Daily Dispatches – 20th May
Everest exploded into life on 20th May with what is now believed to have been the biggest single summit day ever recorded from the Nepal side of the mountain. Reports suggest around 270 climbers and guides reached the summit during an intense 11-hour summit window, creating extraordinary scenes high above the South Col as massive queues formed in the Death Zone.
The scale of activity on the upper mountain was unlike anything seen so far this season. Climbers described painfully slow progress between Camp 4 and the summit, with some teams taking over 12 hours to complete the ascent from the South Col. Kaitu Expeditions described “terrific traffic” as more than 200 climbers and Sherpas moved simultaneously towards the summit and back down again. Photos emerging from the route are already being described as some of the defining images of the 2026 Everest season.
Among the biggest stories of the day was the historic success of Team Ireland. Adam Sweeney, Padraig O’Hora and Eanna McGowan all successfully stood on top of the world overnight alongside their Sherpa team. Adam Sweeney, aged just 22, officially became the youngest Irish person ever to summit Everest, while the trio also became the first Irish team to summit the mountain since 2019.
Ireland’s incredible day on Everest continued later in the morning as Sarah Armstrong from Crossmaglen also reached the summit with the AGA Adventures team. Sarah becomes just the 10th Irishwoman ever to summit Everest and now remains on course to become the youngest Irishwoman to complete the Seven Summits challenge.
Elsewhere, Australian climber Bianca Adler, aged only 18, became the youngest Australian ever to summit Everest, while Norway’s Magnus R achieved another national milestone by becoming the youngest Norwegian to stand on the summit.
One of the most inspiring stories of the season also unfolded on the mountain as Russian double-amputee climber Rustam Nabiev successfully reached the summit of Everest. Nabiev lost both legs following a military barracks collapse in 2015, but has now stood on the highest point on Earth in an extraordinary achievement of resilience and determination.
Veteran Nepali climber and photographer Poornima Shrestha safely completed her sixth Everest summit, returning to Camp 4 after standing on top at 9:15am local time.
There was success on neighbouring Lhotse too, where Irish climber James Owen McManus successfully summited the world’s fourth highest mountain without supplemental oxygen, alongside guide Chhiring Dhenduk Bhote in one of the strongest climbs of the season.
Across Everest, summit confirmations poured in throughout the day from major operators including Seven Summit Treks, Asian Trekking, CTSS, Pioneer Adventure, Elite Expeditions, 14 Peaks Expedition and Satori Adventures as climbers from dozens of nations took advantage of the weather window.
However, while many celebrated success, Everest also reminded climbers of the brutal physical toll demanded by the mountain. Irish climber Diarmuid Morrisey confirmed the end of his expedition after becoming physically exhausted high on the mountain. Despite attempting to continue towards Camp 3 while on oxygen, he was forced to retreat back to Camp 2 before making the difficult decision to abandon his summit push altogether.
Several other climbers also turned back during summit attempts due to exhaustion and health concerns, highlighting the increasingly demanding conditions caused by heavy traffic and long exposure times high in the Death Zone.
Lower down the mountain, more teams are now preparing for the next summit wave. SummitClimb confirmed their Everest and Lhotse teams will begin their summit push overnight, while Madison Mountaineering are moving upwards targeting a summit attempt around May 25th.
Meanwhile climbers including Michael Woods and the Everest One team are now positioned at Camp 4 preparing for their own final push to the summit.
Everest is now fully into its busiest and most dramatic phase of the spring season, with hundreds of climbers spread across the mountain and more summit bids expected over the coming days.
