By Alan Arnette9 min read

Everest 2026: May 24 Weekend Update – Nearing the End

What a week on Everest and Lhotse. The first Everest summits were on May 13 by the rope team, plus a few fast followers. Then the jet came in and stopped everyone, and when it left, well, hundreds summited, including a record 274 on May 20. I’m estimating there have been over 850 summit in total by members, guides and Sherpas. With only a few teams left, we are seeing the end of the season coming into view in breezy conditions.

Big Picture

American trail runner Tyler Andrews departed from Everest Base Camp at 8:25 pm local time on Friday evening to attempt to set the record for the fastest ascent and descent to the summit without using supplemental oxygen. You can follow him on his site. They gave this update:

Due to the weather higher up, Tyler switched to supplemental oxygen. Today’s push is now targeting the 10h56m record with oxygen. He will attempt a no-oxygen attempt later this week.

Kristin Harila summited Nuptse (7,861 m) and Lhotse (with Os) and is scheduled to attempt Everest next. It’s unknown if she will use oxygen.  She is climbing with Mingtemba Sherpa.

In what the best teams do, honoring the mountain all who helped in their climbing effort, Mike Hammel, Climbing the Seven Summits, posted this:

Yesterday, we honored our Sherpa team. The mountain is cleared of all our gear, and the waste is off the mountain. This is the first time the entire Sherpa team has been in base camp in some time. So it was time to party!
It was, quite simply, an honor to work with this crew, and much of our success can be attributed to their efforts. They are an incredibly cohesive team that honors the philosophy we’re trying to create at CTSS. It is a long and difficult season for them, but they always go above and beyond and do their job with a smile.
 
From our base camp staff, the kitchen crew at Lobuche, EBC and c2, to the climbing team, to the barista, the electrician, the porters, Big Tendi, Little Tendi, Sankar, GobInda, Sagar, and the entire KTM staff, we honor their incredible work. Thanks to the team from all of us at CTSS and all our climbers. It goes without saying, we couldn’t do it without you.
 
One of the reasons we aim to summit earlier in the season is to keep our climbers and Sherpa team safe. Late in the season, the icefall melts out, anchors pull out, ice towers move and shift, and everything becomes more dangerous.
We are proud to provide work for hundreds of people in Nepal and inject huge amounts of money into the economy every year. Many of our team members depend on work during the Everest season to provide for their families. We will continue to work hard for those who work so hard for us.
I like what Mike Harker said about his summit – this is what it’s all about for the people who don’t get it:
I summited Mount Everest on May 20, 2026, at 9:10 AM. Proud to be the first American diplomat to reach the highest point on Earth.

Everest leaves you with immense respect for nature, for the climbers who came before, for all those who attempted, and for all those who never made it back down.

It also reveals the power of the mind. In the death zone, the mind is the only thing pushing you forward. I felt this acutely as I descended from the summit to camp 3.

Everest doesn’t care about who you are or what you think you deserve. But yet, there were moments on the mountain when, just as injuries or setbacks occurred, the right remedy or helping hand seemed to appear at exactly the right time.

Summits!!

I did my best to track as many of the team summits as possible, but this is a particular life from this week.

Sunday Summits – 50+

  • 14 Peaks – 2 clients with 3 sheraps
  • Seven Summits Treks – two Sherpas leading two clients
  • 8K – 16 – 8 members with 8 Sherpas.
  • Seven Summits Treks’ massive all-Chinese team with 14 members, supported by 18 Sherpas for 31 people

Monday Summits: 80+

  • 14 Peaks – all-Chinese team with 8 members, supported by 11 Sherpas for 19 summits
  • 14 Peaks – International team with 2 members, supported by 3 Sherpas for 5 summits
  • Seven Summits Treks – 9 members with 13 Sherpas for 22 summits
  • 8K – 3 members with 3 Sherpas for 6 summits
  • Climbing the Seven Summits – 7 members with 3 US guides and 14 Sherpas for 24 summits

Wednesday Summits – 274+

Thursday Summits – 150+

Norwegian Kristin Harila summited Mount Lhotse, the second of her “Triple Crown” goal – Nuptse, Lhotse and Everest. She wanted to climb all three without supplemental oxygen, but used Os on Lhotse.

Saturday, May 23 Summits – 50+

The SST all Nepali team is not finished after summiting Everest today. The team will kayak over 1,830 miles from the glacier’s source to the Bay of Bengal, highlighting the deep connections among mountains, rivers, ecosystems, and communities, and raising awareness about climate change and river conservation.

