After more than two weeks of tense waiting at Everest Base Camp, the 2026 Everest climbing season is officially under way.
A team of 19 Sherpa climbers the elite group known as the icefall doctors successfully crossed the Khumbu Icefall on Tuesday morning, fixing ropes, placing ladders, and carving a safe route through one of the most dangerous stretches of ice on earth to reach Camp I at 6,060 metres. The path to the summit of the world’s highest mountain is open.
The news ends a frustrating 14-day delay that had left hundreds of climbers stranded at base camp, watching an uncooperative icefall and an unmovable serac while their summit windows and their patience began to shrink.
What Blocked the Route: A 30-Metre Wall of Ice
The cause of the delay was a massive serac a column of glacial ice approximately 30 metres (100 feet) high that had shifted and blocked the path above base camp earlier this month. Seracs are a permanent feature of the Khumbu Icefall’s hazard profile, but this one was unusually positioned and unusually stubborn.
The icefall, which sits between Everest Base Camp at 5,364 metres and Camp I at 6,060 metres, is widely considered the most technically dangerous section of the standard South Col route. It is a constantly moving river of ice blocks, crevasses, and seracs unstable by nature, requiring daily maintenance and rerouting by the icefall doctors throughout every climbing season.
Parts of the serac have now melted and broken away, allowing the Sherpa climbers to fix ropes, place ladders and carve a safe route through the treacherous Khumbu Icefall to Camp I.
Lhakpa Sherpa of the 8K Expedition company, who coordinated the route-opening operation, confirmed from base camp that the team had reached Camp I and were expected to continue fixing ropes toward Camp II at approximately 6,400 metres a section he described as less technically difficult than the icefall itself.
425 Permits Issued — and a Race Against the Clock
Authorities have issued 425 Everest permits so far this season, at a cost of $15,000 each. Another 153 climbers to neighbouring Lhotse and Nuptse peaks also share part of the same route.
That is nearly 580 climbers sharing portions of the same high-altitude corridor and every one of them just lost two weeks of acclimatisation and preparation time.
The compressed window is already raising concerns. Kenton Cool, the British mountaineer who is attempting his 20th Everest summit the most of any foreign climber acknowledged the difficulty honestly from base camp.
“I think there is some hope… But such a delay will push summits back and possibly create crowding in the icefall and maybe the summit as teams try to make up for lost time,” Cool said.
It is a concern shared by expedition leaders across the mountain. The prime summit windows on Everest narrow breaks of stable weather, low wind, and acceptable temperature typically cluster in mid-to-late May. With the route only opening on April 28, teams now have less buffer time for acclimatisation rotations to Camps II, III, and IV before those windows open.
Garrett Madison of Madison Mountaineering, attempting his 16th Everest ascent, offered a note of caution even as he welcomed the news of the opening.
“It’s not easy going around the serac, and perhaps a little bit dangerous,” Madison said.
The route exists. It is not simple. The icefall doctors have done their job. What remains is the mountain’s.
The Icefall Doctors: The Most Important Climbers You’ve Never Heard Of
Every year, before a single permit-holding climber sets foot on the Khumbu Icefall, a small team of Sherpa specialists the icefall doctors goes first.
They work with aluminium ladders, fixed ropes, ice anchors, and an intimate knowledge of how the glacier moves. They bridge the yawning crevasses. They build the routes around the seracs. They do this at dawn, when temperatures are low and the ice is most stable, in conditions that would stop most expedition climbers cold.
Then they go back. Every few days, as the glacier shifts and the route changes, they go back and repair, re-route, and re-fix. Throughout the entire climbing season, from the first crossing in April to the last descent in late May, the icefall doctors maintain the only path between base camp and the higher mountain.
This season, they worked against an obstacle that tested even their experience a serac larger and more obstructive than most. That they found a way through, on April 28, is the result of weeks of assessment, patience, and the kind of high-altitude expertise that no permit fee can buy and no foreign expedition can replicate.
