Everest 2026 – The Irish Update
The Everest 2026 Spring season is well underway with teams converging on Base Camp.
According to the Himalayan Database, Everest has been climbed 13,737 times since the first ascent by Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. The summit split is 9887 South (72% via Nepal) and 3850 North (28% via Tibet). Of the 13,737 summits to date, 48% were clients while 52% were guides. just 1.2% of summits were achieved without supplementary oxygen with 98.8% of those who reached the summit using bottled oxygen. The success rate for those attempting without oxygen is less than 5%. Last season saw 851 summits of Everest (731 via Nepal, 120 via Tibet) with 5 fatalities. This season is projected to break all records for permits and summits on the South side, helped by the fact that the Chinese have closed the North (Tibet) side to foreign climbers.
From an Irish perspective (North & South), Everest has been climbed 84 times by 65 Irish climbers (9 women, 56 men), with a total of 156 Irish attempts to date by 107 different climbers. A full list of all Irish climbers who climbed or attempted Everest can be found here. Climbing has a long and proud tradition as a cross-community activity in Ireland, and so we honour that tradition by including all climbs from North and South in our data and insights.
There are 10 Irish climbers attempting Everest this Spring, across five different expedition teams:
– Robert Smith (Tyrone)
– Andy Nolan (Cork)
– Philip Collins (Limerick)
– Diarmuid Morrissey (Westmeath)
– Sarah Armstrong (Armagh)
– Jason Black (Donegal)
– Adam Sweeney (Waterford)
– Padraig O’Hora (Mayo)
– Eanna McGowan (Dublin)
– Frank McCarthy (Kerry)
This is the largest number of Irish attempting Everest in a single season since 2007. Click below to view a brief bio on each of the 10 Irish climbers attempting Everest this Spring.
There are 10 Irish climbers attempting Everest this Spring, spread across five different expedition teams. Their ages range from 22 to 60, they hail from 10 different counties across the island of Ireland and they include climbers attempting to become Ireland’s youngest and Ireland’s oldest to summit Everest and one attempting to complete a 10th summit of Everest.
Robert Kelso Smith (55) is originally from just outside Omagh in Co. Tyrone, now living in Fort William, Scotland. He is the Expedition Leader for Adventure Consultants on Everest this season and so is working on the mountain. Rob is attempting to complete his 10th summit of Everest and 15th summit of an 8000m peak having previously climbed Everest 9 times, K2 twice and summitted Lhotse, Manaslu and Cho Oyu. In total, Robert has climbed five of the fourteen 8000m peaks – the most of any Irish climber, and has significant climbing and guiding experience including 8000m peaks, Snow Leopards and extensive Antarctic climbing and polar expeditions to name but a few. His resume also includes 20 summits of Mt. Vinson, as well as climbs of Sidley (x2), Sporli (1st ascent), Shinn (5x), Tyree, Sublime Peak (x2), Branscomb Peak and other smaller peaks in Antarctica. He has also completed 7 ‘Last Degree’ expeditions to the South Pole!
Expedition Website:
www.adventureconsultants.com
Expedition Cost: $83k USD
Andy Nolan (46) is from Charleville in Co. Cork, now living in Limerick. He is an adjunct lecturer and PhD student at University of Limerick. He is climbing Everest with the US-based ‘Climbing the Seven Summits’ (CTSS) company, and is part of their Western Guided team. Andy has been climbing since 2018 and is attempting to complete the Seven Summits (Bass list). Everest will hopefully be his seventh and final summit in the series, having successfully climbed Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Aconcagua, Denali, Kosciuszko and Vinson. Throughout his Seven Summits, Andy has raised over €100,000 for charities including the Children’s Grief Centre, Irish Cancer Society and LauraLynn Children’s Hospice. For Everest, Andy is raising funds for Childrens Grief Centre in Limerick, with 100% of all funds raised going to the charity.
Expedition Website:
www.climbingthesevensummits.com
Fundraising Link:
idonate Link
Expedition Cost: $75k USD
Philip Collins (38) is from Abbeyfeale in Co. Limerick, and now living in Québec Canada where he works as an electronic engineer. He is climbing Everest with the US-based ‘Climbing the Seven Summits’ (CTSS) company, and is part of their Western Guided team. Philip has been climbing since 2016 and is attempting to complete the Seven Summits (Bass list). Everest will hopefully be his sixth summit in the series, having successfully climbed Kilimanjaro (2016), Elbrus (2017), Kosciuszko (2019), Denali (2022) and Aconcagua (2024). Philip was a client of Pat Falvey’s during the climbs of Kilimanjaro, Elbrus and Aconcagua, while the Denali expedition (2022) was via Alpine Ascents International. Phillip’s mentor for his Everest expedition is Pat Falvey who has been involved in his climbs since the start of his Seven Summits journey.
