Tyler Andrews Attempts Everest No-Oxygen Speed Record
American athlete Tyler Andrews will launch his attempt on the fastest-ever no-oxygen ascent of Mount Everest tonight.
Andrews plans to leave Base Camp at 7 pm Nepal time on Tuesday, climbing through the night with the aim of summiting Wednesday morning. His main target: to break the long-standing record of 20 hours 24 minutes set by Kaji Sherpa in 1998.
But he isn’t stopping there. If conditions allow, Andrews will continue down immediately and attempt the full round-trip Fastest Known Time (FKT) from Base Camp to the summit and back—without supplementary oxygen. Until now, no climber has set a recognized no-oxygen round-trip record on Everest, with the summit alone considered one of the greatest feats in mountaineering.
Andrews has been eyeing the challenge since last spring, when he made three separate Base Camp-to-summit FKT attempts. Ecuador’s Karl Egloff also tried the round trip without oxygen last year but was forced back near Camp 3 due to tough conditions.
Andrews confirmed on social media that he will climb solo, unsupported, and without oxygen. While some fixed ropes are in place, it’s unclear how much of the route they cover. Unsupported means he cannot rely on supplies stashed in higher camps—he’ll carry everything he needs.
Rather than stay at Everest Base Camp (5,350m) until now, Andrews has been training by running and climbing throughout the Khumbu Valley and resting in lodges. On Monday, he received blessings from the lamas at Tengboche monastery.
Joining him on the trek to Base Camp is his usual partner, Chris Fisher, who flew in from Kathmandu. Fisher will manage communications while Andrews makes his high-risk, high-speed push.
LIVE UPDATES
03:32 PM (GMT+1)
Tyler started his ascent around 8:30PM local Nepal time.
06:03 PM (GMT+1)
2h 25m
Tyler has made it to Camp 1. GPS signal updates are slow.
07:20 PM (GMT+1)
3h 42m
Ty is at 6300m, about an hour to the bergschrund at the base of the Lhotse Face.
08:05 PM (GMT+1)
4h 27m
The route between Camp 2 and Camp 4 is more direct this season and will bypass Camp 3.
10:03 PM (GMT+1)
6h 25m
He’s at 6700m. Potential wind slab concern on the Lhotse face. He will make a decision on continuing after going up a bit higher.
11:00 PM (GMT+1)
7h 22m
Ty has passed 7000m and is currently more confident in the route. The snow is in better condition and he’s moving well.
01:30 AM (GMT+1)
9h 52m
Tyler has decided to call it for today and is heading back down. Slower pace than planned, snow has gotten worse and harder to break through solo. He’s on his way down to Camp 2. Stay tuned.
His journey can also be tracked here
