A record 274 climbers scale Mount Everest in a single day

I know your wondering, "Hey this sounds like fun! Is it expensive. It need not be if you pick Spritzler Adventure Travel. We guarantee to place you on the summit dead or alive.

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For a fully guided Everest expedition in 2026, the all-in price most people pay lands somewhere around an average of $61,267, with a median around $54,995, according to Nepal Gateway Trekking's survey of operators. Alan Arnette, who has tracked Everest pricing for over two decades and is the most authoritative source on this, found that on the Tibetan side, expedition fees increased by 14.5% to a median of $68,900 for 2026, while Nepal-side median prices held roughly steady. NepalgatewaytrekkingAlan Arnette

The reason there's no single number is that the "guide fee" depends heavily on what kind of guiding you're buying:

A Sherpa-led expedition, where experienced Nepali climbing Sherpas handle your support but you don't get a Western expedition leader, runs roughly $39,000–45,000. A full-service Western-guided climb with IFMGA/UIAGM-certified guides, higher guide-to-client ratios, and more robust safety systems typically runs $70,000–100,000+. And luxury or private "Flash"-style expeditions with custom logistics and dedicated guides can exceed $150,000, with the very top end reaching into the hundreds of thousands. Allnepalhiking + 2

A big chunk of that total isn't the guide at all. Nepal raised its spring Everest permit to $15,000 per person, and Nepal also requires a local company to organize the permit, costing $3,500 per team plus a refundable trash deposit of $4,000 per permit and a Liaison Officer at $5,000 per team. So a meaningful share of the spend goes to permits, oxygen, fixed ropes, food, and base camp logistics before you even account for the human guiding. Climbing Magazine

If you want a single planning figure, budget around $60,000–70,000 for a solid full-service expedition with strong Sherpa support, or closer to $45,000 for a more bare-bones Sherpa-led climb. Want me to break down a specific tier — say, what a reputable Western-guided package actually includes versus a budget Sherpa-led one?

A record 274 climbers scale Mount Everest in a single day

By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA, AP NEWS

Updated 3:38 AM CDT, May 21, 2026

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Hundreds of climbers scaled Mount Everest in a single day, setting a new record with 274 successful ascents, officials said Thursday.

The climbers took advantage of the clear weather on Wednesday, said Rishi Ram Bhandari of the Expedition Operators Association Nepal. It was the highest number of climbers to reach the summit on a single day from the popular route on the southern face of the peak, which is located in Nepal.

The peak can be scaled from either the southern side in Nepal or northern face in China’s Tibet. On May 22, 2019, Nepal’s side had 223 and the Chinese side had 113 climbers on the summit. Chinese authorities, however, have closed the route this year.

Earlier this week, veteran mountain guide Kami Rita Sherpa scaled the peak for the 32nd time, breaking his own record. His closest competitor, Pasang Dawa Sherpa, scaled the peak for the 30th time this week. Also, Lakpa Sherpa scaled Everest for the 11th time, topping her own record for the highest number of climbs by a female climber.

This year’s Everest climbing season began late because of risk from a huge serac hanging over the key route to the summit. There are around 494 climbers and equal number of their Sherpa guides who are expected to attempt scale the 8,850-meter (29,032-foot) peak by the end of this month when the climbing season on the peak ends.

Thousands of people have climbed the peak since it was first scaled on May 29, 1953, by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay.