Eight-thousander
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The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) recognises eight-thousanders as the 14
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...
s that are more than in height above
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
, and are considered to be sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no precise definition of the criteria used to assess independence, and, since 2012, the UIAA has been involved in a process to consider whether the list should be expanded to 20 mountains. All eight-thousanders are located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges in
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
, and their summits are in the
death zone In mountaineering, the death zone refers to altitudes above a certain point where the pressure of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span. This point is generally tagged as , less than 356 millibars of atmospheric ...
. From 1950 to 1964, all 14 eight-thousanders were summited in the summer (the first was
Annapurna I Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the diffic ...
in 1950, and the last was
Shishapangma Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. In 1964, it became the last of the 8,000-metre peaks to be climbed. This was due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions ...
in 1964), and from 1980 to 2021, all 14 were summited in the winter (the first being
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
in 1980, and the last being K2 in 2021). On a variety of statistical techniques, the deadliest eight-thousander is consistently Annapurna I (one death – climber or climber support – for every three summiters), followed by K2 and
Nanga Parbat Nanga Parbat ( ur, ) (; ), known locally as Diamer () which means “king of the mountains”, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth, its summit at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in ...
(one death for every four to five summiters), and then
Dhaulagiri Dhaulagiri is the seventh highest mountain in the world at above sea level, and the highest mountain within the borders of a single country (Nepal). It was first climbed on 13 May 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian-Nepali expedition. Annapurna I () is ...
and
Kangchenjunga Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the T ...
(one for every six to seven summiters). The first person to summit all 14 eight-thousanders was Italian
Reinhold Messner Reinhold Andreas Messner (; born 17 September 1944) is an Italian mountaineer, explorer, and author from South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent of Everest without supplemental ...
in 1986, who did not use supplementary oxygen. In 2010, Spaniard
Edurne Pasaban Edurne Pasaban Lizarribar (born August 1, 1973) is a Basque Spanish mountaineer. On May 17, 2010, she became the first woman to climb all of the fourteen eight-thousander peaks in the World –and the 21st person to do so.Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner (born 13 December 1970) is an Austrian mountaineer. In August 2011, she became the second woman to climb the fourteen eight-thousanders and the first woman to do so without the use of supplementary oxygen or high altitude po ...
became the first woman to summit all 14 without the aid of supplementary oxygen. In 2013, South Korean
Kim Chang-ho Kim Chang-ho is a male former international table tennis player from North Korea. He won a bronze medal at the 1965 World Table Tennis Championships in the Swaythling Cup (men's team event) with Jung Kil-Hwa, Jung Ryang-Woong, Kim Jung-Sam ...
climbed all 14 in 7 years and 310 days, without the aid of supplementary oxygen. In 2019, British-Nepalese climber
Nirmal Purja Nirmal Purja (known as Nims or Nimsdai) ( ne, निर्मल पुर्जा; born 25 July 1983) is a Nepal-born naturalised British mountaineer and a holder of multiple mountaineering world records. Prior to taking on a career in mount ...
, climbed all 14 in 6 months and 6 days, with supplementary oxygen. In July 2022,
Sanu Sherpa Sanu Sherpa (born 1975) is a Nepalese mountaineer from, Makalu, Sankhuwasabha. On 21 July 2022, he became the first person to climb all of the 14 highest peaks in the world, known as the eight-thousanders, twice-over. He made his first ascent o ...
became the first person to summit all 14 eight-thousanders twice, which he did over the period 2006 to 2022. Issues with false summits (e.g.
Cho Oyu __NOTOC__ Cho Oyu (Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means "Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the ''Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur ...
, Annapurna I and
Dhaulagiri Dhaulagiri is the seventh highest mountain in the world at above sea level, and the highest mountain within the borders of a single country (Nepal). It was first climbed on 13 May 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian-Nepali expedition. Annapurna I () is ...
), or separated dual summits (e.g. Shishapangma and
Manaslu Manaslu ( ne, मनास्लु, also known as Kutang; muh-NAA-slu) is the eighth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. The name Mana ...
), have led to disputed claims of ascents. In 2022, after several years of research, a team of experts reported that only three climbers,
Ed Viesturs Edmund Viesturs (born June 22, 1959) is a high-altitude mountaineer, corporate speaker, and well known author in the mountain climbing community. He is the only American to have climbed all 14 of the world's eight-thousander mountain peaks, and ...
,
Veikka Gustafsson Eero Veikka Juhani Gustafsson, known as Veikka Gustafsson (born 14 January 1968) is a Finnish mountaineer who has ascended all 14 eight-thousanders in the world without the use of supplemental oxygen. He is also known for presenting a TV travel ...
and
Nirmal Purja Nirmal Purja (known as Nims or Nimsdai) ( ne, निर्मल पुर्जा; born 25 July 1983) is a Nepal-born naturalised British mountaineer and a holder of multiple mountaineering world records. Prior to taking on a career in mount ...
, had actually stood on the true summit of all 14 eight-thousanders.


