Karl Egloff to Renew Everest Speed Climb Attempt
Karl Egloff during his previous attempt to break the Everest speed record. Photo: Karl Egloff’s social media
Karl Egloff of Ecuador will return to Mount Everest next spring to once again attempt a Fastest Known Time (FKT) in a demanding unsupported round-trip style – from Base Camp to the summit and back, without supplementary oxygen.
Egloff, who now lives in Switzerland, already holds speed records on Denali, Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, and Aconcagua. Everest remains his biggest objective among the Seven Summits, and he is determined to complete it according to his strict interpretation of what an alpine-style FKT should be. “That’s how I understand a mountaineering FKT must be, no matter what the peak,” Egloff told ExplorersWeb.
A full round trip, no oxygen
What sets Egloff apart is his insistence on a continuous ascent and descent, with the clock running the entire time. His plan involves using fixed ropes but no bottled oxygen, and no stopping the timer for rests or time on the summit.
Earlier this year on Everest, Egloff followed that same approach. Although the attempt did not result in a record, he never considered making a second try later in the season.
His commitment to this style is not new. In 2022, Egloff and fellow Ecuadorian Nico Miranda set a speed record on Makalu, completing a full round-trip ascent in 25 hours and 48 minutes, unsupported and without oxygen. Egloff intends to complete all Seven Summits using this same methodology.
Parallel ambitions on Everest
Egloff’s Everest plans have unfolded alongside those of American endurance athlete Tyler Andrews, who is also pursuing an Everest FKT – though with a different focus. “I focus more on the uphill because that is historically what the records have been on 8,000’ers,” Andrews explained.
Andrews has attempted Everest multiple times, including three attempts last spring – one with supplementary oxygen and two without. He also returned in the fall, taking advantage of fixed ropes and trail-breaking by Andrzej Bargiel’s ski expedition. Andrews was aiming to surpass the long-standing Base Camp–to–summit record of 20 hours and 24 minutes, set by Kazi Sherpa in 1998, but was again forced to turn back near 8,000m, just above Camp 4.
It remains unclear whether Andrews will return to Everest next spring.
Burnout, recovery, and return
For Egloff, retreating from Everest in 2025 was emotionally difficult. After the intense effort, he described returning home to “a strange silence, emptiness, and many questions,” experiencing what he identified as athlete burnout, including a period of depression and lost motivation.
“What’s next? Was it worth it? What did I learn? How can I improve?” he asked himself at the time.
After three months of rest, his motivation returned. Egloff has now been training for months in preparation for another Everest attempt.
Training challenges and future plans
Since relocating to Switzerland, Egloff now lives at 400 meters above sea level, a significant change from the 2,500m altitude he was accustomed to in Ecuador. To compensate, he plans to move his training abroad in January and complete two months of hypoxic training before heading to Nepal with Nico Miranda.
Once in Nepal, the team will acclimatize somewhere in the Khumbu region, only moving to Everest Base Camp when Egloff feels fully prepared for the FKT attempt. As in 2025, his expedition will be supported by Furtenbach Adventures.
Beyond Everest, Egloff also plans speed ascents of Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya) in 2026 and Vinson Massif in Antarctica in January 2027.
Source: Explorersweb