{"id":49137,"date":"2026-03-26T14:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=49137"},"modified":"2026-03-31T12:03:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:03:50","slug":"everest-2026-climbers-to-watch-this-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/26\/everest-2026-climbers-to-watch-this-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Everest 2026: Climbers to Watch this Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Everest Base Camp is taking shape as two more of Nepal&#8217;s eight 8,000-meter peaks see climbers arriving at their bases. This year, there are several interesting climbers to watch beyond the hundreds of aspirants on commercial teams. Remember, China closed climbing on its three 8,000ers\u2014Everest, Cho Oyu, and Shishapangma\u2014throughout all of spring.<\/div>\n<h2>No Os<\/h2>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ryanmitchellyt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ryan Mitchell<\/a>, 21, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/justin.sackett\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Justin Sacket<\/a>, 28, will attempt a no O&#8217;s climb with limited Sherpa support (a couple carrying emergency oxygen) on Nepal&#8217;s Southeast Ridge normal route. Ryan summited Everest with Madison Mountaineering in 2024 and was unsuccessful on K2 last year due to treacherous rockfall conditions that resulted in the death of one climber. Justin, a professional mountain guide and founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skylinemountainguides.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Skyline Mountain Guides<\/a>, has a personal altitude of 6,812 meters (22,349 ft) on Nepal&#8217;s Ama Dablam.<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div>You callow them on the social media at:<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/stories\/ryanmitchellyt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ryan&#8217;s Instagram stories<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ryanmitchellyt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ryan&#8217;s Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/justin.sackett\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Justin&#8217;s Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Fast Know Time<\/h2>\n<p>Last year, both record-seeking Everest runners turned back, primarily due to the windy conditions. Ecuadorian <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DJmDfcSPaB1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Karl Egloff<\/a> , <\/strong>44, stopped near Camp 3, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tylercandrews.com\/everest\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Tyler Andrews<\/strong><\/a>, 35, reached Camp 4 before stopping. They are both back this year. Karl will climb without oxygen from Base Camp to the summit and back down. At the same time, Tyler is reportedly climbing without Os only from Base Camp to the summit.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/karl.egloff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Karl&#8217;s Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tylercandrews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tyler&#8217;s Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Triples, Doubles, and Most<\/h2>\n<div>\n<p>Norwegian mountaineer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kristin.harila\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kristin Harila<\/a>, 39, who holds the record for the fastest ascent of all 14 eight-thousanders, plans to return to Nepal to summit Nuptse, Lhotse, and Everest without supplemental oxygen. She will use Seven Summit Treks expeditions for all three mountains.<\/p>\n<p>Also, an ever-increasing number of climbers are trying to nab Lhotse after their Everest summit to leverage acclimatization and travel to the South Col. Personally, I think a Lhotse summit should only be counted when climbing from Base Camp, but that&#8217;s just me.<\/p>\n<p>Kami Rita Sherpa, 55, \u00a0will be going for his record 32nd summit, while Kenton Cool, 51, is aiming for his 20th, a non-Sherpa record.<\/p>\n<p>Lhapka Sherpa, 52, will be going for a Sherpani record 11th summit this spring. She was the focus of the documentary Mountain Queen.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Fly Like an Eagle<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DKB3pKzAJv2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tim Howell<\/a>, 36, \u00a0wants to fly off Lhotse in a wingsuit again this season. Last year, high winds stopped Tim and British IFMGA guide Jon Gupta is once again in support.<\/p>\n<h2>Sea-to-Summit: Human Powered<\/h2>\n<p>Australian climber Oliver Foran, 26, \u00a0will start his Everest expedition from India&#8217;s coast. Several steps are needed before he reaches the mountain: cycling 1,150 km\/715 miles from the Indian coast to the foothills of the Himalayas, then trekking 150 km\/93 miles, and completing an acclimatization climb of Mera Peak before reaching Everest Base Camp to begin the ascent. The current world record is 67 days, held by South Korean national Kim Chang-ho, and Oliver is targeting 60. He explains his &#8220;why&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>After losing my mum to brain cancer, I struggled with my mental health. For a long time, I felt lost. Like I was searching for something, but didn\u2019t know what it was. When I found mountaineering, something clicked. It showed me what I\u2019m capable of. And I believe as humans, we are all capable of amazing things. And now, this is bigger than just a climb. Together with <a href=\"https:\/\/youturn.org.au\/how-you-can-help\/climbing-for-young-minds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Youturn<\/a>, this expedition is for the kids out there struggling in silence. The ones who feel lost, like I once did.