  • Seven Summits Treks – 7 all Nepali for 7 summits
  • 14 Peaks – 5 members supported by 8 Sherpas for 13 total summits
  • Furtenbach – 29 total summits

Sunday, May 24 Summits – 50+

Another large SST team summited today in a short time, proving that the way Everest is climbed is ever-changing. The National Security Guard Everest Expedition 2026 completed the entire expedition in just 20 days from leaving Kathmandu.

On May 13, a large rope team of 23 Sherpas, comprising 3 from Imagine Nepal, 9 from 8K Expeditions and 11 from the Expedition Operators Association, reached the summit. On the same day, Imagine Nepal saw the first commercial client summits of the season, with 6 clients and 7 Sherpas.

More to Come

My initial estimate of 800 summits has been exceeded, with the total now approaching 900—an impressive milestone. Climbers departed the South Col on Sunday night in breezy conditions.  Austrian Sabrina Finzmoser is attempting Everest without supplemental oxygen. She reported strong winds at Camp 4 before starting her ascent. Similarly, Lithuanian climber Saulius Damulevicius warned of worsening weather at Camp 2, with strong winds allegedly breaking tent poles overnight.

Look for more from Madison Mountaineering, Summit Climb and AAI, all of which moved to the Col today, targeting May 25 for the summit. Elete Expeditonas is targeting May 26 for their final team. Garret told me the Icefall Docs will remove the ladders on May 29, so the clock is ticking.

Tibet Side Climbing

China closed its side of Everest, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma to foreign climbers for reasons unknown. However, there are Chinese climbers on the Tibet side, and as usual, we haven’t received any updates.

Other 8000ers – Summits

There were a few more summits by the Nepali operators of Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and Makalu, with scores of summits over the past few weeks. Piotr Jerzy Krzyżowski summited Mt. Kangchenjunga (8,586m) on 20 May 2026, without supplemental oxygen or Sherpa support.
Climbing wth Satori Adventures, Congratulations to Ngô Hải Sơn and Nima Sherpa for completing the “Triple Crown” of Everest, Lhotse and today, Nuptse between May 20 and 24, claiming the fastest time for the three peaks. Dawa Stephen Sherpa of Asian Trekking did the “Triple” between May 17 and 21.

Next Week on Everest 

We should see the last of the summits, as the Icefall Docs say they are moving the ladders on Friday, May 29.
 

Nepal Permit Update

As of May 15, 2026, Nepal has issued 1,181 climbing permits to 142 teams across 30 peaks, bringing in $8.43 million US dollars in permit fees, with Everest accounting for $7.1 million. Everest climbers are from 55 countries. China has the most climbers at 109, followed by the U.S. at 77, India at 61 and the UK at 32. There are 105 female climbers on Everest this season. This is the current tally for the 8000ers. 

8000erTeams  Male ClientsFemale ClientsTotal
Annapurna I419827
Dhaulagiri4181230
Everest51389105494
Kanchenjunga4231336
Lhotse149944143
Makalu11512172
Manaslu1202
TOTALS89601203804

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything

Death Total—Seven across the Himalaya 

Other 8000ers—Two Deaths

May 10—Makalu II, Czech climber, David Roubínek, 38, fell ill at high altitude and died while being assisted down from Camp III.

May 10—Makalu, American Shelley Johannesen, 59, was struck by an avalanche around 7,000 meters during her descent after summiting. Expedition Himalaya supported her.

Everest–Five (four climbing) Deaths

  1. May 22-Indian climber, Sandeep Are, died descending after summitting with Pioneer Adventures
  2. May 22-Indian climber, Arun Kumar Tiwari, died descending after summitting with Pioneer Adventures
  3. May 3, Lakpa Dendi Sherpa, 51, from Gudel village, died at about 5,200 meters on his way to Everest Base Camp.
  4. 2. May 10—Bijaya Ghimire Bishwakarma, 35, the first Nepali Dalit climber to summit Mount Everest, died on Sunday while ascending from Base Camp to Camp. He worked for TAG Nepal
  5. 3. May 11—Phura Gyaljen Sherpa, 20, from Thame village, slipped and fell at around 7,000m on the Lhotse Face, just below Camp 3.

One disturbing fact about the two Indian deaths is that there are reports that both climbers were feeling unwell during their ascent. If true, they should have been turned around and not allowed to summit. I see this mistake every year. We need more training in high-altitude medicine for every Sherpa with client responsibility. These two deaths were preventable, in my view. Pioneer needs to account for this.

The Podcast on alanarnette.com

Here’s the Podcast of the Weekend Update

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Previous Everest 2026 Season Coverage Posts

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