Base Camp to Summit in 9:55: Tyler Andrews on His Everest Speed Record

On May 28, 2026, La Sportiva athlete Tyler Andrews ran up the highest mountain on Earth faster than anyone in history. His time of 9 hours, 55 minutes, and 43 seconds took just over an hour off a mark set by Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa in 2003 (and he also set the round-trip record in 16 hours, 32 minutes). This one didn't come easy, though; it took seven attempts across two years before he stood on top of the world. We caught up with him about the record and what finally made it click, as well as how he dealt with the infamous crowding of the mountain, the gear he used, and what's next.

After six attempts, what did you do differently this time? Was there one specific thing that made it “go”?

There were four things that I really focused on and that all came together on this successful summit.

Training - My preparation for Everest evolved over my three expeditions, starting from more of an ultra-running, super-light style, and moving more towards strength and self sufficiency. I spent way more time in the gym getting stronger this last season, which gave me the ability to carry more problem-solving gear on the mountains and not rely on everything going perfectly. Beyond that, I relied on my experience and knowledge of training as a professional marathoner, ultra marathoner, and mountain runner. It was a unique combination of a TON of vert per (over 20,000m / 66,000 ft per week often), a lot of traditional double-threshold training adapted from track & field to uphill movement, and then hypoxic training, gently moving up simulated altitude of ~20,000 ft up to 35,000 ft for 8-12 hours/week.

Fueling - I brought ideas about high-carb fueling from the running and cycling world into my Everest climb. I knew it would be harder to process carbohydrates as I got higher up, so I front-loaded the first half of the climb at around 150g (~600 cal) per hour of carbohydrates in the form of simple sports nutrition (gels, drink mix, and gummies, mostly). My goal was to avg 100g (400 cal) per hour for the entire climb and descent and I’m pretty sure I was over that.

Headspace - This might have been the biggest change in the last season. Climbing Everest, especially going for a speed record, was for me both really scary and really high-pressure. I could see this show up objectively with super elevated heart-rate in more dangerous sections of the mountain. I spent a lot of time training my mind, working with a sports psychologist on managing fear and staying calm and also did a lot of meditation and made that a daily part of my life.

Luck - This is probably the most important ingredient. Yes, you have to be super fit and experienced and have your head on right, but at the end of the day, we are but tiny fleas on the back of the great beast that is Everest. All it takes is the wind to be a bit higher, the snow to be a bit deeper, the avalanches to come down at the wrong moment, and your day--maybe your life--is over in a blink. On May 28, not only did I do a lot of things right, but moreover, nothing outside of my control went really wrong.

Let's talk gear. What were you actually wearing on the mountain and how might that be different from a normal climber?

Below is the full list. I’d say the biggest difference is that most people are wearing a true 8000m boot like the LaSpo Olympus Mons, whereas I wore a MUCH lighter boot in the Aequilibrium Speed, but layered it with an overboot and heated socks. I also went much lighter up to Camp 4 at 26,000 ft in basically just cold-weather trail running gear before putting on the Olympus Parka and Pants from C4 to the summit vs. most climbers would wear their down layers from Base Camp.

• La Sportiva merino wool half-zip
• La Sportiva Lumina 100 Jacket
• La Sportiva Ethereal Pro Jacket
• La Sportiva Supercouloir Down Jacket (C2-C4)
• La Sportiva Olympus Tech Down Parka (C4-Summit-C4 only)
• La Sportiva Trail Gloves
• La Sportiva Free Touring Mittens
• Heated Mittens (C4-Summit-C4 only)
• Helmet/headlamp
• La Sportiva ultralight beanie
• Goggles/sunglasses
• Buff
• Ultralight harness
• La Sportiva merino wool pant
• La Sportiva Roseg GTX Snow Pants
• La Sportiva Olympus Tech Down Pants (C4-Summit-C4 only)
• Heated socks
• La Sportiva Aequilibrium Speed Boots
• Custom overboot  (C4-Summit-C4 only)
• Semi technical crampon
• Custom summit pack

Everyone wants to know: how did you deal with the massive crowds we see in photos of Everest?

The short answer is that I had to wait for them to summit and go home. The photos you've probably seen of massive lines with hundreds of climbers high on the mountain are real, but those are from just a few days in the middle of the season. The route is too narrow to deal with passing with a crowd like that, so our only choice was to be patient and wait until those huge groups had gone up and come down. It really tested my patience, as I ended up summiting literally on the final day of the season, but it was worth it. I only saw maybe a dozen people the entire day from base camp to summit. It was beautiful and such a privilege to climb the most famous mountain on Earth in almost complete solitude!

Where do you go from here? Will you go back to Everest?

I will definitely not return to the South (Nepal) side of the mountain. The Khumbu Ice Fall is just way too scary and dangerous and I've just spent so much time there. That said, I would still love to climb from the North (Tibet) side without oxygen and try for that record as well.

For now, I am taking a season away from the 8000m peaks. Running is still my first love, so I'm looking at some more runnable trail and mountain races/projects for the rest of 2026.

Meanwhile, I'm working on a book about this whole journey and if you ask me whether the camera crew that was following us at Everest Base Camp is going to result in a major film release, well, I can neither confirm nor deny that!