Expedition Website:
www.climbingthesevensummits.com
Expedition Cost: $75k USD
Diarmuid Morrissey (60) is from Athlone in Co. Westmeath, and divides his time between Athlone and Portugal. He is climbing Everest with the US-based ‘Climbing the Seven Summits’ (CTSS) company, and is part of their 1-1 Private Western Guided team. Former owner of Direct Medical in Athlone, he sold the company in 2017. He has a long association with Buccaneers RFC in Athlone. This is his third attempt at Everest having previously attempted it with Mountain Trip in 2021 (cancelled part-way due to Covid outbreak) and Furtenbach Adventures in 2022 (got sick at Camp 2). He is attempting to complete the Seven Summits (Bass list), and Everest would be his 7th and final summit of the series. He has climbed Kilimanjaro four times, Aconcagua twice, Elbrus, Kosciuszko, Vinson, Denali, Island Peak & Mera Peak. If successful this Spring, he would become the oldest Irish person and first Westmeath native to summit Everest.
Expedition Website:
www.climbingthesevensummits.com
Expedition Cost: $130k USD
Sarah Armstrong (31) is from Crossmaglen in Co. Armagh. She is climbing Everest with the UK-Nepal company ‘AGA Adventures’. Sarah owns and runs a dental practice in Newry and a gym in Crossmaglen. She played Gaelic Football and Camogie with Crossmaglen Rangers and played Netball for Newry, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland, and captained the Irish team to the Youth World Cup. Sarah has been climbing since 2023 and is attempting to complete the Seven Summits (Messner List). So far she has climbed Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua and Carstensz Pyramid as well as completing climbs of Mt. Blanc, Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kazbek. She is also aiming to become the youngest Irish woman to complete the Seven Summits. Sarah is fundraising for the Southern Area Hospice in Newry, with 100% of funds going to the charity.
A brief note on AGA Adventures since that name will be new to many. It was formed in early 2023 by Adriana Brownlee and Gelje Sherpa. Adriana (25) is the youngest woman to climb K2 and youngest woman and first British woman to climb all 14 of the 8000m peaks. Her co-founder Gelje Sherpa has climbed all fourteen 8000m peaks and is the youngest person to summit K2 in Winter. This is AGA’s second season on Everest. Last season AGA had a single high profile client Mitch Hutchcraft, who swam the English Channel, cycled across Europe to India, then ran to Kathmandu, and hiked from there to Everest Basecamp to begin his climb, and then climbed Everest. It is the longest recorded ascent of Everest from sea to summit. Adriana’s father Tony is from Jordanstown, around 60 miles from Sarah’s home of Crossmaglen.
Expedition Website:
www.agaadventuresltd.com
Fundraising Link:
GoFundMe Link
Expedition Cost: No Data
Jason Black (55) is from Letterkenny in Co. Donegal. He owns and operates ‘Black Mountaineering’ and will be guiding three Irish clients (Adam, Padraig & Eanna) on Everest this Spring. Jason reached the summit of Everest via the North (Tibet) route in 2013, and in 2018 became only the third Irish person to summit K2, reaching the top shortly after Noel Hanna (Down) and shortly before Robert Smith (Tyrone) to make it an Ulster treble on one of the worlds most notorious mountains, climbing with Madison Mountaineering. In 2015 he climbed Kilimanjaro twice within 24 hours and in 2019 he took part in the ‘World’s toughest adventure race’ in Fiji. As well as Everest and K2, Jason has also climbed Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro & Elbrus and via his company he leads treks to Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, Toubkal, Island Peak, Ama Dablam and EBC, among others.
Black Mountaineering began offering trekking trips in 2022, initially to EBC and then branching out to Kilimanjaro, Mera Peak, Island Peak, Ama Dablam, Toubkal and Aconcagua. This is their 1st season on Everest and Jason’s first season on the South side (his climb in 2013 was on North side). Black Mountaineering utilises 8k Expeditions in Nepal who provide permits, camp infrastructure, food, group equipment, transport and Sherpa support, while Jason and his team are then responsible for decision-making on the route. This is similar to the structure used by Noel Hanna from Co. Down when he guided his Irish clients within the SST setup back in 2019.
Expedition Website:
www.blackmountaineering.com
Expedition Cost: €55k (~$64k USD)
Adam Sweeney (22) is from Dunmore East in Co. Waterford. He is a student and has deferred college for six months to prepare for Everest and his attempt to become the youngest Irish person to and first from Waterford to climb Everest. In 2020 he cycled around the coast of Ireland while also climbing the highest mountain in each county that he visited, climbing a total of 13,147 meters and cycling 1,689 km in the process. In 2024 Adam took on his first big peak, reaching the summit of Aconcagua in February 2024 with Earths Edge, and later that year he successfully climbed Island Peak and Ama Dablam with Black Mountaineering. He is a client within the Black Mountaineering team on Everest this Spring and has previously stated in interviews that he will be climbing with Pemba Sherpa who was his assigned Sherpa on Ama Dablam in 2024, and it would be his first 8000m peak attempt too. Adam has a personal gofundme which has raised over €5000 towards his expedition costs.
