Hillary Step Lost Defining Boulder

The Hillary Step, once the final major obstacle below Mount Everest's summit in the Himalayas, lost its defining main boulder after it apparently collapsed during Nepal's 2015 earthquake. New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay first climbed the near-vertical 12-meter rock face during their historic 1953 ascent. Photographs and reports from climbers in 2017 confirmed that the large upper boulder had disappeared. Climbers now follow snow steps up a roughly 45-degree slope, reducing the technical difficulty but potentially worsening congestion near the summit.

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