Climbing history


First ascents

The first recorded attempt on an eight-thousander was when
Albert F. Mummery Albert Frederick Mummery (10 September 1855, Dover, Kent, England – 24 August 1895, Nanga Parbat), was an English mountaineer and author. Although most notable for his many and varied first ascents put up in the Alps, Mummery, along with ...
,
Geoffrey Hastings Geoffrey Hastings (1860–1941) was a British mountaineer who made numerous first ascents of rock-faces and peaks in the Lake District, the Alps and Norway, and helped to lay the foundations for mountain-climbing as a sport. He, Albert Mumme ...
and
J. Norman Collie Professor John Norman Collie FRSE FRS (10 September 1859 – 1 November 1942), commonly referred to as J. Norman Collie, was an English scientist, mountaineer and explorer. Life and work He was born in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, the second of ...
tried to climb Pakistan's
Nanga Parbat Nanga Parbat ( ur, ) (; ), known locally as Diamer () which means “king of the mountains”, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth, its summit at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in ...
in 1895. The attempt failed when Mummery and two
Gurkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are recruit ...
s, Ragobir Thapa and Goman Singh, were killed by an
avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...
. The first recorded successful ascent of an eight-thousander was by the French
Maurice Herzog Maurice André Raymond Herzog (15 January 191913 December 2012) was a French mountaineer and administrator who was born in Lyon, France. He led the 1950 French Annapurna expedition that first climbed a peak over 8000m, Annapurna, in 1950, and r ...
and
Louis Lachenal Louis Lachenal (17 July 1921 – 25 November 1955), a French climber born in Annecy, Haute-Savoie, was one of the first two mountaineers to climb a summit of more than 8,000 meters. On 3 June 1950 on the 1950 French Annapurna expedition, along ...
, who reached the summit of
Annapurna Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficu ...
on 3 June 1950 during the
1950 French Annapurna expedition The 1950 French Annapurna expedition, led by Maurice Herzog, reached the summit of Annapurna I at , the highest peak in the Annapurna Massif. The mountain is in Nepal and the government had given permission for the expedition, the first time it ...
. Due to its location in
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
,
Shishapangma Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. In 1964, it became the last of the 8,000-metre peaks to be climbed. This was due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions ...
was the last eight-thousander to be ascended, which was completed by a Chinese team led by Xu Jing in 1964 (western China's mountains were closed to foreign travel until 1978). The first winter ascent of an eight-thousander was by a Polish team led by
Andrzej Zawada Andrzej Zawada (born Maria Andrzej Zawada; 16 July 1928 – 21 August 2000) was a Polish mountaineer, pioneer of winter Himalayism. Zawada was an organiser and leader in numerous high-mountains expeditions. Author of movies and photographs ...
on
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
, with
Leszek Cichy Leszek () is a Slavic Polish male given name, originally ''Lestko'', ''Leszko'' or ''Lestek'', related to ''Lech'', ''Lechosław'' and Czech ''Lstimir''. Individuals named Leszek celebrate their name day on June 3. Notable people * Lestko * ...
and
Krzysztof Wielicki Krzysztof Jerzy Wielicki (born 5 January 1950) is a Polish alpine and high-altitude climber, regarded as one of the greatest Polish climbers in history. He is the fifth man to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders and the first ever to climb Mount ...
reaching the summit on 17 February 1980; all-Polish teams would complete nine of the first fourteen winter ascents of eight-thousanders. The final eight-thousander to be climbed in winter was K2, whose summit was ascended by a 10-person Nepalese team on 16 January 2021. Only two climbers have completed more than one first ascent of an eight-thousander,
Hermann Buhl Hermann Buhl (21 September 1924 – 27 June 1957) was an Austrian mountaineer. He was innovative in applying Alpine style to Himalayan climbing. His accomplishments include the first ascents of Nanga Parbat in 1953 and Broad Peak in 1957. Ear ...
(Nanga Parbat and Broad Peak) and
Kurt Diemberger Kurt Diemberger (born 16 March 1932) is an Austrian mountaineer and author of several books. He is the only living person who has made the first ascents on two mountains over 8,000 metres: of Broad Peak in 1957 and of Dhaulagiri in 1960. Career ...
(Broad Peak and Dhaulagiri). Buhl's summit of
Nanga Parbat Nanga Parbat ( ur, ) (; ), known locally as Diamer () which means “king of the mountains”, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth, its summit at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in ...
in 1953 is notable as being the only solo first ascent of one of the eight-thousanders. The Polish climber Jerzy Kukuczka is noted for creating over ten new routes on various eight-thousander mountains. Italian climber
Simone Moro Simone Moro (born 27 October 1967 in Bergamo) is an Italian alpinist known for having made first winter ascents of four of the fourteen eight-thousanders: Shishapangma in 2005, Makalu in 2009, Gasherbrum II in 2011, and Nanga Parbat in 2016. H ...
made the first winter ascent of four eight-thousander mountains (Shishapangma, Makalu, Gasherbrum II, and Nanga Parbat), while two Polish climbers have each made three first winter ascents of an eight-thousander, Krzysztof Wielicki (Everest, Kangchenjunga, and Lhotse) and Jerzy Kukuczka (Dhaulagiri I, Kangchenjunga, and Annapurna I).


