Show Notes
In this Everest 2026 season recap, Steve House talks with Alan Arnette (Summit Coach) and Uphill Athlete coach Martin Zohr about a record-breaking year on the mountain: roughly 1,008 South Col summits (up from 891 in 2019), nearly 500 Nepal permits issued, nine straight days of delays from a massive leaning serac in the Khumbu Icefall, and a brief government ban on drone use that was reversed within days. They cover five climbing deaths (well below historical averages), the shift toward "flash" expeditions using higher-flow supplemental oxygen and pre-acclimatization on trekking peaks instead of traditional rotations, the stalled 7,000-meter prerequisite bill in Nepal's parliament, drones and helicopters replacing some Sherpa load-carrying, the unclear status of xenon use by climbers, Bartek Ziemkiewicz's no-oxygen ski descents of both Everest and Lhotse, and Nepal's roughly $8.5 million in permit revenue that largely bypasses local communities. The conversation closes with training advice — emphasizing a year or more of structured aerobic-first preparation, VAM tracking, and a mountaineering apprenticeship through progressively higher peaks — plus predictions for the 2027 season, including possible Tibet-side reopening.
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