{"id":49418,"date":"2026-05-20T09:31:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T15:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=49418"},"modified":"2026-05-20T12:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T18:38:10","slug":"everest-2026-may-20-summit-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/20\/everest-2026-may-20-summit-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Everest 2026: May 20 Summit Recap: 270 Summits!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"xdj266r x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs x126k92a\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">270 more summits! \u00a0Report after report had the Nepal side of Everest with massive crowds on Wednesday morning, May 20. And there are many more to come, at least another 200.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 dir=\"auto\">Australian Success<\/h2>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Australian climber Bianca Adler summited, becoming the youngest Australian to do so at 18. According to Seven Summit Treks, Bianca reached the summit this morning, May 20, 2026. She was accompanied by climbing guides Pemba Chhiring Sherpa and Ngudu Sherpa. The achievement adds another milestone to Bianca\u2019s growing mountaineering career. In 2024, she became the youngest female climber to summit Manaslu at the age of 16, earning a Guinness World Record.<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"xdj266r x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs x126k92a\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<div>\n<h2 dir=\"auto\">Wednesday Summits:<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/8kexpeditions.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">8K<\/a> &#8211; 7 members with 7 Sherpas for 14 summits<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sevensummittreks.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Seven Summits Treks<\/a> &#8211; 6 members with 7 Sherpas for 13 summits<\/li>\n<li>Asian Trekking &#8211; 11 members with 1 Nepali guide and 21 Sherpas for 32 summits<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eliteexped\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elete Expeditions<\/a> &#8211; 8 members supported by 8 Sherpas for 16 summits<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/7summitsclub.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">7 Summits Club<\/a>\u00a0 &#8211; 4 members with 1 Russian guide and no Sherpa names provided for 4 (8?) summits<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100062343590636\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaitu Expeditions<\/a> &#8211; 15+ summits<\/li>\n<li>Pioneer Adventures &#8211; 4 members supported by 6 Sherpas for 10 summits<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sevensummittreks.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Seven Summits Treks<\/a> &#8211; James Owen McManus, no supplemental oxygen, with Chhiring Dhenduk Bhote<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"xdj266r x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs x126k92a\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/14peaksexpedition.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">14 Peaks<\/a> &#8211; Viroel Stirbu &#8220;Wally&#8221; at age 75, summited<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With gratitude to Rishi Bhandari, MD of Satori Adventures and Executive Committee Member of the Nepal Tourism Board and General Secretary of the Expedition Operators Association, for sending me this spreadsheet of today&#8217;s summits:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_49422\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-49422\" style=\"width: 1037px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-49422 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Everest-summit-2026-05-20-member-and-sherpa-guide.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1037\" height=\"950\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Everest-summit-2026-05-20-member-and-sherpa-guide.jpeg 1037w, https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Everest-summit-2026-05-20-member-and-sherpa-guide-246x225.jpeg 246w, https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Everest-summit-2026-05-20-member-and-sherpa-guide-524x480.jpeg 524w, https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Everest-summit-2026-05-20-member-and-sherpa-guide-1000x916.jpeg 1000w, https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Everest-summit-2026-05-20-member-and-sherpa-guide-230x211.jpeg 230w, https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Everest-summit-2026-05-20-member-and-sherpa-guide-350x321.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Everest-summit-2026-05-20-member-and-sherpa-guide-480x440.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1037px) 100vw, 1037px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-49422\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">May 20, 2026 Everedst summits. Courtesy of Rishi Bhandari,<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Mr. Bhandari went on to tell me:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Today marks a historic record on Mount Everest, with 270 people reaching the summit in a single day. This is a remarkable achievement and an important moment for Nepal\u2019s mountaineering history.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>With 270 summits on Wednesday, the season total is at least 500.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>More to Come<\/h2>\n<p>By my count, I&#8217;m predicting 800 total summit attempts, so with 162 completed, that leaves another 638 to go. Look for more from: <a href=\"https:\/\/climbingthesevensummits.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Climbing the Seven Summits<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sevensummittreks.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Seven Summits Treks<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/madisonmountaineering.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Madison Mountaineering<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/adventureconsultants.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0Adventure Consultants,<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alpineascents.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AAI<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/8kexpeditions.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">8K<\/a> and many of the smaller Nepali teams.