Daily Dispatches – 13th May
🏔️ Everest’s summit route is officially open.
The 2026 rope-fixing teams reached the summit of Everest at 10:25am Nepal time on May 13th, completing the fixed lines from Base Camp all the way to the top of the world.
After major early-season delays caused by huge icefall collapses in the Khumbu Icefall, Sherpa teams from multiple operators worked under intense pressure to prepare the route for the main summit season.
Imagine Nepal also confirmed the first commercial summits of 2026 shortly afterwards, with sixteen climbers and Sherpas successfully reaching the summit.
However, despite the route now being fixed in remarkably quick time, attention has quickly turned to the weather. Several teams are reporting that powerful jet stream winds are expected to return from tonight through to at least May 18th, potentially bringing dangerous hurricane-force conditions above 8000m and delaying the first major summit wave.
Some climbers are still beginning summit bids before the weather window closes. Russian adaptive athlete Rustam Nabiev has departed Base Camp with his Sherpa team, while Bianca Adler has also started her summit push and is heading towards Camp 2 tonight.
For many teams on the mountain, patience may once again become the key factor on Everest.
