Everest 2026: May 3 Weekend Update – Climbing!

The route is in to Camp 2, thus allowing Sherpa rope fixers to begin fixing it to the summit, starting with Camp 3. Sherpas have established Camp 2, also known as Advanced Base Camp, with tents and other supplies. They will begin stocking it with an oxygen bottle soon. Teams have started their acclimatization rotations to Camps 1 and 2. The ropes are expected to reach the summit around May 14^th. Everest permits are nearing 2024’s record of 479, generating nearly $7 million in permit revenue alone.

Big Picture

Teams are beginning to move into the Icefall, while Sherpas are establishing high camps, and the rope fixers are making progress up the Lhotse Face.

Adventure Consultants poked their nose halfway up the ‘fall:

This morning, we left camp at 4 am and had our introduction to the icefall. Call it a dress rehearsal, getting ready in the dark, trying to eat breakfast in the middle of the night. Setting foot into the labyrinth of ice pinnacles, joining the fixed lines, skirting the edge of the rock outcrop, scoured smooth by the glacier over time, when the ice was deeper. We climbed about a quarter of the way up the icefall, happy with our efforts and turned and descended the ropes with much less effort than on the ascent. Tomorrow we will rest and prepare for the approaching rotation on the mountain.

Risks

Sherpas are taking 5-6 hours to reach Camp 1. The route is said to be in good condition and easier than last year, with one crevasse requiring five ladders to cross.

The SPCC, which manages the Icefall Doctors, put out this warning:

“Our Icefall Doctors explored an alternative path through the center of the section, but no safer option could be found. Given the circumstances

The past few weeks have been one of the most challenging periods for our SPCC Icefall Doctors — traversing the Khumbu Icefall day after day to find a safe route for the 2026 spring climbing season. On 28 April, our Icefall Doctors, with support from mountain guides across various expedition operators, successfully opened the route through the Khumbu Icefall. As communicated in our notice to all expedition operators at Base Camp on 28 April 2026, the route beyond the rockfall point (Section 4) carries significant risk due to a large serac. All climbers and guides must exercise extreme caution in this section. A BIG shoutout to our Icefall Doctors, who pushed through an extraordinarily difficult season and gave everything to make this route possible. Thank you to all mountain guides and expedition operators for your support during this time.

 

I’ve received a lot of questions about why not to blow up the serac in question, like ski resorts do to trigger avalanches to make ski slopes safer. Well, several reasons not to blow up Mt. Everest:

1. It’s in a Nepalese national park, so it would be similar to blowing up part of Half Dome in Yosemite—it’s not a ski resort.
2. The size of these seracs is like houses or buildings—huge. So very different than causing a man-made avalanche.
3. Probably wouldn’t work, and if it did, the debris field would be massive, probably creating more problems.

But I get the notion, like the suggestion to fly a drone into it. All interesting ideas, but I think, let nature take its course and climbers take their risks.

Next Week

Weather Looking Good for Rope Team

I asked veteran mountain weather forecasters what the next couple of weeks look like. As always, the weather is never an exact science.

Meteorologists, Chris Tomer of Tomer Weather Solutions, noted:

The jet stream weakens and moves off the summit of Everest 5/8-5/12. This should give the rope teams a nice window to reach the summit. Everest could see a higher chance of snow on 5/10.

Michael Fagin of Everest Weather gave more detail but a simlr out look:

Summary for May 4 to Sunday, May 10. All forecast models indicate no jet stream over Mt. Everest during this period. From May 8 to May 10, summit winds (maximum wind gusts) will be at or below 20 mph (32 km/hr). Some forecast models show summit winds as low as 20 mph (32 km/hr) for May 8 to May 10.

 

The snow forecast varies much more among forecast models than the wind forecasts. For the upcoming week, most models are bringing light snowfall. However, one model shows daily snowfall of 3 inches (7.6 cm) for several days. We are not expecting any tropical storm to emerge from the Bay of Bengal over the next seven days.

 

What is the extended outlook after May 10?  At least through May 13, we do not see a jet stream over Everest.  There appears to be a weak low forming near the Bay of Bengal, starting to form, but it’s too early to tell if this will develop into something stronger 

Here’s to a safe season for everyone on all the peaks.