All 14

The first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders was Italian
Reinhold Messner Reinhold Andreas Messner (; born 17 September 1944) is an Italian mountaineer, explorer, and author from South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent of Everest without supplemental ...
, on 16 October 1986. In 1987 Polish climber Jerzy Kukuczka became the second person to accomplish this feat. Messner summited each of the 14 peaks without the aid of bottled oxygen, a feat that was only repeated nine years later by the Swiss
Erhard Loretan Erhard Loretan (28 April 1959 – 28 April 2011) was a Swiss mountain climber, often described as one of the greatest mountaineers of all times. Biography Loretan was born in Bulle in the canton of Fribourg. He trained as a cabinet maker (1979) ...
in 1995 (Kukuczka had only used supplementary oxygen on Everest). In 2010, Spanish climber
Edurne Pasaban Edurne Pasaban Lizarribar (born August 1, 1973) is a Basque Spanish mountaineer. On May 17, 2010, she became the first woman to climb all of the fourteen eight-thousander peaks in the World –and the 21st person to do so. In August 2011,
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n climber
Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner (born 13 December 1970) is an Austrian mountaineer. In August 2011, she became the second woman to climb the fourteen eight-thousanders and the first woman to do so without the use of supplementary oxygen or high altitude po ...
became the first woman to climb the 14 eight-thousanders without the use of supplementary oxygen. The first couple and team to summit all 14 eight-thousanders together were the Italians Nives Meroi (who as the second woman without supplementary oxygen), and her husband in 2017. The couple climbed
alpine style Alpine style is mountaineering in a self-sufficient manner, thereby carrying all of one's food, shelter and equipment as one climbs, as opposed to expedition style (or siege style) mountaineering which involves setting up a fixed line of stocked ...
, without the use of supplementary oxygen or other support.
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
i mountain guide
Kami Rita Kami Rita (born 17 January 1970, Thame, Nepal, Thame, Solukhumbu District, Nepal is a Nepali Mountain guide, Sherpa guide who, since May 2018, has held the record for most ascents to the summit of Mount Everest. Most recently, he scaled the mounta ...
, holds the record for the most ascents of an eight-thousander peak at 39, a feat he achieved on 7 May 2022 by summiting Everest for the 26th time (which was also a record for the most summits of Everest by a climber). On 20 May 2013,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
n climber
Kim Chang-ho Kim Chang-ho is a male former international table tennis player from North Korea. He won a bronze medal at the 1965 World Table Tennis Championships in the Swaythling Cup (men's team event) with Jung Kil-Hwa, Jung Ryang-Woong, Kim Jung-Sam ...
set a new speed record of climbing all 14 eight-thousanders, without the use of supplementary oxygen, in 7 years and 310 days. On 29 October 2019, the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
- Nepali climber
Nirmal Purja Nirmal Purja (known as Nims or Nimsdai) ( ne, निर्मल पुर्जा; born 25 July 1983) is a Nepal-born naturalised British mountaineer and a holder of multiple mountaineering world records. Prior to taking on a career in mount ...
set a speed record for climbing all 14 eight-thousanders, with the use of supplementary oxygen, in 6 months and 6 days. In July 2022,
Sanu Sherpa Sanu Sherpa (born 1975) is a Nepalese mountaineer from, Makalu, Sankhuwasabha. On 21 July 2022, he became the first person to climb all of the 14 highest peaks in the world, known as the eight-thousanders, twice-over. He made his first ascent o ...
became the first person to summit all 14 eight-thousanders twice. He started with Cho Oyu in 2006, and completed the double by summiting Gasherbrum II in July 2022.


