Climbing the World to End Alzheimer's
September 2026 marks ten years since I founded Summit Coach, LLC. Since then, I’ve worked with hundreds of clients and interacted with thousands more. Today, I have dozens of climbers under contract—each with a different background, schedule, and definition of success. For my anniversary, I’m excited to make a special offer to new and current clients. #summitcoach #alanarnette
As summer ends, the Autumn Himalayan climbing season begins. Manaslu is the favorite climb, given that China has inexplicably closed Tibet to climbing. We can expect record summits on Manaslu this season, despite the catastrophic floods in Nepal; climbers are still climbing. Many teams switched from trekking to using a helicopter to reach base camps, but road closures and bridges out after the flood made that difficult. #manaslu2026
On August 26, 2026, a catastrophic flood struck the Nepal–Tibet border, taking 1,273 lives, with an estimated 4,750 people still missing. This post explains what likely happened, the current casualty totals, the rescue operations underway, and other key details.
The situation is still developing, so consider this a snapshot, not a definitive post. #nepal2026flood
The Karakorum climbing season has ended: two peaks unsummited and a tragedy. It was an extremely quiet season with a low number of permits issued in a long time, perhaps twenty or more years. #breoadpeak2026 #k2026
Two weeks ago today, on July 30, 2026, ten climbers died in a single avalanche on Broad Peak. The event has received extensive media coverage, in part because Nirmal “Nims” Purja, one of the most consequential mountaineers of his generation, died. Also among the dead were six other highly experienced high-altitude guides — one with 28 8,000-meter summits — two very experienced clients, including one with 12 8,000-meter summits, and a Texas climber attempting her first 8,000er.
The discussion across social media has ranged from praise to blame, sparking an intense debate over responsibility and judgment — with some pointing fingers and naming names. There were ten climbers across four independent teams with no single leader. It would be easy to start speculating, and that’s not what I’m doing here.
I begin with what matters most: who they were, not just how they died. #breoadpeak2026
Ryan Mitchell, a Summit Coach client, planned to climb two 8000-meter peaks without supplemental oxygen with his friend and professional mountain guide, Justin Sackett, but not everything went as planned. In this podcast, we discuss the expedition, its risks, decision-making and emotions. Both climbers wanted to climb without supplemental oxygen. #everest2026
It’s only been a few days since the massive earthquake on Pakistan’s Broad Peak, and search teams, operators’ home teams, and the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) have confirmed that there were no survivors. Now the priority has shifted from rescue to recovery.
I always hesitate to post about climbing accidents too early, as there is a tremendous amount of misinformation in the mainstream media and especially on social media; thus, this is a preliminary post with as much information as I can confirm as of midday, July 31, 2026.
Apparently, around 9:30 am local time on July 30, at 6,600m, a massive avalanche on Broad Peak, 8,047 meters / 26,401 feet, affected at least 10 climbers, including Elite Expeditions co-founder Nirmal Purja. This is the first official information published:
The Karakorum continues to be quiet as we approach the end of July. There have been summits only on Nanga Parbat, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum II. High winds have hampered attempts on K2, while other issues have emerged on GI and Broad Peak.