The Route Changed

For the past year, my plan was clear.

In the spring of 2026, I would climb Mount Everest from the north side, approaching the mountain through Tibet in China. There are several reasons climbers choose that route. The Khumbu Icefall, a shifting maze of glaciers that guards the south side, is avoided entirely. The north route is often considered more direct, more austere, and in some ways more predictable.

Then, unexpectedly, everything changed.

Chinese authorities have quietly closed the north side of Everest to foreign climbers for the 2026 season. There has been no official explanation. In the mountaineering community, there are only rumors. One widely discussed possibility involves a controversial fireworks display staged last year on the Tibetan Plateau, an artistic event called “Rising Dragon.” The display traced a line of fireworks across a Himalayan ridge and later drew criticism for potential environmental impact in the fragile alpine ecosystem.

You can see the display here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSbdHhL6eag

Whether that event had anything to do with the closure is impossible to know. China has closed the north side before without explanation.

In mountaineering, you learn quickly that the mountain does not negotiate. Routes change. Weather shifts. Governments make decisions.

You adapt.

So this spring, my team and I will climb Everest from the south side in Nepal, following the traditional route through the Khumbu Valley. It’s a different path, with its own challenges, but the destination remains the same.

And so does the purpose.

This climb is about more than standing on the summit of Everest. It’s about raising awareness and support for the fight against Alzheimer’s disease—a journey that, like mountaineering, often forces families to adapt when plans change and certainty disappears.

The route may be different.

But the mission hasn’t changed.