The first full-scale drilling on the Nepalese side, temperature measurements in an ice cave and sample collection across elevation gradients

As reported by CCTV+, a joint China-Nepal scientific expedition has completed the first full-scale drilling of ice cores on the summit of Mount Qomolangma from the Nepalese side.

The team collected ice and snow samples at various gradients as they progressed from an altitude of 6,000 meters on the southern slope to the summit at 8,848.86 meters.

At the same time, the expedition also aimed to carry out scientific research such as measuring the temperature inside an ice cave at the summit.

All expedition members have now safely returned to the base camp on the southern slope. On their way down, they collected ice and snow samples at different elevation gradients.

The collected samples will be sent to laboratories for the study of climate and environmental changes in the world’s highest region, the evolution of the cryosphere and atmospheric data at extreme altitudes.

Above the clouds, at an altitude where the air almost disappears, Chinese and Nepalese scientists drilled into the ice. Not for a record. For science. Qomolangma’s ice cores will reveal how the climate has changed over millennia. The ice cave will share its temperature. The samples will reveal the composition of the atmosphere. The expedition is over. The scientists have descended. Now it is up to the laboratories. The question is not what they will find. They will find a lot. The question is how quickly humanity will use this knowledge to slow down what the ice can no longer hide. While the Earth is warming, Qomolangma is keeping secrets. The researchers came for them. The challenge now is to understand what to do next.