Eight-thousander
Mountain peaks of over 8,000 meters From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains recognized by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) as being more than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) in height above sea level, and sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no precise definition of the criteria used to assess independence, and at times, the UIAA has considered whether the list should be expanded to 20 mountain peaks by including the major satellite peaks of eight-thousanders. All of the eight-thousanders are located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges in Asia, and their summits lie in the altitude range known as the death zone.
From 1950 to 1964, all 14 eight-thousanders were summited by expedition climbers in the summer (the first to be summited was Annapurna I in 1950, and the last was Shishapangma in 1964), and from 1980 to 2021, all 14 were summited in the winter (the first to be summited in winter being Mount Everest in 1980, and the last being K2 in 2021). On a variety of statistical techniques, the deadliest eight-thousander is Annapurna I (one death – climber or climber support – for every three summiters), followed by K2 and Nanga Parbat (one death for every four to five summiters), and then Dhaulagiri and Kangchenjunga (one for every six to seven summiters).
The first person to summit all 14 eight-thousanders was the Italian climber Reinhold Messner in 1986, who did not use any supplementary oxygen. In 2010, Edurne Pasaban, a Basque Spanish mountaineer became the first woman to summit all 14 eight-thousanders, but with the aid of supplementary oxygen. In 2011, Austrian Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner became the first woman to summit all 14 eight-thousanders without the aid of supplementary oxygen. In 2013, South Korean Kim Chang-ho climbed all 14 eight-thousanders in 7 years and 310 days, without the aid of supplementary oxygen. In July 2023, Kristin Harila and Tenjen Lama Sherpa set a speed record of 92 days for climbing all 14 eight-thousanders, with supplementary oxygen. In July 2022, Sanu Sherpa became the first person to summit all 14 eight-thousanders twice, which he did from 2006 to 2022.
Issues with false summits (e.g. Cho Oyu, Annapurna I and Dhaulagiri), or separated dual summits (e.g. Shishapangma and Manaslu), have led to disputed claims of ascents.[1] In 2022, after several years of research, a team of experts reported that they could only confirm evidence that three climbers, Ed Viesturs, Veikka Gustafsson and Nirmal Purja, had stood on the true geographic summit of all 14 eight-thousanders.[2]
Climbing history
Summarize
Perspective
First ascents
The first recorded attempt on an eight-thousander was when Albert F. Mummery, Geoffrey Hastings and J. Norman Collie tried to climb Pakistan's Nanga Parbat in 1895. The attempt failed when Mummery and two Gurkhas, Ragobir Thapa and Goman Singh, were killed by an avalanche.[3]
The first successful ascent of an eight-thousander was by the French climbers Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal, who reached the summit of Annapurna on 3 June 1950 using expedition climbing techniques as part of the 1950 French Annapurna expedition.[4] Due to its location in Tibet, Shishapangma was the last eight-thousander to be ascended, which was completed by a Chinese team led by Xu Jing in 1964 (Tibet's mountains were closed by China to foreigners until 1978).[5]
The first winter ascent of an eight-thousander was by a Polish team led by Andrzej Zawada on Mount Everest, with Leszek Cichy and Krzysztof Wielicki reaching the summit on 17 February 1980;[6] all-Polish teams would complete nine of the first fourteen winter ascents of eight-thousanders.[7] 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.[8]
Only two climbers have completed more than one first ascent of an eight-thousander, Hermann Buhl (Nanga Parbat and Broad Peak) and Kurt Diemberger (Broad Peak and Dhaulagiri). Buhl's summit of Nanga Parbat 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.[7] Italian climber Simone Moro made the first winter ascent of four eight-thousanders (Shishapangma, Makalu, Gasherbrum II, and Nanga Parbat),[9] while three Polish climbers have each made three first winter ascents of an eight-thousander, Maciej Berbeka (Cho Oyu, Manaslu, and Broad Peak), Krzysztof Wielicki (Everest, Kangchenjunga, and Lhotse) and Jerzy Kukuczka (Dhaulagiri I, Kangchenjunga, and Annapurna I).[7]