Deadliest

The extreme altitude and the fact that the summits of all eight-thousanders lie in the Death Zone mean that climber mortality (or ''death rate''), is particularly high. Two metrics are quoted to establish a ''death rate'' (i.e. broad and narrow) that are used to rank the eight-thousanders in order of ''deadliest'' (note that they are also the world's overall deadliest mountains). * Broad death rate: The first metric is the ''ratio of successful climbers summiting to total deaths on the mountain'' over a given period. The ''
Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' uses this metric to name Annapurna I as the deadliest eight-thousander, and the world's deadliest mountain with roughly one person dying for every three people who successfully summit, i.e. a ratio of circa 30%. Using consistent data from 1950 to 2012, mountaineering statistician Eberhard Jurgalski (see table below) used this metric to show Annapurna is the deadliest mountain (31.9%), followed by K2 (26.5%), Nanga Parbat (20.3%), Dhaulagiri (15.4%) and Kangchenjunga (14.1%). Other statistical sources including ''MountainIQ'', used a mix of data periods from 1900 to Spring 2021 but had similar results showing Annapurna still being the deadliest mountain (27.2%), followed by K2 (22.8%), Nanga Parbat (20.75%), Kangchenjunga (15%), and Dhaulagiri (13.5%). Cho Oyu as the safest at 1.4%. * Narrow death rate: The drawback of the first metric is that it includes the deaths of any support climbers or climbing sherpas that went above base camp in assisting the climb; therefore, rather than being the probability that a climber will die attempting to summit an eight-thousander, it is more akin to the total human cost in getting a climber to the summit. In the '' Himalayan Database'' (HDB) tables, the climber (or member) "Death Rate" is the ''ratio of deaths above base camp, of all climbers who were hoping to summit and who went above base camp'' (calculated for 1950 to 2009), and is closer to a true ''probability of death'' (see table below). The data is only for the Nepalese Himalaya and therefore does not include K2 or Nanga Parbat. HDB estimates that the probability of death for a climber who is attempting the summit of an eight-thousander is still highest for Annapurna I (4%), followed by Kangchenjunga (3%) and Dhaulagiri (3%); the safest mountain is still Cho Oyu at 0.6%. The summary tables from the HDB report for all mountains above 8,000 meters also imply that the death rate of climbers for the period 1990 to 2009 (e.g. modern expeditions), is roughly half that of the combined 1950 to 2009 period, i.e. climbing is becoming safer for the climbers attempting the summit.


List of first ascents

From 1950 to 1964, all 14 of the eight-thousanders were summited in the summer (the first was
Annapurna I Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the diffic ...
in 1950, and the last was
Shishapangma Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. In 1964, it became the last of the 8,000-metre peaks to be climbed. This was due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions ...
in 1964), and from 1980 to 2021, all 14 were summited in the winter (the first being
Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heigh ...
in 1980, and the last being K2 in 2021).


