Moroccan climber, mountaineer with MS complete Everest-Lhotse double
Elite Exped says Moroccan Nawal became first from his country to summit both peaks in one season, while Israeli climber Yuval set a new milestone for people living with multiple sclerosis amid Everest’s final spring summit push.
PC: Elite Exped
A Moroccan climber and an Israeli mountaineer living with multiple sclerosis have completed ascents of both Mount Everest and Lhotse in the same climbing season, expedition organisers said on Friday, as the Himalayan spring summit push entered its final days.
Kathmandu-based Elite Exped, founded by the Nepali climber Nirmal Purja, said Nawal became the first Moroccan to summit both the world’s highest mountain and the 8,516-metre Lhotse in a single season.
The company also said Yuval became the first person with multiple sclerosis to climb Everest and Lhotse in the same season, describing the achievement as a testament to “resilience, determination and strength”.
The pair were accompanied by Nepali guides Dawa Gyalzen Sherpa and Sandesh Sherpa, according to the expedition organiser.
Their ascents come during the final major weather window of Nepal’s 2026 spring climbing season. Nepal has issued permits to 494 paying climbers for Everest this year, and more than 600 climbers and guides had reached the summit by Friday evening, according to Khimlal Gautam, the government liaison officer at Everest base camp.
The season has also proved deadly. At least five climbers have died on Everest so far, amid heavy traffic during brief periods of favourable weather, according to Nepal’s Department of Tourism.
Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest mountain, shares the same route as Everest up to Camp III, making it a common secondary objective for climbers attempting Everest in the spring season.
