American climber Tyler Andrews summits Mount Everest in record time, his team says

Updated on: May 28, 2026 / 6:49 AM EDT

/ CBS/AFP

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American climber Tyler Andrews set a new speed record using supplementary oxygen on Mount Everest on Thursday, his team told AFP, summiting the world's highest peak an hour quicker than anyone before.Andrews, 36, climbed the 29,032-foot peak in just 9 hours and 55 minutes, shattering the record of 10 hours and 56 minutes held since 2003 by Nepali climber Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa.The time requires formal verification by Nepal's mountain authorities.Andrews summited Everest just before dawn on Thursday, according to posts on his Instagram, which included live GPS tracking of his route."He reached Everest's peak in just 9 hours 55 minutes," team leader Dawa Steven Sherpa of Asian Trekking told AFP.The Asian Trekking team said that Andrews completed a solo climb, during which guides provided supplementary oxygen, food and water while tracking his ascent.He had initially tried to break the 22 hours and 29 minutes speed record to climb Everest without supplementary oxygen earlier in May, but had to turn back.

"I've been training as an athlete all the way from high school cross country to running marathons to running in the mountains and, you know, Mount Everest is kind of the pinnacle of all of that," Andrews told CBS Boston last month while he was training.Andrews, who said he is a cancer survivor, is raising funds to support youth athletes who lack access to coaching and equipment in Ecuador and Nepal.More than 950 climbers have reached the top of Everest this season, with the weather window rapidly coming to a close.