List of climbers of all 14

There is no single undisputed source for verified Himalayan ascents; however,
Elizabeth Hawley Elizabeth Hawley (9 November 1923 – 26 January 2018) was an American journalist, author, and chronicler of Himalayan mountaineering expeditions. Hawley's ''The Himalayan Database'' became the unofficial record for climbs in the Nepalese Himal ...
's ''
The Himalayan Database ''The Himalayan Database: The Expedition Archives of Elizabeth Hawley'' is a large digital and published record of mountaineering in the ''Nepalese Himalayas'' since 1903 (i.e. it does not include the ''Pakistan Himalaya'' peaks such as K2 and ...
'', is considered as an important source for the ''Nepalese Himalayas''. Online ascent databases pay close regard to ''The Himalayan Database'', including the website ''AdventureStats.com'', and the '' Eberhard Jurgalski List''. Various mountaineering journals, including the ''
Alpine Journal The ''Alpine Journal'' (''AJ'') is an annual publication by the Alpine Club of London. It is the oldest mountaineering journal in the world. History The magazine was first published on 2 March 1863 by the publishing house of Longman in London, ...
'' and the ''
American Alpine Journal The ''American Alpine Journal'' is an annual magazine published by the American Alpine Club. Its mission is "to document and communicate mountain exploration." The headquarters is in Golden, Colorado. Subtitled as a compilation of "The World's M ...
'', maintain extensive records and archives but do not always opine on ascents.


Verified ascents

The "No O2" column lists people who have climbed all 14 eight-thousanders without supplementary oxygen.


Disputed ascents

Claims have been made for summiting all 14 peaks for which not enough evidence was provided to verify the ascent; the disputed ascent in each claim is shown in parentheses in the table below. In most cases, the Himalayan chronicler
Elizabeth Hawley Elizabeth Hawley (9 November 1923 – 26 January 2018) was an American journalist, author, and chronicler of Himalayan mountaineering expeditions. Hawley's ''The Himalayan Database'' became the unofficial record for climbs in the Nepalese Himal ...
is considered a definitive source regarding the facts of the dispute. Her ''
The Himalayan Database ''The Himalayan Database: The Expedition Archives of Elizabeth Hawley'' is a large digital and published record of mountaineering in the ''Nepalese Himalayas'' since 1903 (i.e. it does not include the ''Pakistan Himalaya'' peaks such as K2 and ...
'' is the source for other online Himalayan ascent databases (e.g. AdventureStats.com).If a mountaineer wants worldwide recognition that they have reached the summit of some of the most formidable mountains in the world, they will need to get the approval of Elizabeth Hawley. The ''Eberhard Jurgalski List'' is also another important source for independent verification of claims to have summited all 14 eight-thousanders.


Verification issues

A recurrent problem with verification is the confirmation that the climber reached the true peak of the eight-thousander. Eight-thousanders present unique problems in this regard as they are so infrequently summited, their summits have not yet been exhaustively surveyed, and summiting climbers are often suffering the extreme altitude and weather effects of being in the
death zone In mountaineering, the death zone refers to altitudes above a certain point where the pressure of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span. This point is generally tagged as , less than 356 millibars of atmospheric ...
.
Cho Oyu __NOTOC__ Cho Oyu (Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means "Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the ''Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur ...
for example, is a recurrent problem eight-thousander as its true peak is a small hump about a thirty minutes walk into the large flat summit plateau that lies in the death zone. The true peak is often obscured in very poor weather, and this led to the disputed ascent (per the table above) of British climber, Alan Hinkes (who has refused to re-climb the peak).
Shishapangma Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. In 1964, it became the last of the 8,000-metre peaks to be climbed. This was due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions ...
is another problem peak because of its dual summits, which despite being close in height, are up to two hours climbing time apart and require the crossing of an exposed and dangerous snow ridge. When Hawley judged that
Ed Viesturs Edmund Viesturs (born June 22, 1959) is a high-altitude mountaineer, corporate speaker, and well known author in the mountain climbing community. He is the only American to have climbed all 14 of the world's eight-thousander mountain peaks, and ...
had not reached the true summit of Shishapangma (which she deduced from his summit photos and interviews), he then re-climbed the mountain to definitively establish his ascent. In a May 2021 interview with the ''New York Times'', Jurgalski pointed out further issues with false summits on Annapurna I (a long ridge with multiple summits), Dhaulagiri (misleading false summit metal pole), and Manaslu (additional sharp and dangerous ridge to the true summit, like Shishapangma), noting that of the existing 44 accepted claims (as per the table earlier), at least 7 had serious question marks (these were in addition to the table of disputed ascents), and even noting that "It is possible that no one has ever been on the true summit of all 14 of the 8,000-meter peaks". In June 2021, Australian climber
Damien Gildea Damien Gildea (born 1969) is an Australian mountaineer and Antarctic explorer who has climbed extensively in Antarctica, Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan, Bolivia, Alaska, New Zealand and elsewhere. Mountaineering His Antarctic ascents include Mount Vinso ...
wrote an article in the ''American Alpine Journal'' on the work that Jurgalski and a team of international experts were doing in this area, including publishing detailed surveys of the problem summits using data from the
German Aerospace Center The German Aerospace Center (german: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany ...
. In July 2022, Jurgalski posted conclusions of the team's research (the wider team being of Rodolphe Popier and Tobias Pantel of
The Himalayan Database ''The Himalayan Database: The Expedition Archives of Elizabeth Hawley'' is a large digital and published record of mountaineering in the ''Nepalese Himalayas'' since 1903 (i.e. it does not include the ''Pakistan Himalaya'' peaks such as K2 and ...
, and Damien Gildea, Federico Bernardi, Bob Schelfhout Aubertijn, and Thaneswar Guragai). According to their analysis, only three climbers,
Ed Viesturs Edmund Viesturs (born June 22, 1959) is a high-altitude mountaineer, corporate speaker, and well known author in the mountain climbing community. He is the only American to have climbed all 14 of the world's eight-thousander mountain peaks, and ...
,
Veikka Gustafsson Eero Veikka Juhani Gustafsson, known as Veikka Gustafsson (born 14 January 1968) is a Finnish mountaineer who has ascended all 14 eight-thousanders in the world without the use of supplemental oxygen. He is also known for presenting a TV travel ...
and
Nirmal Purja Nirmal Purja (known as Nims or Nimsdai) ( ne, निर्मल पुर्जा; born 25 July 1983) is a Nepal-born naturalised British mountaineer and a holder of multiple mountaineering world records. Prior to taking on a career in mount ...
have stood on the true summit of all 14 eight-thousanders, and no female climber had yet done so. Viesturs is also the first to have done so without the use of oxygen. Jurgalski allowed for the fact that they had deliberately not stood on the true summit of
Kangchenjunga Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the T ...
out of religious respect. The team has not formally published their work, and according to Popier, they had not decided about "the best respectful form to present it".