<\/p>\n<h2>Kanchenjunga<\/h2>\n<p>On May 20, Imagine Nepal put 10 climbers on the summit, as did 14 Peaks, with 6 after four Sherpas from Imagine Nepal fixed the ropes to Mount Kanchenjunga&#8217;s summit.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Nepal Permit Update<\/h2>\n<p>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.\u00a0<\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 45.541591%; height: 202px;\">\n<thead>\n<tr style=\"height: 48px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 48px;\"><strong>8000er<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 48px;\"><strong>Teams<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 48px;\"><strong>\u00a0 Male Clients<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 48px;\"><strong>Female Clients<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 48px;\"><strong>Total<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 10px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 10px; text-align: left;\">Annapurna I<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 10px;\">4<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 10px;\">19<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 10px;\">8<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 10px;\">27<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 24px; text-align: left;\">Dhaulagiri<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">4<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">18<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">12<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 24px; text-align: left;\">Everest<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">50<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">387<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">105<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">492<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 24px; text-align: left;\">Kanchenjunga<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">4<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">23<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">13<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">36<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 24px; text-align: left;\">Lhotse<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">10<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">85<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">35<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">120<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 24px; text-align: left;\">Makalu<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">11<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">51<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">21<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">72<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: left;\">Manaslu<\/td>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<td>2<\/td>\n<td>0<\/td>\n<td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 24px; text-align: left;\">TOTALS<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">84<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">585<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">194<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 24px;\">779<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Here\u2019s to a safe season for everyone on all the peaks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Climb On!<br \/>\nAlan<br \/>\nMemories are Everything<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Podcast on alanarnette.com<\/h2>\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\/05\/17\/everest-2026-may-17-weekend-update-climbers-to-the-summit\/\">Everest 2026: May 17 Weekend Update &#8211; Climbers to the Summit<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/13\/everest-2026-ropes-reach-summit-time-to-wait\/\">Everest 2026: Ropes to Summit, Time to Wait<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/12\/everest-2026-everest-death-lhotse-summit\/\">Everest 2026: May 10 Weekend Update &#8211; Ropes to South Col, Everest Death<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/03\/everest-2026-may-3-weekend-update-climbing\/\">Everest 2026: May 3 Weekend Update &#8211; Climbing!<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/29\/everest-2026-route-to-camp-2-in-with-risks\/\">Everest 2026: Route In &#8211; With Risks<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/27\/everest-2026-april-27-weekend-update-icefall-route-in\/\">Everest 2026: April 27 Weekend Update &#8211; Icefall Route In?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/19\/everest-2026-april-19-weekend-update-8000er-summits-icefall-woes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Everest 2026: April 19 Weekend Update &#8211; 8000er Summits<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/12\/everest-2026-april-12-weekend-update-the-khumbu-is-alive\/\">Everest 2026: April 12 Weekend Update &#8211; The Khumbu is Alive!<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/04\/everest-2026-are-everest-climbers-being-poisoned\/\">Everest 2026: Are Everest Climbers Being Poisoned?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/02\/everest-2026-climber-rescue-alert\/\">Everest 2026: Climber Rescue Alert<\/a><\/li>\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>More summits! \u00a0Report after report had the Nepal side of Everest with massive crowds, probably over 150. A few teams have reported in, but we will need to wait for the official summit start to measure how big Wednesday morning, May 20, was. And there are many more to come, at least another 200.\u00a0 #everest2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":49408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"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,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7,147,828,81],"tags":[482,432,448,829,439,595,838],"class_list":["post-49418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climbing-news","category-everest","category-everest-2026-coverage","category-everest-news","tag-chris-tomer","tag-climbing-news","tag-everest","tag-everest-2026-coverage","tag-everest-news","tag-everest-popular-posts","tag-everest-weather-update"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260519_071942.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49418","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=49418"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49427,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49418\/revisions\/49427"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}