The fifth time’s a appeal for American mountaineer and path runner Tyler Andrews of the U.S., who has set a brand new quickest recognized time (FKT) for ascending Mount Everest with supplemental oxygen in a reported time of 9 hours and 55 minutes, on Could 27 and 28, 2026.
This effort bests the earlier quickest pace ascent set by Lakpa Gelu Sherpa in 2003 of 10 hours and 56 minutes by a large 61 minutes.
Andrews has been coaching at and round Mount Everest for a number of years, made one prior unsuccessful pace try just a few days in the past and three makes an attempt within the spring of 2025. In these prior makes an attempt, myriad elements have stopped him, together with climate, inadequate bottled oxygen, and equipment issues. Andrews made this profitable try close to the shut of the mountain’s spring climbing season.
In Could of 2026, Tyler Andrews set a brand new quickest recognized time for ascending Mount Everest utilizing supplemental oxygen. On this picture, Andrews trains within the Himalayas in 2025. All pictures courtesy of Tyler Andrews.
Everest, which stands at 8,848 meters (29,031 toes) tall, has a comparatively quick climbing window ruled by when the “Ice Medical doctors” — native climbing Sherpas who set the route throughout the treacherous Khumbu Icefall — first arrange the route on the entrance finish of the season, and when the monsoon season arrives with an excessive amount of snow for climbing.
The route extends from Everest Base Camp, positioned at 5,364 meters (17,598 toes) altitude, by means of the Khumbu Icefall, previous Camps 1 by means of 4, and onto the South Col earlier than climbing up onto the huge ridgeline extending to the summit. All instructed, the route is one thing within the neighborhood of 13.5 kilometers (8.4 miles) lengthy from base camp to the summit, with round 3,500 meters (11,500 toes) of climbing by means of mountaineering terrain of all types.
Remarkably, following his first try of this climbing season just a few days in the past, he was again at it, starting on Wednesday, Could 27, at 7:11 p.m. native time, simply as darkness set in.
His map tracker labored intermittently, so it was useful to see reviews within the updates part of his monitoring web site, uploaded manually by his group infrequently. He reportedly made it by means of the Khumbu Icefall and into Camp 1 in 2:08 elapsed, and to Camp 2 (about 6,750 meters/22,145 toes) at 3:16 elapsed. Andrews handed Camp 3 (7,300 meters/24,000 toes) at 4:47 elapsed, and reportedly arrived to Camp 4 (7,920 meters/26,000 toes) at 6:46 elapsed. The ultimate report earlier than the highest was from the decrease south summit, which got here in at 9:25 elapsed. It appeared that, barring main catastrophe and with loads of padding on the file, success was solely a brief climb away.
At 5:06 a.m. native time on Thursday, Could 28, after an evening of climbing, his group reported that he had reached the summit. This resets the file at 9 hours and 55 minutes. His group has indicated on social media that they’ll affirm this time as soon as Andrews is off the mountain.
Tyler Andrews pictured coaching on the mountain in 2025.
Andrews has seen success in a wide range of disciplines, together with operating and high-altitude mountaineering. In 2021, he gained the Javelina 100k, and that very same 12 months, he positioned fifteenth on the Leadville 100 Mile. Earlier, in 2016, he positioned second on the IAU 50k World Championships, and he was topped the USATF 50-mile nationwide champion when he gained the Tussey Mountainback 50 Mile in 2019. In recent times, he’s centered extra on huge mountain efforts, and he at present holds the FKT for the round-trip climbs of 8,163-meter (26,781 toes) Manaslu and 6,812-meter (22,349 toes) Ama Dablam in Nepal. In 2023, he set FKTs on Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 meters/19,341 toes) in Tanzania and Aconcagua (6,961 meters/22,837 toes) in Argentina.
At this level, it’s unclear at what level on the mountain Andrews started utilizing bottled oxygen on this summit bid. Our sister web site, ExplorersWeb, reported earlier immediately that Andrews had deliberate to begin utilizing oxygen at Camp 2. For extra info, go to ExplorersWeb, which has been masking the Everest climbing season and these pace makes an attempt in way more element.
It’s additionally unclear if he’ll plan to return downhill expediently. We imagine there’s at present no round-trip oxygen-assisted pace file.
This story is evolving, and we’ll replace it as wanted.
Tyler Andrews throughout one among his many coaching and acclimatization climbs on Mount Everest.
