Summited on 17th and it was the best decision ever! Traded brutal, windy and snowy nights, including cold, cold on the summit push for lesser crowds. When I came down today, C4 to BC, HUGE CROWDS were going up. They were not too happy ….happy to provide photos and videos…I’m one of 7 US females. Live in WA and AZ.
Australian Success
Crowds!
This post from Adventure Consultants sums up what the team had in higher:
We left Camp 2 at 3:00 am this morning to avoid the heat of the day. Right now, people are still arriving at Camp 3 in the stifling afternoon heat, wearing their down suits! I don’t know how they cope.
We arrived at the bottom of Camp 3 at 6:47am, still in the shade. The priority now is to rest, eat, and rehydrate. We made much better time on the Lhotse Face today, a testament to our acclimatization rotation beforehand.
Tomorrow we will have another alpine (midnight/early morning) start. Stella remarked that the Yellow Band and Geneva Spur look close, as they are, but we’re now above 7,000 m and everything is hard-won. We have 900 meters of climbing tomorrow to reach Camp 4. Thankfully, we have supplemental oxygen to help us tomorrow, in the second and middle parts of our Everest climbing days.
Impressive Ski Descent
Polish skier/climber Bartek Ziemski, 31, made an historic no-Os summit, no-support ski descent today on Everest. On May 12, he made the same accomplishment on Lhotse.
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, Â Adventure Consultants, AAI, 8K and many of the smaller Nepali teams.
Kanchenjunga
Four Sherpas from Imagine Nepal fixed the ropes to Mount Kanchenjunga’s summit before high winds halted further climbing on May 20, 2026.
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.Â
| 8000er | Teams | Â 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
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Previous Everest 2026 Season Coverage Posts
- Everest 2026: May 17 Weekend Update – Climbers to the Summit
- Everest 2026: Ropes to Summit, Time to Wait
- Everest 2026: May 10 Weekend Update – Ropes to South Col, Everest Death
- Everest 2026: May 3 Weekend Update – Climbing!
- Everest 2026: Route In – With Risks
- Everest 2026: April 27 Weekend Update – Icefall Route In?
- Everest 2026: April 19 Weekend Update – 8000er Summits
- Everest 2026: April 12 Weekend Update – The Khumbu is Alive!
- Everest 2026: Are Everest Climbers Being Poisoned?
- Everest 2026: Climber Rescue Alert
- Everest 2026: Climbers to Watch this Season
- Everest 2026: North Side Closed, New Rules in Effect: Everest 2026 Season Update
- Everest 2026: Icefall Doctors Launched
- Everest 2026: Rumor Fire Season
- Welcome to Everest 2026 Coverage – An overview of what to expect during the Spring 2026 climbing season
Background
- Everest by the Numbers: 2026 Edition – A deep dive into Everest statistics as compiled by the Himalayan Database
- Comparing the Routes of Everest: 2026 Edition – A detailed look at Everest’s routes, commercial, standard, and non-standard
- How Much Does it Cost to Climb Everest: 2026 Edition – My annual analysis of Everest climbing costs, from solo and unsupported to fully guided
One thought on “Everest 2026: Ski Descent and More Summits”
I love reading the blogs. I follow the Everest climbing season with awe and respect. I hiked to Everest Base Camp in 2010, and have done a lot of hiking in my life. I am 75 now and would have loved to climb Everest but my interest developed too late in my life. Now I enjoy hearing about others climbing adventures. I have read many books on Everest which feeds my soul. I am still hiking and this summer I will hike Tour of Mount Blanc. Thanks for all the interesting blogs. Happy hiking, Kris