What This Means for the 2026 Season
For climbers at base camp: The wait is over. Acclimatisation rotations to Camp I and Camp II can now begin. Teams will move up through the icefall in rotation over the coming days, establishing high camps and acclimatising before making summit bids.
For the summit window: Most expedition leaders are targeting mid-to-late May for summit attempts. The two-week delay compresses preparation time but does not eliminate the summit window it simply reduces the margin for error and could mean a more concentrated rush when the weather opens.
For crowding concerns: With 425 Everest permits plus Lhotse and Nuptse climbers sharing the same route, and a delayed start pushing everyone toward the same summit windows, the risk of queuing particularly at the Hillary Step and the summit ridge is elevated this season. There is no limit on how many permits are issued, which has led to criticism in the past from mountaineering experts about the risk of long queues forming in what is known as the death zone because the air is dangerously thin.
For Nepal’s tourism economy: The 2026 Everest permit season represents approximately USD 6.375 million in permit revenue from the 425 climbing permits alone (at USD 15,000 each), before factoring in the Lhotse and Nuptse permits. This is a significant contribution to Nepal’s annual tourism income and the opening of the icefall means that revenue is now likely to translate into completed expeditions rather than refund demands.
Everest Base Camp Trekkers: What You Need to Know
The Khumbu Icefall is not on the trekking route to Everest Base Camp the standard EBC trek ends at base camp itself, below the icefall. However, the climbing season affects EBC trekkers in ways worth understanding:
Helicopter traffic increases significantly during the climbing season. Medical evacuations, supply flights, and expedition logistics create heavy helicopter activity between Lukla, Namche Bazaar, and the higher camps.
Base camp itself becomes busier as climbing teams establish their camps. Trekkers visiting EBC during the climbing season (April–May) will find a very different environment from the quieter pre-season or post-season experience a city of tents, generators, oxygen caches, and the concentrated human energy of hundreds of people preparing for one of the most demanding physical endeavours on earth.
Trail conditions between Lukla and base camp are generally good during the spring climbing season, though teahouses fill up quickly. Book accommodation in advance for any trek in April or May 2026.
Key Facts: Everest 2026 Season at a Glance
| Detail | 2026 Data |
|---|---|
| Icefall opening date | April 28, 2026 |
| Delay duration | Approximately 14 days |
| Cause of blockage | 30-metre (100-ft) serac above base camp |
| Icefall doctors involved | 19 Sherpa climbers |
| Camp I altitude | 6,060 metres (19,880 ft) |
| Camp II altitude | ~6,400 metres (21,000 ft) |
| Everest permits issued (2026) | 425 (at USD 15,000 each) |
| Lhotse/Nuptse climbers sharing route | 153 |
| Total permit revenue (Everest only) | ~USD 6.375 million |
| Everest summit elevation | 8,849 metres (29,032 ft) |
| Permit cost per climber | USD 15,000 |
| Expected summit window | Mid-to-late May 2026 |
A Note on the People Behind the Season
It is easy, reading coverage of the Everest climbing season, to focus on the permit numbers, the permit fees, the nationalities of summit holders, and the records being chased. Kenton Cool’s 20th ascent. Garrett Madison’s 16th.
These are remarkable achievements. They are also achievements built on the work of the icefall doctors the Sherpas who crossed a 30-metre wall of ice this morning before dawn so that hundreds of climbers could follow safely.
Nepal’s spring mountaineering season generates millions of dollars in permit revenue and supports thousands of jobs in Kathmandu, Namche Bazaar, and the Khumbu villages. The Sherpa communities who live at altitude, who maintain the routes, who carry the loads and fix the ropes and make the rescues possible they are not background to this story. They are the story.
The 2026 Everest season is now under way. The mountain is waiting.
Stay Updated: Everest 2026 Season Coverage
The Explore All About Nepal team will continue to cover the 2026 Everest climbing season from Kathmandu throughout April and May. Bookmark this page or follow us for:
- Summit attempt updates as weather windows open in May
- Rescue and safety news from the mountain
- Permit and regulation updates from the Nepal Tourism Board
- Condition reports from base camp correspondents