Daily Dispatches – 19th May
Everest is heading towards one of its busiest and most dangerous nights of the 2026 season as huge queues of climbers formed high on the mountain this afternoon ahead of tonight’s summit pushes.
After days of brutal conditions involving deep snow, buried fixed ropes and extreme cold above the South Col, a narrow weather window has triggered a mass movement towards the summit. Images emerging from the mountain show long lines of climbers stepping up through the upper camps in scenes reminiscent of Everest’s most infamous traffic jams.
Team Ireland remain one of the major stories of the season. After making the courageous decision to turn around at 8,450m during horrendous overnight conditions, the exhausted team recovered at Camp 4 before launching an incredible second summit push. Their resilience and discipline have earned huge admiration across the climbing world.
Elsewhere, climbers continue to position themselves for summit bids tonight and tomorrow morning. Multiple commercial teams are now established at Camp 4 including Seven Summit Treks, SummitClimb, Elite Exped, Satori Adventures and 7 Summits Club, while others continue moving up through Camps 2 and 3.
There was also a remarkable achievement for Polish mountaineer Bartosz Kacper Ziemski, who summited Everest without supplemental oxygen before skiing down, just a week after completing a no-oxygen summit and ski descent of Lhotse. It is believed to be the first Everest/Lhotse double ski descent without oxygen in a single season.
On neighbouring Lhotse, climbers from Climbing The Seven Summits successfully completed the Everest/Lhotse double, while a second summit wave is now climbing under clear skies after strategically leaving early to avoid the worst of the crowds.
Michael Woods safely reached Camp 3 and continues his push upwards, while Poornima Shrestha checked in from Camp 4 saying there was “no time for rest” before tonight’s summit attempt.
The mountain is now entering a critical and potentially hazardous period. With hundreds expected to move above the South Col tonight, safe decision-making, oxygen management and avoiding delays in the death zone could prove decisive.
More updates to follow throughout the night.