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/oliverforan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Oliver&#8217;s Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Romanian Madalin (Cris) Cristea, 26, has been on a journey to climb the highest mountain on each continent, starting from sea level and back to sea level &#8211; every single meter up and down, on foot. Cris calls his project &#8220;Traintosummit.&#8221; He began in 2024 with Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro. After two grueling months, he summited both peaks, from sea to sea, in the process covering more than 1400 km\/870 miles. Now, on March 8, 2026, he left from the village of Digha, India, covering 2,000 km\/1242 miles over the course of more than 100 days<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/traintosummit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cris&#8217;s Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/traintosummit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cris&#8217;s YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Other 8000ers<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div>Teams have arrived at the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri Base Camps. However, unlike last year when conditions were unusually dry, they are experiencing heavy snow and even rain.<\/div>\n<div>\nHere\u2019s to a safe season for everyone on all the peaks.<\/div>\n<p>Climb On!<br \/>\nAlan<br \/>\nMemories are Everything<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\">\n<h2 align=\"left\">Himalayan Database<\/h2>\n<p align=\"left\">I use the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.himalayandatabase.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Himalayan Database<\/a> as my primary source of Everest summit statistics. If you are climbing in 2026, they are asking you to fill in an electronic web-based survey. This replaces the time-consuming process of visiting each team in their hotel before the climb. \u00a0Please use this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/r\/Himalayandata\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">link<\/a> to complete the survey. You can now download the HDB for free at their site.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"jetpack_subscription_widget\"><h2 class=\"widgettitle\">Subscribe to Blog via Email<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-subscriptions__container\">\n\t\t\t<form action=\"#\" method=\"post\" accept-charset=\"utf-8\" id=\"subscribe-blog-1\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-blog=\"85299718\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-post_access_level=\"everybody\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"subscribe-text\"><p>Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p id=\"subscribe-email\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<label id=\"jetpack-subscribe-label\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"screen-reader-text\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfor=\"subscribe-field-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEmail Address\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" autocomplete=\"email\" required=\"required\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvalue=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tid=\"subscribe-field-1\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tplaceholder=\"Email Address\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<p id=\"subscribe-submit\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"action\" value=\"subscribe\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"source\" value=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49137\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"sub-type\" value=\"widget\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"redirect_fragment\" value=\"subscribe-blog-1\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" id=\"_wpnonce\" name=\"_wpnonce\" value=\"0c4252c051\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wp_http_referer\" value=\"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49137\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type=\"submit\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"wp-block-button__link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"margin: 0; margin-left: 0px;\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tname=\"jetpack_subscriptions_widget\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/form>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">An email notification is sent to everyone on the mailing list for each new post. If you&#8217;d like to see something special this year, please post a comment or send me an <a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/core\/contact.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">email<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Podcast on alanarnette.com<\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Here&#8217;s the Podcast of the Weekend Update<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"kgvid_kgvid_0_wrapper\" class=\"kgvid_wrapper kgvid_wrapper_auto_left kgvid_wrapper_auto_right\">\n\t\t\t<div id=\"video_kgvid_0_div\" class=\"fitvidsignore kgvid_videodiv\" data-id=\"kgvid_0\" data-kgvid_video_vars=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;kgvid_0&quot;,&quot;attachment_id&quot;:&quot;49160&quot;,&quot;player_type&quot;:&quot;Video.js v8&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:&quot;640&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:&quot;360&quot;,&quot;fullwidth&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;fixed_aspect&quot;:&quot;vertical&quot;,&quot;countable&quot;:true,&quot;count_views&quot;:&quot;start_complete&quot;,&quot;start&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;pauseothervideos&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;set_volume&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;muted&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;meta&quot;:true,&quot;endofvideooverlay&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.alanarnette.