First Summits of Everest 2026

A major milestone on Everest today as the first climbers of the 2026 spring season reached the summit after the rope-fixing teams successfully opened the route to the top of the world.

At around 10:25am Nepal time on May 13th, the specialist Sherpa teams completed the final fixed ropes from the South Summit to the summit of Everest, allowing the season’s main summit pushes to finally begin.

This year’s operation faced significant delays after a huge collapsing serac blocked the Khumbu Icefall route earlier in the season, creating one of the most difficult starts to an Everest campaign in recent years. The route was only fully established to Camp 4 on May 8th before reaching the Balcony yesterday and the summit today.

The rope-fixing effort was carried out by a combined team from the Expedition Operators’ Association of Nepal (EOA), Seven Summit Treks, Imagine Nepal and other operators, with Sherpas working through the night in extreme altitude and conditions to complete the task.

Imagine Nepal also confirmed the first commercial summits of the season, with sixteen climbers and Sherpas successfully standing on the summit between 10:38am and 10:48am Nepal time.

With the route now officially open, hundreds of climbers waiting at Camp 2, Camp 3 and the South Col are expected to begin summit bids over the coming days — weather permitting.