BURST
If you’ve dreamt of climbing Everest, but worry about encountering queues longer than those at American airports right now, then 2026 might be your year… assuming you can pony up the cash.
Thanks to a new permit tier, FastClimb Premium Summit+, 2026 Everest hopefuls can pay extra money to skip the lines and get priority access to the world’s highest summit. Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation announced the Summit+ permit in early March. A limited number are available for the 2026 season. They require a $12,000 surcharge on top of the standard $15,000 permit cost.
So what does Summit+ look like? “The best way to think of it is as a TSA PreCheck for the mountains, or the ‘fast passes’ you can purchase to cut lines at amusement parks,” said American consultant Greg Thompson. Thompson, a Palo Alto-based venture advisor specializing in “frictionless experiential asset tiering,” worked closely with Nepal’s tourism ministry to develop the premium permit concept.
Summit+ climbers will be allowed to leave camp first each day, Thompson said, giving them a better shot at the summit. “It’s like an airline’s priority boarding group,” he explained. “You’ll have your Summit+ climbers with priority in any push to the next camp, and the economy class climbers will be allowed to leave camp later.”
Climbers with Summit+ permits will also have access to deluxe infrastructure. In the Khumbu Icefall, for example, instead of the standard aluminum ladders, Summit+ climbers will use private, carbon-fiber crossing bridges, equipped with LED under-lighting and electronically warmed handrails.
But the biggest perk of the premium permit is that Summit+ climbers will get priority right-of-way anytime they encounter other climbers on the mountain’s fixed lines, both during ascent and descent. “Designated waiting snowbanks have been marked along the South Col route,” Thompson explained. “So when Summit+ permit holders approach, guides will unclip any economy-class clients from the fixed lines and move them into these holding areas to allow the premium climbers to pass.”
Thompson, who not only helped design the Summit+ concept, but is staying on as an advisor during the program’s inaugural season, told Climbing that Summit+ will operate this year strictly on a trial basis. Based on feedback and crowding metrics, it may take a different form when it returns in 2027.
“We will work to keep the process as efficient as possible,” he said. “Our aim in developing this program wasn’t to make the experience worse for economy climbers, whom we will continue to value, at least to the degree to which they’ve paid for that value, but to ensure our Summit+ climbers are provided with the premium experience warranted by their higher permit price.”
It’s unclear exactly how many Summit+ permits have been sold so far, but Thompson said he believes Nepalese officials have allotted roughly a quarter of total available Everest permits for the program. That means we could see as many as 200 or 300 climbers on Everest in May with these premium, VIP permits.
An extra $12,000 isn’t chump change, but the hope is clearly that, given how expensive it already is to take a shot at the world’s highest peak (some climbers will pay as much as $1,000,000, per Everest chronicler Alan Arnette), many Everest hopefuls won’t mind paying the extra fees for a better shot at a summit and a more luxurious experience on the mountain.
When asked whether he felt the program would help solve crowding on the mountain, Thompson said it’s a moot point.
“Crowds or no crowds, what we’re doing with Summit+ is a logical continuation of commercial mountaineering’s core business model,” he said. “The more money and influence you have, the better your chance of success and the more enjoyable your experience in the mountains. This has been true on 8,000-meter commercial expeditions for years, but with FastClimb Premium Summit+, we’re codifying it in a concrete, tangible way.”
He paused, then added, “Will it ease congestion on the mountain? Maybe not. But climbers will get what they pay for.”
Further down the line? Thompson said if this year’s trial run goes well, climbers can expect more paid tiers and more perks. Currently, he’s pitching the tourism ministry on an even more expensive permit tier for 2028, Summit+ Pro, which he said would include a bevy of influencer-friendly technical support, such as a dedicated aerial drone and pilot, and an AI-powered social media bot autoposting through the duration of the permit holder’s climb.
“The hope is that we can offer a variety of permit levels in the future,” Thompson said, “so that every climber can have the experience that they deserve on the mountain, based on their income level.”
Happy April 1st! —Ed.
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