How long does it take to climb Everest?

About two months from home and back, and six to eight weeks on the mountain itself. Most of that time is acclimatization: climbers spend four to five weeks moving up and down between base camp and the higher camps before their body can survive a summit attempt. The summit push itself takes four to six days from base camp, and summit day, from the last camp to the top and back, takes 10 to 18 hours.

Where the weeks go

On the Nepal side the expedition starts in Kathmandu with a flight to Lukla and a trek of about a week up the Khumbu valley to base camp at 5,364 m17,598 ft. Then come the rotations: climbs to Camp 1, Camp 2 and Camp 3, each followed by a return to base camp to recover.

Once the body has adapted and the weather forecast shows a window, the team climbs back up over four or five days and goes for the top from the South Col. The descent to base camp takes two days, and the walk out or a helicopter brings you back to Kathmandu. Most expeditions leave Kathmandu in late March or early April to summit in the second half of May.

Why it cannot be done faster

The body adapts to altitude slowly, and above about 7,500 m24,606 ft it stops adapting altogether, so the only safe way up is to acclimatize lower down first. Nepal's permit is valid for 55 days since 1 September 2025, which caps how long an expedition can spend on the mountain. Shorter expeditions exist, using weeks of sleeping in a hypoxic tent at home before departure, but they shift the acclimatization rather than skip it.

The fastest climb

On 28 May 2026 Tyler Andrews of the United States went from base camp to the summit in 9 hours 55 minutes, with oxygen, beating the 10 hours 56 minutes Lakpa Gelu Sherpa set in 2003. That is a record for a fully acclimatized athlete, not a guide to what a climber should plan. What is the fastest climb of Everest? has the other records.

The month-by-month plan, the rotations and what to train for are in our Everest guide: Planning your trip, and the route camp by camp from Nepal or Tibet.