Overview
- Originally tested for waste removal in spring 2024, Airlift Technology’s FlyCart 30 drones now ferry ladders, tents, ropes and oxygen bottles between base camp and Camp 1 in seven minutes instead of seven hours
- This season the drones are also being used to create 3D maps of the Khumbu icefall to pinpoint crevasses and guide safer climbing routes
- Each drone can lift as much as 40 kg on a single battery for nine minutes, significantly cutting the number of dangerous passages Sherpas must make
- Ongoing collaboration among the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu community, DJI and the Sagarmatha Environmental Committee supports both cargo flights and the removal of hundreds of kilograms of waste
- With unit costs near $50,000, smaller expedition operators may face barriers to adopting the technology despite growing demand