5,895 mTanzania
Kilimanjaro
Your first big mountain: how your body handles altitude and what a summit night feels like. No technical climbing.
10 days · max 6 climbers
Before Everest
What Everest asks of a climber
Everest isn’t a first mountain. These are the things a climber needs to bring, wherever they gained them.
Technical skillsCrampons, ice axe, fixed ropes, ladders and rope systems, used confidently when you are tired and cold.
Altitude experienceSummits in the 6,000 to 7,000 m range, and knowing how your body responds.
Expedition judgmentMulti-week expedition life: acclimatization, pacing, self-care and decisions in hard conditions.
ReadinessAn honest, individual assessment of your experience before you commit to Everest.
No course, sequence or purchase guarantees an Everest summit. We assess every Everest climber individually.
Find your starting point
Start from what you’ve already climbed
Altitude and technical skill are different things. Pick the description closest to you; a guide will refine it with you.
New to the mountainsFit and keen, with little or no high-altitude experience.Phase 1 · FoundationsComfortable at altitude, never roped upTreks or non-technical summits, but no glacier or rope skills yet.Phase 1 · skills schoolsTechnical climber, little altitudeRock, ice or alpine climbing, but not much time high up.Phase 2 · altitudeGlacier skills and summits above 5,500 mYou have roped up on glaciers and climbed high volcanoes.Phases 2–3Expedition experience at 6,000 m+Multi-week expeditions behind you; Everest is the question.Phases 3–4 · readiness
How climbers progress
Four phases, many routes through them
Programs are options within each phase, not mandatory steps. You may skip some and repeat others.
1FoundationsMountain experience and essential skillse.g. Kilimanjaro · Ecuador School2Technical Skills & AltitudeGlacier travel, rope systems, higher objectivese.g. Ecuador Volcanoes · Peru Alpinist3Expedition ExperienceJudgment, acclimatization, self-managemente.g. Aconcagua · Denali4Everest ReadinessAn individual assessmentReadiness review · Everest
Phases describe skills, judgment and experience, not altitude alone. Program details are below.
Phase 1
5,895 m
5,790 m
3,286 m
Alaska Range
KhumbuEverest environment
Foundations
Mountain experience and essential skills: moving on snow and glaciers, using crampons and an ice axe, and learning how your body handles altitude.
5,895 m5,790 mEcuador
Ecuador Mountaineering School
From your first crampon step to the summit of Cayambe: glacier travel, ice axe and rope work, taught on real glaciers.
8 days, optional extension · max 6 climbers
3,286 mWashington, USA
Mount Baker
Three days to find out whether you’re a glacier climber. No previous glacier experience needed on two of the three routes.
3 days · 3 climbers per guide on glacier routes
Alaska RangeAlaska Range, USA
Pika Glacier Mountaineering School
Glacier travel, snow and alpine rock, connected, in Little Switzerland.
8 days · 2 climbers per guide
KhumbuEverest environmentNepal
Everest Base Camp Trek
An introduction to the Everest environment and the Khumbu. It is not technical climbing preparation.
17 days · helicopter in and out · max 8 trekkers
Not sure which?
Ask a guide
Tell us what you have climbed and what you still need to build. A guide will point you to the right objective.
Phase 2
Near 5,800 m
To 6,268 m
5,636 m
To 6,088 m
6,040 m
Technical Skills & Altitude
Glacier travel, rope systems and progressively higher objectives. Choose by the skill or altitude you still need, not by order.
Near 5,800 mEcuador
Cotopaxi Express
Two glaciated summits near 5,800 m, with acclimatization built in before Cotopaxi.
7 days · max 4 climbers
To 6,268 mEcuador
Ecuador Volcanoes
Four glaciated summits, up to Chimborazo: repeated mileage on glaciers and at altitude.
14 days · max 4 climbers
5,636 mMexico
Volcanoes of Mexico · Pico de Orizaba Express
High-altitude glacier climbing on Pico de Orizaba, close to North America.
10 days, or 7 days (Express) · max 6 climbers
To 6,088 mBolivia
Bolivia Alpinist Expedition
Cordillera Real: Pirámide Blanca, Pequeño Alpamayo and Huayna Potosí, with an optional Illimani extension.
13 days · max 6 climbers
6,040 mPeru
Peru Alpinist
Steep snow and ice on Alpamayo and Quitaraju: technical skill under pressure.
16 days · max 4 climbers · advanced
Not sure which?
Ask a guide
Tell us what you have climbed and what you still need to build. A guide will point you to the right objective.
Phase 3
6,962 m
6,893 m
6,190 m
Expedition Experience
Longer, more demanding climbs where acclimatization, pacing, self-management and judgment matter as much as technique.
6,962 mArgentina
Aconcagua
Real multi-week expedition life near 7,000 m on the Normal Route, with acclimatization built in. Experienced climbers can choose the 14-day Express.
19 days, or 14 days (Express) · max 6 climbers
6,893 mChile
Ojos del Salado
An expedition objective in the same high range, in the Atacama Desert.
14 days · max 6 climbers
6,190 mAlaska, USA
Denali
A long glacier expedition in the Alaska Range, offered through Mountain Trip Alaska, an authorized concessioner of Denali National Park and Preserve.
24 days · up to 6 climbers
Nepal · By inquiry
Himlung Himal
A private expedition concept for climbers who want a Himalayan 7,000 m peak (7,126 m). Not a scheduled program.
Private expedition · by inquiry
Not sure which?
Ask a guide
Tell us what you have climbed and what you still need to build. A guide will point you to the right objective.
Phase 4
WasatchOptional training
8,849 mBy application
Everest Readiness
Everest is decided individually. We review your climbing history, skills, altitude record and preparation with you, and tell you honestly whether Everest is the right next step, or what to do first.
Start here
Everest readiness review
Tell us what you have climbed. A guide reviews your experience with you and recommends a realistic next step.
WasatchOptional trainingUtah, USA
Everest Prep Course
Four days in the Wasatch rehearsing fixed lines, ladders, oxygen masks and a night at high camp before a Himalayan expedition.
4 days · 2 climbers per guide · operated by Wasatch Mountain Guides (WMG)
8,849 mBy applicationNepal
Mount Everest
South Col route, spring 2028. Every applicant’s experience is reviewed individually.
35 days · max 4 climbers
Firsthand experience
Judgment built over decades of guiding
Willie and Damian Benegas have guided climbers since they founded Benegas Brothers Expeditions in 1992. Their Everest experience is not a statistic; it is the source of the judgment we bring to your preparation.
It shows in the questions we ask: which skills hold up high on the mountain, how much acclimatization a body really needs, what preparation at home should look like, and when the right answer is another season first.
On Everest, the summit is never the only objective. Turning around when weather, timing or a climber’s condition demands it is part of the responsibility of guiding, and part of what we help you understand before you go.
14Everest summits · Willie Benegas
6Everest summits · Damian Benegas
How long does it take?
It depends on where you start and how much you climb each year. A fit hiker usually needs several seasons, because each objective is a real expedition that builds on the last. Experienced climbers often begin at Phase 3. We would rather help you choose the right mountain this year than sell you the wrong one.
Nepal regulations · checked November 2026: a proposed rule requiring a prior summit above 7,000 m in Nepal before an Everest permit is still under parliamentary review. It is not law.
Your next step
Tell us what you’ve climbed
Share your experience and goals. A guide will reply personally with a realistic next step, which may not be Everest yet.