Gripped Magazine
Everest Sees Record-Breaking Season of Summits
The 2026 spring climbing season on Everest has seen nearly 900 summits, making it the busiest season in the mountain’s history. “Everest spring season 2026 is coming to a close with only a handful of climbers remaining. The season has recorded 879 successful summits so far,” said Khimlal Gautam, a government official at Everest base camp, to Everest Chronicle. Officials expect roughly 75 more summits before the season ends.
The season also shattered permit and revenue records, as Nepal issued 494 Everest permits, surpassing the previous high of 458, while a fee increase from $11,000 to $15,000 helped generate more than $6 million. A record 274 climbers summited from the Nepal side on May 20, though the all-time single-day Everest record remains May 23, 2019, when 354 climbers reached the summit from both Nepal and Tibet.
Fears of congestion eased after expedition companies joined the Icefall Doctors to open the Khumbu Icefall route and fix ropes above camp two within five days. Once the route was completed on May 13, climbers waited for favourable weather before the first major summit wave on May 17. Operators were praised for avoiding the early rush. “There was no rush for them,” one guide said. “They were confident, while everyone else seemed in a hurry.”
At base camp, most teams are now dismantling camps and taking equipment off the glacier as the season winds down. Only two organised teams remain on the mountain as of May 24, Elite Exped and Madison Mountaineering, alongside a handful of independent climbers pursuing records. “This season has already entered Everest history in more ways than one,” Gautam said. “The success rate has been high, defying all the speculation that the record number of permits would inevitably lead to chaos. It has been a historic season.”
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