Daily Dispatches – 25th May
As the 2026 Everest spring season edges towards its conclusion, the mountain has entered a very different phase compared to the chaotic summit traffic seen earlier this month. The giant queues have vanished, the route has become noticeably quieter, and climbers remaining high on the mountain are now finding themselves alone on summit ridges that only days ago were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with hundreds of people.
Madison Mountaineering celebrated a hugely successful summit push overnight as their Everest team safely reached the summit and returned to Camp 4. The team described emotional scenes on top of the world with hugs, celebrations and photos before beginning the long descent back towards the South Col.
The expedition is not over yet though, with several Madison climbers and guides still positioned at Camp 4 preparing for another summit push on May 27th.
Higher on the mountain, SummitClimb reported remarkably peaceful conditions on both Everest and Lhotse. Their teams described light winds, excellent visibility and almost no traffic on the routes — a complete contrast to the record-breaking summit congestion of previous days.
On Lhotse, SummitClimb enjoyed complete solitude on the mountain as their climbers successfully reached the summit with no other teams anywhere on the peak. Cal and Dawa Sherpa summited at around 8am, while Dmitri and Sabin Magar followed shortly afterwards. The company later confirmed that Deividas and Pemba Gyalzen had also successfully reached the summit of Everest after leaving the South Col the previous evening.
The quiet conditions now developing high on the mountain are allowing some of the final summit teams of the season to enjoy an Everest experience almost impossible to imagine during the peak summit wave just days ago.
Another major milestone was achieved by British climber Ben Jones, who completed his remarkable 11th Everest summit alongside Dawa Galje Sherpa. Meanwhile Irish climber Tom Walsh successfully stood on top of the world earlier today, becoming the 8th Irish summiter of the 2026 season and recording the 91st Irish Everest summit overall.
One of the standout stories of the day came from Elite Expeditions as 16-year-old climber Nisha successfully summited Everest from the Nepal side, becoming the youngest female climber ever to achieve the feat from the South Side route. The expedition praised the efforts of guides Tenji Sherpa, Phura Dorji Sherpa and Phursang Sherpa for safely supporting the teenager to the summit and back down towards the South Summit.
Meanwhile the highly anticipated Everest speed record attempt from American runner Tyler Andrews ended unsuccessfully after dramatic developments high on the mountain.
Andrews had originally launched his climb hoping to break the Everest speed ascent record without supplemental oxygen, but during the attempt his team released a prerecorded message confirming he had begun using bottled oxygen due to deteriorating weather conditions. Andrews later abandoned the climb near the Balcony before returning safely to Everest Base Camp.
Even before turning around, Andrews’ pace had reportedly fallen behind the astonishing oxygen-assisted record set by Lakpa Gelu Sherpa in 2003, highlighting once again the extraordinary difficulty of attempting speed records on Everest at extreme altitude.
Despite the failed attempt, attention may soon shift towards Ecuadorian climber Karl Egloff, who remains at Base Camp preparing for his own speed challenge later in the season.
Although the busiest summit days are now behind Everest, the mountain is still very much alive with activity. Final summit teams continue moving between Camps 2, 3 and 4 while Base Camp slowly begins transitioning towards the end of another dramatic Himalayan spring season filled with records, triumph, exhaustion and tragedy.
