The 2026 Mount Everest season has come to an end, and it marked what was likely the busiest year in the mountain’s history. Based on preliminary reports from Everest Live, there may have been over 950 summits from the Nepal side alone.
Despite the high number of people on the mountain, a relatively low number of deaths have occurred (currently the number sits at 5 for this season), though it’s still incredibly tragic that anyone died at all.
Of course with it being such a busy season, there were some pretty massive crowds on the high slopes. An Everest mountain guide who goes by the YouTube title High Altitude Guide Nepal shared footage from the crowds at Camp IV, the last camp before climbers head to the summit.
Camp IV, also known as the South Col, sits at an altitude of around 26,000 feet. At that altitude, climbers are experiencing critically low oxygen levels (technically they’re in the ‘Death Zone’), and only stay camped out for a short period of time before making the final push. Despite its deadliest, this area can get very crowded near summit windows.
Everest climber Angelina Angelova captured what Camp IV looks like after everyone’s left, with high winds blowing tents to the ground and abandoned garbage littering the area. She reached the summit of Everest on May 23rd, so this footage was likely captured around then. It’s possible the camps were cleaned up a bit after this footage, but it’s still disheartening to see so much abandoned gear at the world’s highest campsite.
