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Despite sporadic winds and a scary weather forecast, Monday, May 18, 2026, saw scores of summits on Everest and a few on Lhotse. The jetstream remains an issue, so I did a brief podcast with meteorologist Chris Tomer, who described the situation as "erratic."
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything

https://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2026/05/18/everest-2026-weather-alert-and-more-summits/

With the ropes to Everest and, now, Lhotse in place, there were multiple summits, including records on Sunday morning, May 17, 2026. With the weather improving, the route in, team after team has left base camp to be in position for their summit. While the major impact of the jet stream has passed, fragments could still create bitter windchill and frostbite, so climbers will need to be prepared to bail if the jet stream suddenly returns.

The Everest summits for the season total is around 86, with 54 Sherpas and 32 clients.  The ratio is skewed by the large rope team, entirely comprised of Sherpas. Nepal has issued 492 Everest permits, surpassing the 2024 record of 479. There is climbing on the Tibet side of Everest.
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything
https://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2026/05/17/everest-2026-may-17-weekend-update-climbers-to-the-summit/

The rope fixers got the fixed line to the South Col on Friday, May 8, 2026 and are on track to reach the summit by the 13th or earlier. As predicted, some Nepali teams have already positioned members at the Col to attempt the summit as the lines get there. Nepal has issued 492 Everest permits, surpassing the 2024 record of 479. A Sherpa died in the Icefall. There is climbing on the Tibet side of Everest.
Climb On!
AlanMemories are Everything

https://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2026/05/10/everest-2026-may-10-weekend-update-ropes-to-south-col-everest-death/

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 14th.
Everest permits are nearing 2024's record of 479, generating nearly $7 million in permit revenue alone.

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything

We may finally see how climate change has impacted climbing Mt. Everest: melting seracs threatening climbers, and helicopters used to bypass the icefall.
First, let's clarify that the Icefeall is not blocked and is passable. The issue is a large, unstable hanging serac that, if it fell onto the Icefall with climbers there, dozens could be killed, making it much worse than the 16 taken in a similar event in 2014. There are conflicting reports about a route to Camp 1. But others say it's still too dangerous because of rockfall, and the ice serac in question remains.There are 410 Everest permits issued, so with 1.5 Sherpas per permit and 0.2 cooks, there are around 1,200 people at EBC, by my estimation. I've seen other reports with three times that many. #everest2026
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything
https://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2026/04/27/everest-2026-april-27-weekend-update-icefall-route-in/