All 14
On 16 October 1986, Italian Reinhold Messner became the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders. In 1987, Polish climber Jerzy Kukuczka became the second person to accomplish this feat.[7] Messner summited each of the 14 peaks without the aid of bottled oxygen, a feat that was only repeated by the Swiss Erhard Loretan nine years later in 1995 (Kukuczka had used supplementary oxygen while summiting Everest and on no other eight-thousander[7]).[11]
On 17 May 2010, Spanish climber Edurne Pasaban became the first woman to summit all 14 eight-thousanders.[12] In August 2011, Austrian climber Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner became the first woman to climb the 14 eight-thousanders without the use of supplementary oxygen.[13][14]
The first couple and team to summit all 14 eight-thousanders were the Italians Nives Meroi (who was the second woman to accomplish this feat without supplementary oxygen), and her husband Romano Benet on 11 May 2017.[15][16] The couple climbed alpine style, without the use of supplementary oxygen or other support.[16][17]
On 23 May 2023, Nepali guide Kami Rita summitted Everest for the 28th time (a record for Everest), becoming the first-ever person to climb an eight-thousander 38 times.[18] In July 2022, Sanu Sherpa became the first person to summit all 14 eight-thousanders twice.[19] He started with Cho Oyu in 2006, and completed the double by summiting Gasherbrum II in July 2022.[20]
On 20 May 2013, South Korean climber Kim Chang-ho 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-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja set a speed record of 6 months and 6 days for climbing all 14 eight-thousanders with the use of supplementary oxygen.[21][22][23] On 27 July 2023, Kristin Harila and Tenjen Lama Sherpa set a new speed record of 92 days for climbing all 14 eight-thousanders with supplementary oxygen.[24][25]
Deadliest
| Eight thousander |
From 1950 to March 2012[27] | Climber death rate [28][29][a] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total ascents[b] |
Total deaths[c] |
Deaths as % of ascents[d] | ||
| Everest | 5656 | 223 | 3.9% | 1.52% |
| K2 | 283 | 40 | 14.1% | 3.00% |
| Lhotse | 461 | 13 | 2.8% | 1.03% |
| Makalu | 361 | 31 | 8.6% | 1.63% |
| Cho Oyu | 3138 | 44 | 1.4% | 0.64% |
| Dhaulagiri I | 448 | 69 | 15.4% | 2.94% |
| Manaslu | 661 | 65 | 9.8% | 2.77% |
| Nanga Parbat | 335 | 68 | 20.3% | –[e] |
| Annapurna I | 191 | 61 | 31.9% | 4.05% |
| Gasherbrum I (Hidden Peak) |
334 | 29 | 8.7% | –[e] |
| Broad Peak | 404 | 21 | 5.2% | –[e] |
| Gasherbrum II | 930 | 21 | 2.3% | –[e] |
| Kangchenjunga | 243 | 40 | 16% | 3.00% |
| Shishapangma | 302 | 25 | 8.3% | |
The eight-thousanders are the world's deadliest mountains. 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 high.[31] 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.[30][32]
- Broad death rate: The first metric is the ratio of total deaths[c] on the mountain to successful climbers summiting over a given period.[30] The Guinness Book of World Records 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%.[33] Using consistent data from 1950 to 2012, mountaineering statistician Eberhard Jurgalski (see table) 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%).[30] 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%).[32][31] Cho Oyu was the safest at 1.4%.[30][32]
- 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.[28] 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).[28] The data is only for the Nepalese Himalaya and therefore does not include K2 or Nanga Parbat.[28] HDB estimates the probability of death for a climber attempting the summit of an eight-thousander is still highest for Annapurna I (4%), followed by Kangchenjunga (3%) and Dhaulagiri (3%); the safest is still Cho Oyu at 0.6%.[28]
The tables from the HDB for eight-thousanders also show 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.[28]
List of first ascents
Summarize
Perspective
From 1950 to 1964, all 14 of the eight-thousanders were summited in the summer (the first was Annapurna I in 1950, and the last was Shishapangma in 1964), and from 1980 to 2021, all 14 were summited in the winter (the first being Everest in 1980, and the last being K2 in 2021).