Personal Website:
www.irishadventurer.com
Expedition Cost: €55k (~$64k USD)
Padraig O’Hora (33) is from Ballina in Co. Mayo where he works as a liaison officer with Mayo Mental Health Association. He is a former Mayo inter-county footballer and has won Connacht SFC titles in 2020 and 2021 and National Football League title in 2023 with his native county. He retired from inter-county football in 2024 and began hiking and climbing later that year, reaching his first major summit in January 2025 on Aconcagua and climbing Gran Paradiso and Mt. Blanc later in 2025. He is a client within the Black Mountaineering team on Everest this Spring and has stated in recent interviews that he will be raising funds for Mayo Mental Health Association during the Everest climb – whenever there is a link to that fundraising, I will post it. He does have a personal idonate page which has raised almost €8000 towards his own expedition costs.
Personal Website:
www.padraigohora.com
Expedition Cost: €55k (~$64k USD)
Eanna McGowan is from Dublin, and currently lives in Switzerland. He works in sales and marketing for Johnson & Johnson in Zurich where he has lived since 2024. Eanna was due to climb Everest via the North side with Furtenbach Adventures, but in January 2026 he announced that his plans had changed following news that the Chinese authorities were set to close the North side to foreigners this season, and that he had switched to the South side and switched to the Black Mountaineering team. His past climbs include Kilimanjaro, Matterhorn, Aconcagua, Denali (attempted) and Mt. Blanc (attempted), and he has also completed the Marathon De Sables, Kerry Way Ultra and Ironman events. He is a client within the Black Mountaineering team on Everest this Spring, is fundraising for ISPCC and has set up a gofundme which has raised over €3000 to date with funds split 50/50 between the charity and his own expedition costs.
Personal Website:
www.eannaseverestjourney.com
Fundraising Link:
GoFundMe Link
Expedition Cost: €55k (~$64k USD)
Frank McCarthy is from Kerry, and currently lives in Dubai. He works as a senior commercial operator turned strategic advisor, based in Dubai and working across the Middle East. He is attempting to complete the Seven Summits and has previously climbed Kilimanjaro (2013), Elbrus (2021), Aconcagua (2023) and Carstensz Pyramid (2026), along with an attempt on Denali in 2025. He has also competed in endurance events including Ironman 70.3. Frank will be attempting to climb Everest with the US based Madison Mountaineering expedition team.
Expedition Website:
www.madisonmountaineering.com
Expedition Cost: $80k
Everest Status (20th April):
The big news is that the icefall between Base Camp (5364m) and Camp 1 (6065m) remains closed due to a “giant, unstable serac above the route, posing an unacceptable risk to workers and climbers”. The icefall doctors – a team of Sherpa who specialise in determining a route through the icefall each season – are assessing the situation and maximum caution is being applied to avoid a disaster similar to that which occurred in 2014 when 16 high altitude workers were killed when a serac collapsed as they were moving between EBC and Camp 1 to prepare the camps for clients. We were on Everest that year and it was a period we will not soon forget, and you don’t want repeated. It remains to be seen whether they will route everyone away from the danger which might involve a longer journey to Camp 1, or whether they will wait to see if the serac collapses. They don’t have much time to wait though. Teams need to start moving through the icefall this weekend to avoid their schedule being impacted.
The goal of most teams is to arrive at EBC broadly in the period from 18th to 22nd April with sufficient adaptation work done to be fully adapted to the altitude demands at Camp 1 (~6100m). Most will include a climb of Island Peak or Lobuche East on the way to EBC to enable them to be fully adapted for that first push up the mountain to Camp 1.
This week is about rest and preparation for the first push or ‘rotation’ up Everest which normally begins this weekend, taking climbers through the icefall from EBC to Camp 1. Some teams will push on to Camp 2 and all will then return to EBC and bank that adaptation. There is a break of a number of days between rotations for rest and recovery, and each rotation pushes you further up the mountain until you have adapted to and slept at Camp 3 (on supplementary oxygen) on the final rotation, before returning to EBC to rest and prepare for the summit window which tends to occur from 15th to 25th May.
Robert Smith: The Adventure Consultants team which Rob leads began their expedition on 9th April when they landed in Lukla. During their trek to Everest Base Camp they climbed Chhukhung Ri (5550m). From there they headed to Lobuche via the Kongma La (or Kongma Pass) and reached Everest Base Camp on 18th April. They held their Puja ceremony at EBC on 19th April and spent the 20th April at skills training in the ice pinnacles at the foot of the icefall. Robert and the team will head off to Lobuche on 21st April to climb Lobuche East (6119m) as part of their adaptation before returning to Everest Base Camp later in the week to focus on their first rotation up the mountain.