Proposed expansion

In 2012, to relieve capacity pressure and overcrowding on the world's highest mountain, greater restrictions were placed on expeditions to the summit of Mount Everest. To address the growing capacity constraints, Nepal lobbied the
International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, commonly known by its French name Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA, lit. ''International Union of Alpine Clubs''), was founded in August 1932 in Chamonix, France ...
(or UIAA) to reclassify five subsidiary summits (two on
Lhotse Lhotse ( ne, ल्होत्से ; , ''lho tse'', ) is the fourth highest mountain in the world at , after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. The main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of China and the Khumbu ...
and three on
Kanchenjunga Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third List of highest mountains on Earth, highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', wh ...
), as standalone eight-thousanders, while Pakistan lobbied for a sixth subsidiary summit (on
Broad Peak Broad Peak ( ur, ) is a mountain in the Karakoram on the border of Pakistan and China, the twelfth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It was first ascended in June 1957 by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, an ...
) as a standalone eight-thousander. See table below for list of all subsidiary summits of eight-thousander mountains. In 2012, the UIAA initiated the ''ARUGA Project'', with an aim to see if these six new -plus peaks could feasibly achieve international recognition. The proposed six new eight-thousander peaks have a
topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
above , but none would meet the wider UIAA prominence threshold of (the lowest prominence of the existing 14 eight-thousanders is Lhotse, at ). Critics noted that of the six proposed, only Broad Peak Central, with a prominence of , would even meet the prominence threshold to be a British Isles Marilyn. The appeal noted the UIAA's 1994 reclassification of Alpine four-thousander peaks used a prominence threshold of , amongst other criteria; the logic being that if worked for summits, then is proportional for summits. , there has been no conclusion by the UIAA and the proposals appear to have been set aside.