| Mountain[26] | First ascent[26] | First winter ascent[26] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Height[34] | Prom.[34] | Country | Date | Summiter(s) | Date | Summiter(s) |
| Everest | 8,849 m (29,032 ft)[35] |
8,849 m (29,032 ft) |
 Nepal China |
29 May 1953[f] |
 Edmund Hillary
|
17 February 1980 |
 Krzysztof Wielicki Leszek Cichy |
| K2 | 8,611 m (28,251 ft) |
4,020 m (13,190 ft) |
 Pakistan China[36] |
31 July 1954 |  Achille Compagnoni Lino Lacedelli |
16 January 2021[8] |  Nirmal Purja[40]
|
| Kangchenjunga | 8,586 m (28,169 ft) |
3,922 m (12,867 ft) |
Nepal India[41] |
25 May 1955 | George Band Joe Brown on British expedition |
11 January 1986 | Krzysztof Wielicki Jerzy Kukuczka |
| Lhotse | 8,516 m (27,940 ft) |
610 m (2,000 ft) |
Nepal China |
18 May 1956 |  Fritz Luchsinger Ernst Reiss |
31 December 1988 | Krzysztof Wielicki |
| Makalu | 8,485 m (27,838 ft) |
2,378 m (7,802 ft) |
Nepal China |
15 May 1955 |  Jean Couzy Lionel Terrayon French expedition |
9 February 2009 | Simone Moro Denis Urubko |
| Cho Oyu | 8,188 m (26,864 ft) |
2,344 m (7,690 ft) |
Nepal China |
19 October 1954 |  Joseph Joechler Pasang Dawa Lama Herbert Tichy |
12 February 1985 | Maciej Berbeka Maciej Pawlikowski |
| Dhaulagiri I | 8,167 m (26,795 ft) |
3,357 m (11,014 ft) |
Nepal |
13 May 1960 | Kurt Diemberger Peter Diener Nawang Dorje Nima Dorje Ernst Forrer Albin Schelbert |
21 January 1985 | Andrzej Czok Jerzy Kukuczka |
| Manaslu | 8,163 m (26,781 ft) |
3,092 m (10,144 ft) |
Nepal |
9 May 1956 |  Toshio Imanishi Gyalzen Norbu |
12 January 1984 | Maciej Berbeka Ryszard Gajewski |
| Nanga Parbat | 8,125 m (26,657 ft) |
4,608 m (15,118 ft) |
Pakistan |
3 July 1953 | Hermann Buhl on German–Austrian expedition |
26 February 2016 | Muhammad Ali Sadpara Simone Moro Alex Txikon |
| Annapurna I | 8,091 m (26,545 ft) |
2,984 m (9,790 ft) |
Nepal |
3 June 1950 | Maurice Herzog Louis Lachenal |
3 February 1987 | Jerzy Kukuczka Artur Hajzer |
| Gasherbrum I (Hidden Peak) |
8,080 m (26,510 ft) |
2,155 m (7,070 ft) |
Pakistan China |
5 July 1958 |  Andrew Kauffman Pete Schoening |
9 March 2012 | Adam Bielecki Janusz Gołąb |
| Broad Peak | 8,051 m (26,414 ft) |
1,701 m (5,581 ft) |
Pakistan China |
9 June 1957 | Fritz Wintersteller Marcus Schmuck Kurt Diemberger Hermann Buhl |
5 March 2013 | Maciej Berbeka Adam Bielecki Tomasz Kowalski Artur Małek |
| Gasherbrum II | 8,034 m (26,358 ft) |
1,524 m (5,000 ft) |
Pakistan China |
7 July 1956 | Fritz Moravec Josef Larch Hans Willenpart |
2 February 2011 | Simone Moro Denis Urubko Cory Richards |
| Shishapangma | 8,027 m (26,335 ft) |
2,897 m (9,505 ft) |
China |
2 May 1964 | Xu Jing Chang Chun-yen Wang Fuzhou Chen San Cheng Tien-liang Wu Tsung-yue Sodnam Doji Migmar Trashi Doji Yonten |
14 January 2005 | Piotr Morawski Simone Moro |
List of climbers of all 14
Summarize
Perspective
First to climb all 14 eight-thousanders
Reinhold Messner, first to climb all 14, and without oxygen
.jpg)
Edurne Pasaban, the first woman to climb all 14 after Oh Eun-sun's claim was disputed
Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, the first woman to climb all 14 without oxygen
There is no single undisputed source or arbitrator for verified ascents of Himalayan eight-thousander peaks.
Various mountaineering journals, including the Alpine Journal and the American Alpine Journal, also maintain extensive records and archives on expeditions to the eight-thousanders, but do not always opine on disputed ascents, and nor do they maintain registers or lists of verified ascents of the eight-thousanders.[1][42]
Elizabeth Hawley's The Himalayan Database,[43] is considered as an important source for verified ascents for the Nepalese Himalayas.[44][45] Online databases of Himalayan ascents pay close regard to The Himalayan Database, including the website AdventureStats.com,[46] and the Eberhard Jurgalski List.[1][42][47]
Verified ascents
First person to summit all 14 eight-thousanders, and first to do so without supplementary oxygen
First female to summit all 14 eight-thousanders; with supplementary oxygen
First female to summit all 14 eight-thousanders; no supplementary oxygen
Fastest ascent of all 14 eight-thousanders; with supplementary oxygen
Fastest ascent of all 14 eight-thousanders; no supplementary oxygen
Youngest person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders
First disabled person to have summited all 14 eight-thousanders
The "No O2" column lists people who have climbed all 14 eight-thousanders without supplementary oxygen.
