Everest 2026: Weather Alert and More Summits

Despite sporadic winds and a scary weather forecast, Monday, May 18, 2026, saw scores of summits on Everest and a few on Lhotse. The jetstream remains an issue, so I did a brief podcast with meteorologist Chris Tomer, who described the situation as “erratic.” 

Jetstream Update

Meteorologist Chris Tomer of Tomer Weather Solutions told me on Monday, May 18, 2026:

The jet stream remains partially over Everest’s summit through May 24, creating erratic wind conditions with no perfect summit days.  May 19th offers the best conditions, but still expects 30-35 mph gusts.  No-oxygen climbers and speed record attempts will likely need to wait until May 26-27 or later for fully calm conditions. 
This is a summary of our discussion for those without access to the podcast:

Weather Forecast Details

  • Wind patterns: Jet stream causes fluctuating winds—high in the afternoons, calmer late night/early morning
  • Safe threshold: 30 mph; winds will exceed this periodically over the next 5 days
  • Wind chill: Minus 50°F/C when winds exceed 30 mph
  • Temperature: Currently minus 20°F lows, minus 10°F highs; modest warming expected
  • Stratified conditions: Different weather at different camps (e.g., Camp 2 is calm while Camp 4 experiences high winds)

Critical Issues Identified

  • Mountain-forecast.com is inadequate: Many teams use this service, which does not account for jet stream dynamics critical for Everest and K2
  • May 14th and 17th attempts: Teams summited in dangerous conditions with likely frostbite cases, though unreported
  • Crowd compression risk: With 600+ people remaining and a narrowing weather window, potential for 2019-style traffic jam (3-day window scenario)
  • No-oxygen climbers must wait for a completely calm summit after the crowds clear
  • Speed record attempts delayed to May 26-27 or later to avoid crowds and await ideal conditions

Monsoon and Season Timeline

  • Jet stream departure: Once the jet fully leaves (around May 26-27), temperatures will warm rapidly, and monsoon moisture can move north
  • Monsoon mechanism: Wind shift allows moisture from the Bay of Bengal/Indian Ocean to feed north when the jet no longer blocks it
  • Season hard stop: Icefall doctors remove ladders when temperatures cause the Khumbu Icefall to become unstable from melting
  • Current monsoon outlook: No major signs yet; typically arrives around June 1st

Monday Summits:

With CTSS was Pa Dawa Sherpa, who summited for the 30th time.

With at least 76 summits on Monday, that brings the season total to at least 162 – 97 Sherpas, 3 Western guides and 61 clients.

More to Come

By my count, I’m predicting 800 total summit attempts, so with 162 completed, that leaves another 638 to go. Look for more from: Climbing the Seven Summits, Seven Summits Treks, Elite, Madison Mountaineering,  Adventure Consultants, AAI, 8K and many of the smaller Nepali teams.

Nepal Permit Update

As of May 8, 2026, Nepal has issued 1,134 climbing permits to 135 teams across 30 peaks, bringing in $8.3 million US dollars in permit fees, with Everest accounting for $7.2 million. Everest climbers are from 55 countries. China has the most climbers at 109, followed by the U.S. at 76, India at 61 and the UK at 32. There are 101 female climbers on Everest this season. This is the current tally for the 8000ers. 

8000er Teams   Male Clients Female Clients Total
Annapurna I 4 19 8 27
Dhaulagiri 4 18 12 30
Everest 50 387 105 492
Kanchenjunga 4 23 13 36
Lhotse 10 85 35 120
Makalu 11 51 21 72
Manaslu 1 2 0 2
TOTALS 84 585 194 779

Here’s to a safe season for everyone on all the peaks.

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything

The Podcast on alanarnette.com

Here’s the Podcast of the Weekend Update

154 views

You can listen to #everest2026 podcasts on Spotify, Apple, Breaker, Pocket Casts, Anchor, and more. Just search for “alan arnette” on your favorite podcast platform.

Previous Everest 2026 Season Coverage Posts

Background

Tagged , , , , , ,

3 Responses

  1. Thank you Alan!

    Dave Schaeffer President & Founder | HIMALI http://himali.com/™

    https://www.himali.com/ E: *dave@himali.com T: (970) 445 4133 *W: HIMALI.com http://www.himali.com/ A: 1418 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO 80302

    https://www.linkedin.com/company/himalilife [image: https://www.instagram.com/himali/%5D https://www.instagram.com/himali/ [image: https://www.facebook.com/himalilife%5D https://www.facebook.com/himalilife [image: https://twitter.com/himalilife%5D https://twitter.com/himalilife

    Reply

  2. hi Alan,

    is that big serac still a looming problem? are climbers just saying their prayers as they pass under it with the summit now top priority?

    Reply

Have a comment?