2026 Everest Trends with Steve House, Alan Arnette, and Martin Zohr

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.