| Order | Order (No O2) |
Name | Period climbing eight-thousanders |
Born | Age | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Reinhold Messner | 1970–1986 | 1944 | 42 | Italian |
| 2 | Jerzy Kukuczka | 1979–1987 | 1948 | 39 | Polish | |
| 3 | 2 | Erhard Loretan | 1982–1995 | 1959 | 36 | Swiss |
| 4 | [49] | Carlos Carsolio | 1985–1996 | 1962 | 33 |  Mexican |
| 5 | Krzysztof Wielicki | 1980–1996 | 1950 | 46 | Polish | |
| 6 | 3 | Juanito Oiarzabal | 1985–1999 | 1956 | 43 | Spanish |
| 7 | Sergio Martini | 1983–2000 | 1949 | 51 | Italian | |
| 8 | Park Young-seok | 1993–2001 | 1963 | 38 |  Korean | |
| 9 | Um Hong-gil | 1988–2001 | 1960[50] | 40 | Korean | |
| 10 | 4 | Alberto Iñurrategi | 1991–2002[51] | 1968 | 33 | Spanish |
| 11 | Han Wang-yong | 1994–2003 | 1966 | 37 | Korean | |
| 12 | 5[52] | Ed Viesturs | 1989–2005 | 1959 | 46 | American |
| 13 | 6[53][54][55] | Silvio Mondinelli | 1993–2007 | 1958 | 49 | Italian |
| 14 | 7[56] | Iván Vallejo | 1997–2008 | 1959 | 49 |  Ecuadorian |
| 15 | 8[57] | Denis Urubko | 2000–2009 | 1973 | 35 | Kazakhstani |
| 16 | Ralf Dujmovits | 1990–2009 | 1961[58] | 47 | German | |
| 17[59] | 9[60] | Veikka Gustafsson | 1993–2009 | 1968 | 41 |  Finnish |
| 18[61] | Andrew Lock | 1993–2009 | 1961[62] | 48 |  Australian | |
| 19 | 10 | João Garcia | 1993–2010 | 1967 | 43 |  Portuguese |
| 20[63] | Piotr Pustelnik | 1990–2010 | 1951 | 58 | Polish | |
| 21[64] | Edurne Pasaban | 2001–2010 | 1973 | 36 | Spanish | |
| 22[65] | Abele Blanc | 1992–2011[66][67] | 1954 | 56 | Italian | |
| 23 | Mingma Sherpa | 2000–2011[66] | 1978 | 33 | Nepali | |
| 24 | 11 | Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner | 1998–2011[66] | 1970 | 40 | Austrian |
| 25 | Vassily Pivtsov | 2001–2011[66] | 1975 | 36 | Kazakhstani | |
| 26 | 12 | Maxut Zhumayev | 2001–2011[66] | 1977 | 34 | Kazakhstani |
| 27 | Kim Jae-soo | 2000–2011[66] | 1961 | 50 | Korean | |
| 28[68] | 13 | Mario Panzeri | 1988–2012 | 1964 | 48 | Italian |
| 29[69] | Hirotaka Takeuchi [ja] | 1995–2012[69] | 1971 | 41 |  Japanese | |
| 30 | Chhang Dawa Sherpa | 2001–2013[66] | 1982 | 30 | Nepali | |
| 31 | 14 | Kim Chang-ho | 2005–2013[66] | 1970 | 43 | Korean |
| 32 | Jorge Egocheaga | 2002–2014[70] | 1968 | 45 | Spanish | |
| 33 | 15 | Radek Jaroš | 1998–2014[66] | 1964 | 50 |  Czech |
| 34/35[71] | 16/17[71] | Nives Meroi | 1998–2017[72][73] | 1961 | 55 | Italian |
| 34/35[71] | 16/17[71] | Romano Benet | 1998–2017[72][73][74] | 1962 | 55 | Italian /  Slovenian |
| 36 | Peter Hámor | 1998–2017[75][76][77] | 1964 | 52 |  Slovak | |
| 37 | 18 | Azim Gheychisaz | 2008–2017[78] | 1981 | 37 |  Iranian |
| 38 | Ferran Latorre | 1999–2017[79] | 1970 | 46 | Spanish | |
| 39 | 19 | Òscar Cadiach | 1984–2017[80] | 1952 | 64 | Spanish |
| 40 | Kim Mi-gon | 2000–2018[81][82] | 1973 | 45 | Korean | |
| 41 | Sanu Sherpa | 2006–2019[83] | 1975 | 44 | Nepali | |
| 42 | Nirmal Purja | 2014–2019[23][84][g] | 1983 | 36 | British[37][38][39] | |
