KATHMANDU: The Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has issued the first climbing permit of the spring 2026 season for Mount Everest, formally opening the Himalayan climbing season on the world's highest peak.

The permit issued today, grants a 75-day permission to TAG-1 (Everest/Lhotse) Spring 2026, an expedition organised by Tag Nepal Treks & Expedition Pvt. Ltd. 

The team is scheduled to depart Kathmandu on April 1 and will follow the Everest Normal Route, approaching via the classic Lukla–Namche–Khumjung–Dingboche–Lobuche–Base Camp caravan route.

DoT officials handed over the permit at a ceremony and conveyed best wishes to the team for a safe and successful climb.

The team

The expedition is led by 30-year-old American climber Michael Tyler Bennett and comprises nine members drawn from the United States, Ireland, and Canada. The full team includes Andrew Nolan (47, Ireland), Andrew Paul Dawson (34, Canada), Erik Ryan Christensen (36, USA), Jan Kanclirz (48, USA), Nicole Kissane Santiago (41, USA), Diarmuid Padraig Morrissey (61, Ireland), Rahim Karim Charania (43, USA), and Walter Watts Kelleher II (39, USA).

Tendi Sherpa, Managing Director of TAG Nepal, confirmed that his agency had secured the season's first Everest permit.

Route preparation underway

On the mountain, preparations are already in progress. Tshering Sherpa, Chief Executive Officer at Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, said that a team of icefall doctors assigned to open a climbing route up to Camp II from the Base Camp are now busy fixing ropes and ladders in the icefall section and above. “Strong wind and heavy snowfall have been delaying progress,” Sherpa  informed.

Above Camp II, the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal (EOAN) has already selected a dedicated team to fix the summit route on both Everest and Lhotse, informed EOAN General Secretary Rishi Ram Bhandari, adding that expedition operators have set up base camp and transported the necessary logistics for the season's climbing operations.