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/12\\\/summitcoach-e1483568572550.jpg&quot;,&quot;resize&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;auto_res&quot;:&quot;automatic&quot;,&quot;pixel_ratio&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;right_click&quot;:false,&quot;playback_rate&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Everest 2026: March 29 Weekend Update-1&quot;,&quot;skip_buttons&quot;:[],&quot;nativecontrolsfortouch&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;locale&quot;:&quot;en&quot;,&quot;enable_resolutions_plugin&quot;:false}\" itemprop=\"video\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/top-of-world-copy.jpeg\"><meta itemprop=\"embedUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Everest-2026-March-29-Weekend-Update-1.mp4\"><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Everest-2026-March-29-Weekend-Update-1.mp4\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Everest 2026: March 29 Weekend Update-1\"><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"Video\"><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2026-03-29T16:47:07-06:00\">\n\t\t\t\t<video id=\"video_kgvid_0\" playsinline controls preload=\"metadata\" poster=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/top-of-world-copy.jpeg\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"fitvidsignore video-js kg-video-js-skin\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<source src=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Everest-2026-March-29-Weekend-Update-1.mp4?id=0\" type=\"video\/mp4\" data-res=\"720p\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/video>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"kgvid_below_video\" id=\"video_kgvid_0_below\"><div class=\"kgvid-viewcount\" id=\"video_kgvid_0_viewcount\">32 views<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t<div style=\"display:none\" id=\"video_kgvid_0_meta\" class=\"kgvid_video_meta kgvid_video_meta_hover \">\n\t\t\t\t<span class='kgvid_meta_icons'><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<span id='video_kgvid_0_title' class='kgvid_title'>Everest 2026: March 29 Weekend Update-1<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<p>You can listen to #everest2026 <strong>podcasts<\/strong>\u00a0on <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2uu2RcE9WiFKzSGl50oFKY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-podcast-on-alanarnette-com\/id1567287947\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apple<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breaker.audio\/the-podcast-on-alanarnette-dot-com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Breaker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pca.st\/otq8ztfv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pocket Casts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/alan-arnette1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anchor<\/a>, and more. Just search for &#8220;alan arnette&#8221; on your favorite podcast platform.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Previous Everest 2026 Season Coverage Posts<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/26\/everest-2026-climbers-to-watch-this-season\/\">Everest 2026: Climbers to Watch this Season<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/17\/everest-2026-north-side-closed-new-rules-in-effect-everest-2026-season-update\/\">Everest 2026: North Side Closed, New Rules in Effect: Everest 2026 Season Update<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/01\/everest-2026-icefall-doctors-launched\/\">Everest 2026: Icefall Doctors Launched<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/23\/everest-2026-rumor-fire-season\/\">Everest 2026: Rumor Fire Season<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/13\/everest-2026-welcome-to-everest-2026-coverage\/\">Welcome to Everest 2026 Coverage &#8211; An overview of what to expect during the Spring 2026 climbing season<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Background<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/26\/everest-by-the-numbers-2026-edition\/\">Everest by the Numbers: 2026 Edition &#8211; A deep dive into Everest statistics as compiled by the Himalayan Database<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/28\/comparing-the-routes-of-everest-2026-edition\/\">Comparing the Routes of Everest: 2026 Edition &#8211; A detailed look at Everest&#8217;s routes, commercial, standard, and non-standard<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/03\/how-much-does-it-cost-to-climb-everest-2026-edition\/\">How Much Does it Cost to Climb Everest: 2026 Edition &#8211; My annual analysis of Everest climbing costs, from solo and unsupported to fully guided<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Everest Base Camp is taking shape as two more of Nepal&#8217;s eight 8,000-meter peaks see climbers arriving at their bases. This year, there are several interesting climbers to watch beyond the hundreds of aspirants on commercial teams. Remember, China closed climbing on its three 8,000ers\u2014Everest, Cho Oyu, and Shishapangma\u2014throughout all of spring. #everest2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":49149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[7,147,828,81],"tags":[432,448,829,439,595],"class_list":["post-49137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climbing-news","category-everest","category-everest-2026-coverage","category-everest-news","tag-climbing-news","tag-everest","tag-everest-2026-coverage","tag-everest-news","tag-everest-popular-posts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EVERESTNORTH-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}