By Alan Arnette4 min read

Everest 2026: Everest Death, Lhotse Summit

Kami at 2015 Lhotse Puja
The Himalayan death toll is now at five, with two Everest climbers and one trekker on his way to climb Everest. An impromptu rope-fixing team has reached the Balcony around 8400 meters and expects to hand off to the regular rope fixers to continue to the summit by the 13th. Multiple reports say the route from base camp to Camp 2 is one of the best in years.

Rope Update

Six Sherpas from @imaginenepal and two from @eliteexped reached the South Col between 6:00 and 7:00 AM, along with three Sherpas from @sevensummittreks. The nine Sherpas fixed the route to the Balcony on Monday, May 11, 2026. They expect to summit by the 13th.

Rotations Complete?

For most Everest and Lhotse climbers, they have completed their rotations, with many tagging 7000 meters on the Lhotse Face as their high point. Most are back in EBC waiting for the ropes to reach the summit and the predicted high winds from May 14th through the 18th to pass. Previous reports of a team posited at the South Col have been incorrect.

Sherpa Death

Phura Gyaljen Sherpa, 20, from Thame village, left Camp 2 at 7 pm Monday, May 11, loaded with gear. According to Nepalese media reports, the accident occurred some four hours later, in the middle of the night. Phura Gyaljen slipped and fell at around 7,000m on the Lhotse Face, just below Camp 3. Phura Gyaljen was the grandson of celebrated climber Ang Rita Sherpa, famously known as the “Snow Leopard.” Ang Rita was the only man to summit Everest ten times without supplemental oxygen and remains the only person to have climbed Everest without supplemental oxygen during winter.

Other 8000ers – Summits

Polish alpinist Bartosz Kacper Ziemski became the first to summit Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest peak, this spring, completing a rare ski descent from the summit to Base Camp after a solo alpine-style ascent. According to Seven Summit Treks, Ziemski climbed from Camp 4 to the summit on May 12, 2026, at 12:14 pm without Sherpa support and skied back to Base Camp by 5 pm.
 
A team of 8 Sherpas from 14 Peaks Expedition fixed the route to the summit of Annapurna I on Friday, April 18, marking the first 8000er summit of this spring 2026 season. Two foreign climbers also summited after the Sherpas. Seven Summits Treks noted 10 people summited, 5 Sherpas with 5 clients. Elite Expeditions also claimed six clients summiting.
 
Teams summited Dhaulagiri, including Pioneer Adventure with 9 Sherpas and 8 clients. Imagine Nepal saw summits as well.
 
On Manaslu, Ukrainian Alexandr Moroz and Kyrgyz Mark Ablovacky summitted. They were the only climbers on the peak this season.
 

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

Death Total—Five 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–Three Deaths

May 3, Lakpa Dendi Sherpa, 51, from Gudel village, died at about 5,200 meters on his way to Everest Base Camp.

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

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.

 

The Podcast on alanarnette.com

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Previous Everest 2026 Season Coverage Posts

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