KATHMANDU, MAY 26
Veteran Nepali mountaineer and IFMGA-certified guide Jyamchang Bhote, 45, has summited Mount Everest for the tenth time, reaching the top on May 23 while leading a team of British special ranger force personnel, his second consecutive season guiding British military climbers on the world's highest peak.
Bhote was part of an expedition organised by Himalayan Sherpa Adventure that placed a total of 25 climbers on the summit, nine British army personnel of Ranger Everest Expedition and 15 Nepali guides, five of whom were IFMGA-certified.
Bhote said he had summited Everest with the British Army team in 2025 and, luckily, achieved the feat again this season alongside the British military.
The UK special force members who climbed Everest with Jyamchang this year were Major Joe Adamson (Expedition Leader), Major Kate Thompson (Chief Medical Officer), Lieutenant Colonel Raj Joshi (Operations Officer), Captain Jacob Sargent, WO2 Avtar Gill (Second-in-Command), SSgt Ryan McGregor, Sgt Silas Simpson, Sgt Vince Sulaiman, Cpl Will Goddard (RM Mountain Leader), LCpl Chris White, LCpl Kishor Thapa, Rgr Bijaya Rana, and Sgt Ali Holman (RM Mountain Leader/Chief Instructor).
The May 23 summit is the latest milestone in a high-altitude career spanning nearly three decades. Bhote first summited Everest in 2004 from the north side, and has since returned to the top in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, twice in 2012 with the Indian Army, in 2021 and 2025 with the British Army, and now in 2026. His broader Himalayan resume includes Cho Oyu, Shishapangma, Ama Dablam, Manaslu, Himlung, and Baruntse, among others.
Beyond the Himalayas, Bhote has summited Antarctica's Vinson Massif 15 times, a distinction held by very few climbers globally, and has guided expeditions to the Emperor Penguin Colony at Gould Bay and the South Pole.
Bhote earned his IFMGA/UIAGM certification in 2009, placing him among the most internationally recognised mountain guides from Nepal. He has since served as a senior instructor with both the Nepal Mountaineering Association and the Nepal Mountaineering Instructor Association, teaching courses ranging from introductory rock climbing for schoolchildren to advanced training for professional guides. Since 2008 he has also worked as a glacier and mountain guide in Norway's Jostedalen during summer seasons, and has guided in Antarctica with Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions and Adventure Consultants since 2019.
A life member of the US Nepal Climbers Association, former executive board member of the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association, and associate member of the Everest Summiteers Association, Bhote continues to lead expeditions through his company, High Himalayan Climbing and Expeditions.