The Podcast on alanarnette.com

Two weeks ago today, on July 30, 2026, ten climbers died in a single avalanche on Broad Peak. The event has received extensive media coverage, in part because Nirmal “Nims” Purja, one of the most consequential mountaineers of his generation, died. Also among the dead were six other highly experienced high-altitude guides — one with 28 8,000-meter summits — two very experienced clients, including one with 12 8,000-meter summits, and a Texas climber attempting her first 8,000er.
The discussion across social media has ranged from praise to blame, sparking an intense debate over responsibility and judgment — with some pointing fingers and naming names. There were ten climbers across four independent teams with no single leader. It would be easy to start speculating, and that’s not what I’m doing here.
I begin with what matters most: who they were, not just how they died.

Memories are Everything
Alan

https://www.alanarnette.com/2026/08/13/learnings-from-broad-peak-tragedy/

Ryan Mitchell, a former Summit Coach client, planned to climb two 8000-meter peaks without supplemental oxygen with his friend and professional mountain guide, Justin Sackett, but not everything went as planned. In this podcast, we discuss the expedition, its risks, decision-making and emotions.
No O's is serious business. Of the 13,532 Everest summits by 7,563 people, only 221 have been done without oxygen. And it's deadly. Of the 327 deaths, 170, or 52%, were climbers who were not on O's. 
Ryan has become very popular since he summited Everest at age 20 in 2024 with Madison Mountaineering. He made a serious attempt on K2 in 2025 but was stopped by deadly rockfall that took lives last year. He now lives in the Pacific Northwest and is building an impressive climbing resume, including ascents of Everest, K2, Ama Dablam, Denali, Aconcagua (2), Mt. Washington, Shuckson, and more. 
Justin cut his climbing teeth on Mt Rainier with over 50 summits before founding his own company, Skyline Mountain Guides. He guides in the Pacific Northwest and internationally on Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, and more.
Listen to the end, or fast forward to 
You can follow Ryan at:
Ryan Mitchell YouTube
RyanMitchellUnfiltered 
Instagram
Website
You can follow Justin at:
Skyline Mountain Guides
Instagram
Facebook
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything

https://www.alanarnette.com/2026/08/06/podcast-with-ryan-mitchell-justin-sackett-no-os-everest-update-and-plans/

Romanian Madalin (Cris) Cristea, 34, summitted Everest on May 20, the busiest day of the season, along with 273 other people. But he didn't just "summit"; he summited after walking 1,125 kilometers (approx. 700 miles), starting on March 4th, 2026, from the village of Digha, India, on the Indian Ocean. Oh, then he walked back, covering 2,000 km (1,242 miles) over more than 100 days.

https://www.alanarnette.com/2026/07/03/madalin-cris-cristea-sea-summit-sea-everest-2026/#

The Denali 2026 season is well underway, with a dated climber report as of June 1, 2026, of 513 climbers, mainly on the West Buttress route. 97 climbers have completed their trips, and 381 are left to check in and begin their climbs. One team that did summit was one from American Alpine Institute and Summit Coach client, John Bartolic.

John, a Southwest Airlines pilot living in Dallas, Texas, is relatively new to mountaineering, with a Rainier summit last year and a Pico de Orizaba summit a few months ago. His next includes Kilimanjaro and Everest.
We discussed everything from motivation, training, gear, clothing and weather to logistics and had a special remembrance of Mayor Stubbs of Talkeetna, Alaska, who died in 2017. I met Stubbs in 2007 on a climb.
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything
https://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2026/06/17/denali-2026-coverage-podcast-with-summiteer-john-bartlic/

Welcome to my annual Everest summary, where I review what happened and who did what. Quirky. That's my word for Everest 2026. Or perhaps, "normal."

The 2026 Everest spring season has come to a close. There were delays, strong winds, changing drone and helicopter rules, moments of concern and challenging climbing. Despite the dramatic headlines in the mainstream press, it was actually a fairly normal season, as evidenced in part by roughly 80% of this year's 1,008 summits occurring between May 17th and May 26th, consistent with historical trends. The Himalayan Database will publish what I consider to be the definitive results later this year. #everest2026

If you would like to be notified when my memoir, "Hard or Impossible? Summiting K2 for Ida is available – I'm still looking for an agent. Complete the form at the bottom of this introduction page: https://www.alanarnette.com/memoir