Everest 2025: Weekend Update March 23

The Everest 2025 season is about to get started in earnest. Climber after climber and team after team are leaving home. In many cases, scores of Sherpas are on their way to Everest Base Camp to begin the arduous process of establishing a home for over 1,000 people this spring season. The Icefall Doctors are already at work.

Big Picture

The first few weeks of April mark the arrival of many Everest climbers to Kathmandu. The city gets busy, especially in Thamel. Restaurants are full of tourists, and the domestic terminal at Tribhuvan is full of trekkers and climbers waiting for their flights to Lukla. Many teams take helicopters directly to Namache Bazzar these days, which I think is a mistake because the trek from Lulka is very rewarding. Most Everest climbers arrive at basecamp around April 15, with many having acclimatized on a trekking peak like Lobuche or Island.

The Icefall Doctors have been at Everest Base Camp for over a week to fix the route from BC to Camp 2 where 8k Expeditions will set the line from Camp 2 to the summit. They hope to complete the work by late April, but it often slips to May.

Several teams are establishing their camps at EBC: Alpine Ascents International (AAI) and Seven Summits Treks. Many already staked their spot last month and will soon begin building tent platforms and setting up the assortment of tents: storage, cooking, dining, sleeping and toilet.

One welcome news for those on Everest this spring is that Nepal has pushed the permit price increase to September. It will go from $11,000 to $15,000 per person.

For 2025, I expect 700 to 800 summits total from both sides this spring, comprising at least 150 on the Tibet side (members plus hired) and well over 650 on the Nepal side. Even with these numbers, the totals will still lag the pre-pandemic record set in 2019 of 877 total summits, comprising 661 from Nepal and 216 from Tibet. Last year, 2024, 787 summits were from Nepal, and 74 were from Tibet.

For the first time since 2019, I expect to see a typical year on the Tibet side. Only a few Western companies, including Alpenglow Expeditions, Furtenbach Adventures, Kobler & Partner, and Summit Climb, regularly, but not always, guide on the Tibet side. Most established Nepali and Tibetan operators run expeditions, like Lhasa-based Yala Xiangbo Mountaineering Adventure Co.,  Nepali Climbalaya and Seven Summits Treks.

Last Week-Xenon and Drones

This past week, a few climbers flew to Kathmandu, but most were taking care of last-minute business at home. In the last five years, arriving later and later in Nepal has been popular to reduce the time spent in Kathmandu.

The increased use of home-altitude tents to “pre-acclimatize” has allowed many climbers to reduce their overall expedition from eight to as little as four weeks, and in some rare cases like Roxanne Vogel in 2019, two weeks home to the summit to home! One team is promoting using xenon gas to reduce the Everest expedition to seven days, home to home.

Austria-based Furtenbach Adventures says the gas used in anesthesia is safe and will boost climbers’ red blood cells, thus eliminating the need for traditional rotations. As reported in the Financial Times  on January 10, 2025: “The hormone, a synthetic version of which is banned in sport, boosts the production of red blood cells, increasing the body’s capacity to transport oxygen.” Concerning doping rules, Furtenbach told FT, “It’s not an organised sport, so there’s technically no doping in mountaineering.”

In another technology twist, Nepal authorities approved using drones to ferry gear from EBC to Camp 2. Also, the Icefall Doctors are using drones to scout the best route through the Icefall. I suspect the noise pollution will be a source of dinner conversation at base camp. It would be interesting to see how many drone flights would take to replace one fully loaded helicopter. I suspect a lot.

Once again, there are record seekers on Everest. Tyler Andrews will attempt to make history with a speed ascent of Mt. Everest, the world’s highest peak. Andrews holds over 85 mountain speed records, including on Manaslu (8,163m), Kilimanjaro (5,895m), and Aconcagua (6,962m). The current record is 20 hours, 24 minutes from Base Camp to Summit by Kaji Sherpa from 1998. He will climb without supplemental oxygen.

Teams

I’m expecting between 20 and 30 teams on Everest this spring. The US-based guides, including Altitude Junkies, Alpine Ascents International (AAI), International Mountain Guides (IMG), Climbing the Seven Summits, Madison Mountaineering, Mountain Professionals, and Summit Climb, are running teams. 

On the Tibet side, Russian-based 7 Summits Club and Swiss operator Kobler & Parter are both advertising Everest expeditions, as is Austrian-based Furtenbach Adventures, who will also run a team on the Nepal side.

Nepali companies include 8K Expeditions, Asian Trekking, Elite Expeditions, Imagine Nepal, Peak Promotion, Pioneer Adventure, Seven Summits Treks, and many more.

Other 8000er

Of the fourteen peaks higher than 26,000 feet or 8,000 meters, eight are entirely in Nepal or straddle the border with either India or Tibet. Media reports have permits issued for Everest-450, Annapurna-50, Dhaulagiri-20, Makalu-60, Lhotse-80, and Kanchenjunga-40. There are no reports from Cho Oyu, from the Nepal side or for Manaslu.

Cho Oyu and Shishapangma will not see climbers this spring because China closed both peaks for undisclosed reasons. It’s assumed they will be available in the Autumn climbing season, but who knows with China? 

On Annapurna, Sherpas have established Camp 3, and teams are waiting in Baase Camp for a good weather window. Due to slightly better weather than on Everest, Anna has become the first peak to see summits.

Those who thought mountaineering has become stale may want to watch Italian Gianluca Cavalli and Peruvian César Rosales, who will attempt to open a new route on Annapurna’s northwest spur.

Next Week

As we officially begin April soon, arrivals will increase, and many will be on the trail trekking to Goyko or Everest Base Camp. Some will tag EBC and then go on to Lobocuhe, Island Peak, or other destinations, while some will settle in at camp, making it their home for the next two months.

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything

Himalayan Database

I use the Himalayan Database as my primary source of Everest summit statistics. If you are climbing in 2022, they ask you to fill in an electronic web-based survey, replacing the time-consuming process of visiting each team in their hotel before the climb. In addition, you can now download the HDB for free at their site.

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Here’s the Podcast of this Weekend Update

The Podcast on alanarnette.com

You can listen to #everest2025 podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Breaker, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Anchor, and more. Just search for “alan arnette” on your favorite podcast platform.

Previous Everest 2024 Season Coverage Posts

• Everest 2025: Welcome to Everest 2025 Coverage – an introduction to the Everest 2025 Spring season
• Everest by the Numbers: 2025 Edition – A deep dive into Everest statistics as compiled by the Himalayan Database
• Comparing the Routes of Everest: 2025 Edition – A detailed look at Everest’s routes, commercial, standard and non-standard
• How Much Does it Cost to Climb Everest: 2025 Edition – My annual review of what it costs to climb Everest solo, unsupported and guided

Why this coverage?

I like to use these weekend updates to remind my readers that I’m just one guy who loves climbing. With 38 serious climbing expeditions, including four Everest trips under my belt and a summit in 2011, I use my site to share those experiences, demystify Everest each year and bring awareness to Alzheimer’s Disease. My mom, Ida Arnette, died from this disease in 2009, as have four of my aunts. It was a heartbreaking experience that I hope no other family will go through; thus, I asked for donations to non-profits, which 100% goes to them and nothing ever to me.

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