By Alan Arnette8 min read

Everest 2026: : Last Summits?

We might have the final commercial summits in sporadic wind episodes, with more predicted. The no Os climbers had mixed results, as did the runners. Popular American no O’s climber, Justin Sackett, turned back near the Balcony, while Kristin Harila summited with no Os—also, an update on what qualifies for a no-supplemental-use-of-oxygen climb. The Icefall Docs say they will remove the ladders on the 29th.  The final total for the Everest- Nepal side summit will most certainly top 1,000, including members, guides and Sherpas. 

Yes and No to No Os and Runners

Kristin Harila, supported by Mingtemba Sherpa and Pasang Dukpa, got two of the three Triple Crown without Os. She summited Everest this morning sans the bottle. Also summiting with no Os was Chinese Yan Chunqi, with 14 Peaks.
 
Justin Sackett turned back near the Balcony, around 27,500 feet, while attempting his highest altitude ever, with Ama Dablam being his top. He had stomach issues last week, so that probably played a role in turning around – so close. A similar situation for Saulius Damulevicius, turning back near 8400 meters.
 
The two runners attempting no Os FKT records had mixed results. Ecuadoran Karl Egloff, posted on IG:
After 13 hours on the move, we reached Camp 4 at the South Col. Although we may have been able to summit, we knew the descent would have been too risky due to fatigue, altitude sickness, and my partner, [Nicolás Miranda,] not feeling well. We decided to return to Base Camp nonstop.
Meanwhile, American Tyler Andrews left for his no Os FKT ascent at 7:11 PM, local time, from EBC. You can follow him on his tracker.

FNT – Valid or Not, after use of Os?

I reached out to Billie Bierling, the lead of the THG Himalayan Database, to ask whether Tyler’s use of supplemental oxygen during the “trail” run disqualified his actual no O’s real attempt. Her response:

It is true that in Elizabeth Hawley’s time, we did not accept an ascent without bottled oxygen if the climber had used supplemental oxygen during the same expedition. However, at that time, the question of making one ascent with oxygen and a subsequent ascent without it hardly ever arose. Most climbers attempted only one mountain per season and generally made just a single summit push on that mountain. Moreover, those climbing without bottled oxygen were usually purists who would not even consider putting on an oxygen mask.

When Ryan Mitchell arrived at Base Camp and required bottled oxygen for medical reasons, our view was that he remained on the same expedition, having already used supplemental oxygen due to illness. Under those circumstances, it did not feel appropriate to recognize a subsequent ascent as oxygenless had he continued his climb. However, Ryan Mitchell never contacted us directly to discuss his case, which we would have been very willing to do.

When Tyler Andrews contacted us with his request, we revisited the issue within the Himalayan Database team. We also consulted high-altitude specialist Professor Dr. Mike Grocott regarding any possible physiological advantage gained from prior oxygen use. His view was that there is no real evidence for a significant physiological advantage. Based on these discussions, we concluded that we needed to adapt to modern climbing realities and accept an ascent from Base Camp to the summit and back to Base Camp without supplemental oxygen, even if oxygen had been used on a separate climb within the season.

As Professor Grocott noted: “It seems to me that it may be easier to make a subsequent ascent without additional oxygen if you have already climbed the same route with supplemental oxygen, but this is from a climbing and psychological perspective rather than a physiological one. It is very difficult to know the definitive answer to this question, but I would say it is the physiological equivalent to a Redpoint ascent.

Wednesday, May 27, 2026, Summits – 50+

Garrett Madison moved past Dave Hahn at 15 and behind Kenton Cool at 20 to second in most non-Sherpa summits, his 16th. He had a good climb:

Hey! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) team.

We have great news to report… Today, the last members of our expedition, Everest team all reached the summit! That’s myself, Jeff Arnold, Terray Sylvester, Reid Tileston, along with the incredible Sherpa team: Siddhi Ghising,  Mani, Ardi,  Hira, and Santosh. And we are all back in Camp IV (7900m/25,919ft) now, safe and sound, resting, recovering, and planning to head down to Camp II (6500m/21,325ft) and base camp (5364m/17,598ft) the following day.

(We) had a great day! The weather cooperated, winds dropped down, and we had some great views on the way up. It was a little cloudy up top, but not crowded at all, and we just had a wonderful time up there. A great way to conclude our expedition with all the members that were up here at the South Col, and going for the summit, topping out on Everest!

So, been a fantastic expedition, and we will check in soon.

  • Madison Mountaineering – 2 members, 2 Guides with 5 Sherpas for 9 summits
  • Elete Expeditions – 9 members with 28 Sherpas for 37 summits 
  • Summit Climb – 1 member with 1 Sherpa for 2 summits
  • Seven Sumits Treaks – 1 member with 2 Sherpas for 3 summits

Summit Climb made these confusing reports about the night of May 26th and early hours of the 27th.

At around midnight winds increased and it begins to snow.  We feel  surprised; this is outside the parameters of our weather forecasting tools. by 1 am the bad weather has increased and 6 of our members and 6 of our Sherpas decide to descend. This no longer feels comfortable for them. Now 1 member and 1 Sherpa decide to continue on. They don’t want to descend just yet and keep climbing to the summit. 6 members and 6 Sherpas return to the South Col. 3 members and 3 Sherpas  continue down to Camp 2. Three members and three Sherpas remain on the South Col. They want to try again to reach the summit tonight. Thanks for following.

Just now, one of our 3 members and Sherpas who were trying ,radio called from the summit to say they are on top now. CONGRATULATIONS. Now we are awaiting news from our final 2 members. We will let you know as soon as we find out!

Just got the news on the walkie talkie from High Camp South Col: one of our members and one of our Sherpas was notfeeling well during the middle of the night and the two of them descended back down through the darkness to South Col where they are safely resting now. Our final member and his Sherpa trying to get to the summit now, with safety.

Our final member and his Sherpa summited Everest just now at around 11am. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Now everyone is coming down

Later, they posted that they had found a lone climber at the South Col in a tent with no food, water or oxygen. His team is unknown.

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. But I hear through the grapevine that there were summits in windy conditions and complaints about the leadership.

Other 8000ers – Summits

There were a few more summits by the Nepali operators on Manaslu, Kangchunga, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and Makalu, with scores of summits over the past few weeks. The season is probably over for these peaks as well.
 

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.

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Previous Everest 2026 Season Coverage Posts

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2 thoughts on “Everest 2026: : Last Summits?”

  1. Thank you Alan for your outstanding reporting each season….. always look forward to it.      “Climb On”                             Joe Jakubisyn Sent from my iPhone

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  2. Hey Alan, thanks for your coverage this year… it’s been a strange one but non the less, fascinating as ever. Love the new website btw, very snazzy! All the best, Sarah, Manchester UK

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