Hillary Step

The Hillary Step is, or possibly was, a nearly vertical rock face with a height of around 12 metres (39 ft) located high on Mount Everest at approximately 8,790 metres (28,839 ft) above sea level. It is located on the southeast ridge, halfway between the "South Summit" and the true summit, and is the last real challenge before reaching the top of the mountain via the southeast route. The Step is named after Sir Edmund Hillary, who was the first known person, along with Tenzing Norgay, to scale it on the way to the summit.

It was suspected in 2016 that the 2015 earthquake had altered the Hillary Step, but there was so much snow it was not clear whether it had truly changed. It was reported in May 2017 by climbers including professional high-altitude expedition leader and six-time Everest summiteer Tim Mosedale that "the Hillary Step is no more", although the full extent and interpretation of the changes are still nascent. There are multiple pictures of before and after. Another climber who thought the Step changed by 2016 was six-time Everest summiter David Liaño Gonzalez, who summited in 2013 and 2016, when the relevant changes are reported to have occurred. However, some important Nepalese climbers, including Ang Tshering Sherpa, chairman of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, have reported that the Step is still intact but covered in more snow than before. Peter Hillary, Edmund Hillary's son, was asked his opinion about the Step based on photos. He agreed it was there in part, but seemed to think it had undergone some sort of a change, noting especially what looked like a fresh broken rock.

The Step is known as the most technically difficult part of the typical Nepal-side Everest climb In some climbing seasons after heavy snowfall, the rock face could be bypassed with snow/ice climbing. Climbing the Hillary Step has the danger of a 10,000-foot (3,000 m) drop on the right (when going up) and an 8,000-foot (2,400 m) drop on the left. The Hillary Step is where the late Anatoli Boukreev found a body hanging from ropes at the base of the step as relayed by his book The Climb. One expedition noted that climbing the Hillary Step was "strenuous", but did offer some protection from the elements. An unaided Hillary Step climb was rated as a Class 4 rock climb, but at almost 29,000 feet altitude.

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