Gallery

File:Everest kalapatthar crop.jpg, No. 1 –
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
File:K2 2006b.jpg, No. 2 – K2 File:Kangchenjunga.JPG, No. 3 –
Kangchenjunga Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the T ...
File:Lhotse-fromChukhungRi.jpg, No. 4 –
Lhotse Lhotse ( ne, ल्होत्से ; , ''lho tse'', ) is the fourth highest mountain in the world at , after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. The main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of China and the Khumbu ...
File:Makalu from Island Peak.jpg, No. 5 –
Makalu Makalu ( ne, मकालु हिमाल, Makālu himāl; zh, t=馬卡魯峰, p=Mǎkǎlǔ fēng) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at . It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, in Nepal. One of th ...
File:ChoOyu-fromGokyo.jpg, No. 6 –
Cho Oyu __NOTOC__ Cho Oyu (Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means "Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the ''Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur ...
File:DhaulagiriMountain.jos.500pix.jpg, No. 7 –
Dhaulagiri Dhaulagiri is the seventh highest mountain in the world at above sea level, and the highest mountain within the borders of a single country (Nepal). It was first climbed on 13 May 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian-Nepali expedition. Annapurna I () is ...
File:Manaslu, from base camp trip.jpg, No. 8 –
Manaslu Manaslu ( ne, मनास्लु, also known as Kutang; muh-NAA-slu) is the eighth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. The name Mana ...
File:Nanga parbat, Pakistan by gul791.jpg, No. 9 –
Nanga Parbat Nanga Parbat ( ur, ) (; ), known locally as Diamer () which means “king of the mountains”, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth, its summit at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in ...
File:AnnapurnaSouthMountain.jos.500pix.jpg, No. 10 –
Annapurna Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficu ...
File:HiddenPeak.jpg, No. 11 –
Gasherbrum I Gasherbrum I ( ur, ; ), surveyed as K5 and also known as Hidden Peak, is the 11th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is located in Shigar District in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan. Gasherbrum I is part of the Ga ...
File:7 15 BroadPeak.jpg, No. 12 –
Broad Peak Broad Peak ( ur, ) is a mountain in the Karakoram on the border of Pakistan and China, the twelfth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It was first ascended in June 1957 by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, an ...
File:Gasherbrum2.jpg, No. 13 –
Gasherbrum II Gasherbrum II ( ur, ; ); surveyed as K4, is the 13th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is the third-highest peak of the Gasherbrum massif, and is located in the Karakoram, on the border between Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan a ...
File:Shishapangma.jpg, No. 14 –
Shishapangma Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. In 1964, it became the last of the 8,000-metre peaks to be climbed. This was due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions ...


See also

*
Explorers Grand Slam The Explorer's Grand Slam is an adventurer goal to reach the North Pole and South Pole, as well as climb the Seven Summits (Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Vinson, and Puncak Jaya or Kosciuszko). Purists also include a subma ...
, the North Pole, the South Pole, and the Seven Summits *
List of deaths on eight-thousanders The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains that rise more than above sea level; they are all in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges. This is a list of mountaineers who have died on these mountains. Mount Everest Mount Everest, E ...
*
List of Mount Everest summiters by number of times to the summit The list consists of people who reached the summit of Mount Everest more than once. By 2013, 6,871 summits have been recorded by 4,042 people. Despite two hard years of disaster (2014 and 2015), by the end of 2016 there were 7,646 summits by 4,469 ...
* List of ski descents of eight-thousanders *
Three Poles Challenge The Three Poles is an adventurer’s challenge to reach the North Pole, the South Pole, and the summit of Mount Everest. The first person to reach all three locations was Edmund Hillary. He reached the top of Everest in May 1953, summited the Sout ...
, the North Pole, the South Pole, and Mount Everest *
Volcanic Seven Summits The Volcanic Seven Summits are the highest volcanoes on each of the seven continents, just as the Seven Summits are the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. Summiting all seven is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postul ...
, the highest volcanos on each continent *
Fourteener In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least . The 96 fourteeners in the United States are all west of the Mississippi River. Colorado has the most (53) of any single ...
, peak with at least 14,000 ft. elevation


Notes


References


External links


8000ers.com
a site dedicated to statistics on 8000m peaks and climbs
PeakBagger.com World 8000-meter Peaks
a database of global peaks
The Himalayan Database
statistics on Nepalese Himalayan (but not Pakistan Himalaya) climbs from 1905 to 2018
Graphical Interface for The Himalayan Database

AdventureStats.com (High Altitude Mountaineering)
a site dedicated to recording adventure statistics
NASA Earth Observatory: The Eight-Thousanders

Eight Thousanders Tracking Expeditons On Line from Alpinismonline Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eight-Thousander Mountains by height Lists of mountains Mountaineering Oronyms Peak bagging Mountains of the Himalayas