By Alan Arnette4 min read

Everest 2026: May 20 Summit Recap: 270 Summits!

270 more summits!  Report after report had the Nepal side of Everest with massive crowds on Wednesday morning, May 20. And there are many more to come, at least another 200.

Australian Success

Australian climber Bianca Adler summited, becoming the youngest Australian to do so at 18. According to Seven Summit Treks, Bianca reached the summit this morning, May 20, 2026. She was accompanied by climbing guides Pemba Chhiring Sherpa and Ngudu Sherpa. The achievement adds another milestone to Bianca’s growing mountaineering career. In 2024, she became the youngest female climber to summit Manaslu at the age of 16, earning a Guinness World Record.

Wednesday Summits:

  • 8K – 7 members with 7 Sherpas for 14 summits
  • Seven Summits Treks – 6 members with 7 Sherpas for 13 summits
  • Asian Trekking – 11 members with 1 Nepali guide and 21 Sherpas for 32 summits
  • Elete Expeditions – 8 members supported by 8 Sherpas for 16 summits
  • 7 Summits Club  – 4 members with 1 Russian guide and no Sherpa names provided for 4 (8?) summits
  • Kaitu Expeditions – 15+ summits
  • Pioneer Adventures – 4 members supported by 6 Sherpas for 10 summits

 

  • Seven Summits Treks – James Owen McManus, no supplemental oxygen, with Chhiring Dhenduk Bhote
  • 14 Peaks – Viroel Stirbu “Wally” at age 75, summited

With gratitude to Rishi Bhandari, MD of Satori Adventures and Executive Committee Member of the Nepal Tourism Board and General Secretary of the Expedition Operators Association, for sending me this spreadsheet of today’s summits:

 

May 20, 2026 Everedst summits. Courtesy of Rishi Bhandari,

Mr. Bhandari went on to tell me:

Today marks a historic record on Mount Everest, with 270 people reaching the summit in a single day. This is a remarkable achievement and an important moment for Nepal’s mountaineering history.

With 270 summits on Wednesday, the season total is at least 500.

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, Madison Mountaineering,  Adventure Consultants, AAI, 8K and many of the smaller Nepali teams.

Kanchenjunga

On May 20, Imagine Nepal put 10 climbers on the summit, as did 14 Peaks, with 6 after four Sherpas from Imagine Nepal fixed the ropes to Mount Kanchenjunga’s summit.

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. 

8000erTeams  Male ClientsFemale ClientsTotal
Annapurna I419827
Dhaulagiri4181230
Everest50387105492
Kanchenjunga4231336
Lhotse108535120
Makalu11512172
Manaslu1202
TOTALS84585194779

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

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