26 May

Born on this day

1939 Hiroshi Nakamichi, Japanese climber, who ascended Cho Oyu in 2006.
1944 Janice Catherine (Jan) Smith, Australian lady climber, who ascended Cho Oyu in 2009 and Everest in 2012.
1950 Marjan Gregorčič, Slovenian climber, who ascended Cho Oyu in 1992.
1953 Hideki Yoshida, Japanese climber, who ascended Broad Peak in 1997 and Nanga Parbat in 2005.
1954 William Hanlon, Canadian climber, who ascended Everest in 2007.
1957 Xabier Muru, Spanish Basque climber, who ascended Kumbhakarna (aka Jannu) in 1981.
1959 Tina Sjögren (b. Olga Marikova), Swedish lady adventurer of Czech origin, who ascended Everest on her 40th birthday in 1999 and skied unsupported to the South Pole in the season 2001/2002 and to the North Pole in 2002 all accompanied by her husband Thomas (Tom) Sjögren. She became the first woman to achieve the "Three Poles".
1963 Carles Figueras, Spanish Catalan climber, who ascended Makalu in 1991.
1964 Ákos Koncz, Hungarian climber, who ascended Cho Oyu in 1990.
1967 Claudio Giorgis, Italian climber, who ascended Cho Oyu in 1993.
1967 Fabio Iacchini, Italian climber, who ascended Broad Peak in 2007.
1967 Alberto Peruffo, Italian climber, who ascended Cho Oyu in 2002.
1968 Claudia Patricia Lopez Gutierrez, Columbian lady climber, who ascended Dhaulagiri I in 2017 and Manaslu RP in 2019.
1969 Iván Jara, Spanish Andalusian climber, who ascended Everest in 2000.
1970 Catherine (Kasha) Rigby, American lady climber, who ascended Cho Oyu in 2005.
1974 Thile Nurbu, Nepalese Sherpa climber, who ascended Everest six times (2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2013), Lhotse in 2008 and Cho Oyu in 2009.
1975 Alessandra Kate (Allie) Pepper, Australian lady climber, who ascended Cho Oyu twice (2007 and 2024), Everest in 2011, Manaslu RP in 2012. Annapurna I twice (2022 and 2024), Broad Peak and Manaslu M in 2023 and Makalu and K2 in 2024 and Kangchenjunga and Nanga Parbat in 2025.
1977 Ke Yi-Ling, Chinese lady climber, who ascended Manaslu M in 2023 and Everest in 2025.
1979 Ang Dawa VII, Nepalese Sherpa climber, who ascended Everest four times (2017, 2019, 2023 and 2025).
1982 Alison Mary Bowen, Australian lady climber, who ascended Everest in 2024.
1984 Som Chhiring Tamang, Nepalese climber, who ascended Manaslu RP in 2018.
1985 Ngima IV, Nepalese Sherpa climber, who ascended Everest in 2019.
1987 Pasang Dawa IV, Nepalese Sherpa climber, who ascended Everest possibly three times (2009, 2010 and 2011).
1988 Phurba Ongyal, Nepalese Sherpa climber, who ascended Everest twice (2012 and 2013). He died in an avalanche on Everest 2014, aged 25.
1989 Taras Pozdnii, Ukrainian climber, who ascended Manaslu RP in 2017, Everest in 2018 and Cho Oyu in 2019.
1989 Abdulrazzaq Almojalhem, Kuwaiti climber, who ascended Everest in 2023.
1995 Sonam Chhiring II, Nepalese Sherpa climber, who ascended Everest four times (2016, 2019, 2022 and 2023), Annapurna I and Manaslu M in 2024 and K2 in 2025.
2001 Milan Rai, Nepalese climber, who ascended Everest in 2025.

First ascents on this day

1953 The British climbers Tom Bourdillon (31) and Charles Evans (34) were the mountaineers, who reached the highest altitude ever, the South Summit of Everest (8749 m), but this record lasted only for three days.
1954 Pethangtse (6739 m) by a party from New Zealand led by Edmund Hillary.
1973 Panch Chuli II (6904 m) by an Indian party.
1974 Kangbachen (subsidiary peak of Kangchenjunga, 7903 m) by a Polish party.
1974 Jorkanden I (6474 m) by an Indian party.
1985 Gurla Mandhata (aka Naimona'nyi, 7694 m) by a Sino-Japanese party.

Gone on this day

2010 Peter Kinloch, British climber, who ascended Everest the day before, died on descent, aged 28.
2013 Juan Josep (Juanjo) Garra, Spanish Catalan climber, who ascended Cho Oyu in 1994, Everest in 2000, Gasherbrum II in 2006, Broad Peak in 2007, Manaslu RP in 2008 and Lhotse in 2011, died on Dhaulagiri I, aged 49.