enormous. They determine the opening of the normal route, the setting up of the Icefall and the higher camps for several hundred climbers, with more than 400 permits issued to foreigners, not counting the Sherpas. Drones have gradually become indispensable, first for finding the best route through the Icefall, and then, for the past two seasons, for transporting gear to Camp 1 using a cargo drone. However, their development—still in the experimental stage—has just been halted—temporarily?—by the Nepalese authorities, even though the equipping of the normal route is already significantly behind schedule this season.
There is no doubt that Hillary, and even more so Shipton, would have been amazed to learn that more than 420 people—and at least as many Sherpas—will be climbing the normal route on Everest this spring of 2026. But the pioneers would also never have imagined a flying