Everest’s busiest spring ever: 494 permits and 274 summits in a single day
Spring 2026 broke records on the world's highest mountain, even after the climbing fee rose to $15,000. Here is what happened and what may change next.
A higher price tag did nothing to cool the world’s appetite for Everest. Spring 2026 was the busiest climbing season the mountain has ever seen.
The records
- 494 Everest permits were issued, beating the old record of 458.
- By 24 May, climbers had made 879 summits.
- On 20 May, a record 274 people reached the top from Nepal’s side in a single day.
- Across all peaks this spring, royalty income passed Rs 1 billion for the first time. By late April, 944 climbers had permits for 30 different mountains.
A more expensive mountain
From 1 September 2025, the spring permit for foreign climbers on the normal south route rose to $15,000, up from $11,000. Autumn permits now cost $7,500, and winter and monsoon permits $3,750. Nepali climbers pay Rs 150,000 in spring. Permits are also valid for 55 days instead of 75, climbers must bring their human waste back down to base camp, and insurance for high-altitude workers has gone up to Rs 2 million.
What might change next
A new tourism bill passed by the upper house in February 2026 would require climbers to have summited a 7,000-metre peak in Nepal before getting an Everest permit, and would make the $4,000 garbage deposit non-refundable. In July, lawmakers in the lower house filed 263 amendments, some asking for even tougher rules. It is not law yet, and the tourism ministry hopes to apply it from spring 2027.
Behind every summit
Every one of those records rests on the skill of Nepali guides, Sherpa climbers, cooks and porters. Bigger seasons mean more income for mountain families, but also longer queues and more pressure on a fragile environment. The debate about how many people one mountain can safely hold is not going away.
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