Everest 2025 – Irish Season Outlook
The Everest 2025 Spring season is underway with teams beginning their journey towards Everest Base Camp.
According to the Himalayan Database, by the start of the 2025 Spring season Everest had been climbed 12,884 times since the first ascent by Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. The route-to-summit split is 9156 South (69% via Nepal) and 3728 North (31% via Tibet). The gender split is 93% Male and 7% Female. The average age of summiteers is 35 years while the average age of Irish summiteers is 42 years. Of the 12,884 summits to date, just 1% were achieved without supplementary oxygen with almost 99% of those who reached the summit using bottled oxygen.
From an Irish climber perspective (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland), Everest has been climbed 82 times by 64 Irish climbers (9 women, 55 men), with a total of 153 Irish attempts to date by 105 different climbers. A full list of all Irish climbers who have successful reached the summit and those who attempted Everest over the years can be found here.
This season I am currently aware of two Irish climbers attempting Everest.
– Shane Boyd from Fermanagh
– Robert Smith from Tyrone
You may have read about the classic rivalries between British, Swiss and Italian teams to climb Mt. Everest in the past, but nothing will have prepared you for the intense rivalry that exists between Fermanagh and Tyrone!!!
Statistically you should expect to find a handful of Irish climbers attempting Everest each Spring, so we will likely find more names as the season reveals itself further. If you are aware of other Irish climbers attempting Everest this season, please let us know.
Shane Boyd (42) is originally from Enniskillen in Co. Fermanagh, now living in NSW, Australia. He is climbing Everest with a local Nepal company called Expedition High Mountain Treks (EHMT). The team flew by helicopter from Kathmandu to Lukla on 9th April and began their journey towards EBC with a trek from Lukla to Phakding on 10th April. They are likely in Namche Bazar by now. Shane’s previous high-altitude experience includes Aconcagua, Mera Peak, Lobuche East & Kilimanjaro summits in recent years along with attempts on Ama Dablam and Denali (team got stuck at Camp 2 on Denali due to weather and had to abandon).
Website for EHMT:
www.expeditionshighmountain.com
Typical Cost: $49,000 USD
Robert Kelso Smith (54) 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 chasing his 9th summit of Everest and 14th summit of an 8000m peak having previously climbed Everest 8 times, K2 twice and summitted Lhotse, Manaslu and Cho Oyu. His 2025 Everest Expedition Team has four international clients (3 Everest and 1 Everest-Lhotse). The team flew by helicopter from Kathmandu to Phakding today (11th April) to begin their journey and are currently at Namche Bazar.
Website for Adventure Consultants:
www.adventureconsultants.com
Typical Cost: $83,000 USD
Other Activity
Makalu (8485m)
James McManus from Tipperary is attempting to climb Makalu (5th tallest mountain in the world) without supplementary oxygen. He flies to Nepal next week and is attempting to summit within 30 days of arrival rather than the typical 45-day itinerary. His plan is to limit the time on the peak to lessen weight loss and cumulative fatigue. It is unclear which Expedition Company he will be with (all clients have to be with an expedition team and Sherpa for these climbs), but he previously climbed within the Seven Summits Treks (SST) support structure during his Everest expeditions, so I would expect similar this time. James is Director of the adventure company Earths Edge and has made two previous attempts on Everest without supplementary oxygen. His recent preparation for this expedition included Aconcagua in February 2025 and Himlung in Nepal last October. No Irish climber has ever reached the summit of Makalu. Five have attempted including Jonathan ‘Duke’ Ruane in 2023, Robert Kelso Smith in 2010, Calvin Torrans in 1989 and Terry Mooney in 1984 & 1988.
Other Irish Activity:
Away from the extreme altitude, a number of Irish adventure companies are in Nepal at the moment: Ian Taylor Trekking are on the trail to Everest Base Camp and planning treks around Annapurna and Mera. The company is owned by Ian Taylor from Wicklow who has previously climbed Everest and is based in Kansas. Jason Black Mountaineering are taking on Everest Base Camp, Island Peak and Ama Dablam this Spring. The company is owned by Jason Black from Donegal who has climbed two of the worlds 8000m peaks (Everest & K2). Mullingar Hiking Club are on the trail to Everest Base Camp and planning to climb Island Peak. Earths Edge are also in Nepal with an Irish group trekking to Everest Base Camp. Finally, Pat Falvey Worldwide Adventure (owned by Pat Falvey who has climbed Everest twice, completed the Seven Summits twice and climbed Cho Oyu without supplementary oxygen) are en-route to Nepal to take an Irish group to Everest Base Camp.
Incidentally, we have recently added a list of past Irish summits & attempts on Ama Dablam here.
The full list of all Irish climbs and attempts on the fourteen 8000m peaks can be found here.
Best of luck to everyone. Stay safe and post honestly, warts and all!
Everest – Latest Insights
The author: Paul Devaney is a native of Longford, is co-founder of the Irish Seven Summits project and an aerospace freelancer based in London. Paul 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 lives in London with his wife Rima and twin daughters, and has been documenting Irish climbers on Everest & 8000m peaks since 2014.