The deadlock on the hazardous route through the Khumbu Icefall, used by climbers attempting to summit the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest, was cleared on Tuesday morning.

The rope-fixing work from base camp had been halted following a blockage caused by a serac. As a result, the operation to establish the summit route had been suspended.

“The Khumbu Icefall route, which had been blocked for two weeks, reopened this morning,” Rishi Bhandari, general secretary of the Expedition Operators Association-Nepal, the umbrella body of Nepali mountaineering companies, told Kantipur on Tuesday morning. “By this evening, the Icefall Doctors’ team of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, who are responsible for fixing the route above the Khumbu Glacier, will reach Camp II.”

The Khumbu Icefall lies above Everest Base Camp, which sits at an altitude of 5,400 metres. It is located between Mount Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse. To reopen the route, operators also conducted aerial reconnaissance on Friday and Saturday using two helicopters operated by Heli Everest and Prabhu Helicopters Pvt Ltd.

“It was very difficult,” said Bhandari, who is also a board member of the Nepal Tourism Board. “Icefall Doctors, high-altitude mountain guides, Nepali Sherpas and foreign climbers all worked very hard, and today the route has been opened up to Camp I at 6,000 metres.”

According to the Expedition Operators Association-Nepal, by Tuesday morning, drones had already completed five trips carrying ropes and other gear to Camp I. “We have received reports that the weather is good today. Drones have also transported supplies from Base Camp in loads of 50 kilograms each,” Bhandari said.

As of Monday, 425 climbers had obtained permits to climb Mount Everest.