Timing of late Quaternary glaciations south of Mount Everest in the Khumbu Himal, Nepal

Moraines south of Mount Everest in the Khumbu Himal were dated using optically stimulated luminescence. Clustering of ages and morphostratigraphy allowed three advances to be dated: (1) the Periche Glacial Stage (ca. 18–25 ka), (2) the Chhukung Glacial Stage (ca. 10 ka), and (3) the Lobuche Stage (ca. 1–2 ka). The Periche Stage is coincident with Oxygen Isotope Stage 2; the Chhukung Stage represents a late glacial or early Holocene glacial advance; and the Lobuche Stage is a late Holocene glacial advance that predates the Little Ice Age.