Andy Nolan, Philip Collins, Diarmuid Morrissey: The CTSS team which includes Andy, Philip and Diarmuid have been on the go since 1st April when they landed by helicopter in Lukla to begin their expedition. The team trekked thru the Khumbu valley at a nice steady pace to maximise adaptation, and climbed Lobuche East (6119m) on 14th April. It was then on to Everest Base Camp. The team used 16th April to do some technical training and preparation at EBC, followed by additional technical training on 17th April. They held their Puja ceremony on 19th April and went into the base of the icefall on 20th April for a third day of technical training and preparation. They are now acclimitised and ready to head off on their first rotation whenever the Icefall Doctors open the route.
Sarah Armstrong: The AGA Adventures team landed in Lukla on 8th April to begin the trek up the Khumbu valley towards Everest Base Camp. The team reached EBC on 14th April and then headed over to Lobuche to summit Lobuche East (6119m), reaching the top on 16th April. It was then back to Everest Base Camp via helicopter to rest and prepare for the task ahead. Sarah and the team are now acclimitised and ready to head off on their first rotation whenever the Icefall Doctors open the route.
Jason Black, Adam Sweeney, Padraig O’Hora, Eanna McGowan: The team landed in Lukla on 3rd April to begin their trek up the Khumbu valley to Everest Base Camp. Their route was Lukla – Phakding – Namche – Tengboche – Dingboche – Loboche – EBC. The team arrived at EBC on 10th April, which is surprisingly early. Most teams typically arrive a week later, however Jason’s itinerary did not include any 6000m adaptation climb prior to EBC, which explains the early arrival (some include it, some do not). A couple of days after arriving into EBC the team was forced to drop back down to Dingboche when Padraig O’Hora developed altitude sickness and reported low oxygen saturation (in 40’s). A couple of days in Dingboche had him recovered and the team returned via helicopter to Base Camp. Meanwhile Jason had departed for Ama Dablam with other clients to prepare for their summit attempt. As they began their summit push on Ama Dablam with their 8K Expedition Sherpa team, Jason then took a helicopter back to EBC to reunite with the now returned Everest team on 15th April. On 17th April the team had a technical training day at EBC. News of the continued closure of the icefall due to a dangerous hanging serac on the route, informed a change of plan with the team heading to Lobuche to summit Lobuche East (6119m) on 20th April. They will now return to EBC to rest and prepare for their first rotation up the mountain once the icefall opens. The enforced addition of Lobuche East has probably been a blessing in disguise. It is rarely advisable to do all your adaptation on Everest due to the dangers that exist in crossing the icefall too many times.
Frank McCarthy: The Madison Mountaineering team, including Kerryman Frank McCarthy, arrived into Lukla on 14th April, and so are quite a bit behind most other teams in starting their Everest expedition, but will be on a faster ascent plan than many other teams. They should arrive in Everest Base Camp by 22nd April, and will then head to Lobuche to climb Lobuche East as part of their adaptation. Their goal is to complete one big rotation before then attempting their summit push next month. Their sole rotation at the start of May will see them ascend to sleep at Camp 1, extra rest day at Camp 1, ascend to sleep at Camp 2, extra rest day at Camp 2, ascend to touch Camp 3 and back to sleep at Camp 2 and then descend to EBC to wait for the summit push in mid May. Frank is fresh from Papua New Guinea where he climbed Carstensz Pyramid in mid March with Madison Mountaineering.
Lhotse Status (20th April):
Cal McDonagh (26) from Co. Louth is attempting to climb Lhotse (8516m) with Dan Mazur’s Summit Climb expedition team. He is now at Everest Base Camp where both the Summit Club Lhotse and Everest teams are currently located, waiting on the route above them to open so that they can plan their rotations up the mountain.
James McManus (43) from Tipperary is attempting to climb Lhotse (8516m) without supplementary oxygen, and would become the first Irish to do so. He is currently in the first few days of his trek through the Khumbu valley towards Everest Base Camp. It is not clear yet which expedition company James is using for logistics/camps/food. In previous years he has used Seven Summit Treks.
Everest – Latest Insights
The author: Paul Devaney is a native of Longford, is co-founder of the Irish Seven Summits project and is an aerospace professional. He is an amateur mountaineer and has completed six of the Seven Summits and attempted Everest in 2014 and 2015. In both seasons his expedition was halted due to major incidents (Avalanche in 2014, Earthquake in 2015). Paul has climbed and trained in the Alps and completed climbs from Alaska to Antarctica and from Jordan to Ecuador. He currently lives in London with his wife Rima and twin daughters, and has been documenting Irish climbers on Everest & 8000m peaks since 2014.