| 43 | Mingma Gyabu Sherpa | 2010–2019[85][86] | 1989 | 30 | Nepali | |
| 44 | Kim Hong-bin | 2006–2021[87][88][89] | 1964 | 57 | Korean | |
| 45 | Nima Gyalzen Sherpa | 2004–2022[90][91] | 1985 | 37 | Nepali | |
| 46 | Dong Hong Juan | 2015–2023[92][93] | 1981 | 42 | Chinese | |
| 47 | Kristin Harila | 2021–2023[94][95] | 1986 | 37 |  Norwegian | |
| 48 | Sophie Lavaud | 2012–2023[96][97][98][99] | 1968 | 55 | Swiss /  French /  Canadian | |
| 49 | Tunç Fındık | 2001–2023[98][99] | 1972 | 51 |  Turkish | |
| 50 | Tenjen Lama Sherpa | 2016–2023[24][25][100] | 35[101] | Nepali | ||
| 51 | Gelje Sherpa | 2017–2023[102][103][104] | 1992[102] | 30 | Nepali | |
| 52 | Chris Warner | 1999–2023[105] | 1965 | 58 | American | |
| 53 | 20 | Marco Camandona | 2000–2024[106][107] | 1970 | 54 | Italian |
| 54 | Naoki Ishikawa | 2001–4 October 2024[108][109] | 1977 | 47 | Japanese | |
| 54 | Tracee Metcalfe | 2016–4 October 2024[110][108] | 50[110] | American | ||
| 54 | Sirbaz Khan | 2017–4 October 2024[111][112][113][108] | 1987 | 37 | Pakistani | |
| 54 | Dawa Gyalje Sherpa | ?–4 October 2024[108] | Nepali | |||
| 54 | 21 | Mingma Gyalje Sherpa | ?–4 October 2024[108] | Nepali | ||
| 59 | 22 | Mario Vielmo | 1998–9 October 2024[114][115] | 1964 | 60 | Italian |
| 59 | Naoko Watanabe [ja] | 2006–9 October 2024[114][116][117] | 1981 | 42 | Japanese | |
| 59 | Adrian Laza | 2016–9 October 2024[114][118] | 1963 | 60 |  Romanian | |
| 59 | Pasang Nurbu Sherpa | 2016-9 October 2024[114][119][120][121] | Nepali | |||
| 59 | Shehroze Kashif | 2019–9 October 2024[114][122][123][124] | 2002 | 22 | Pakistani | |
| 59 | Dorota Rasińska-Samoćko | 2021–9 October 2024[114][125][126] | Polish | |||
| 59 | Adriana Brownlee | 2021–9 October 2024[114] | 2001 | 23 | British | |
| 59 | Nima Rinji Sherpa | 2022–9 October 2024[114][127][128] | 2006[129] | 18 | Nepali | |
| 59 | Alasdair McKenzie | 2022–9 October 2024[114] | 2004 | 20 | French / British | |
| 59 | Alina Pekova | 2023–9 October 2024[114][130] |  Russian | |||
| 59 | Ko-Erh Tseng | ?–9 October 2024[114] |  Taiwanese | |||
| 70 | Mingtemba Sherpa | 2013-2024[131][132] | Nepali | |||
| 71 | Tejan Gurung | 2022-2024[133][134] | Nepali / British | |||
| 72 | Pasang Tendi | 2011-2024[135] | Nepali | |||
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 is considered a definitive source regarding the facts of the dispute. Her The Himalayan Database is the source for other online Himalayan ascent databases (e.g. AdventureStats.com).[44][45] The Eberhard Jurgalski List is also another important source for independent verification of claims to have summited all 14 eight-thousanders.[1][42]
| Name and details | Period climbing eight-thousanders |
Born | Age | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fausto De Stefani (Lhotse 1997)[136] His partner Sergio Martini reclimbed Lhotse in 2000 to verify his 14, see above. |
1983–1998 | 1952 | 46 | Italian |
| Alan Hinkes (Cho Oyu 1990)[137][138] Hinkes rejected Hawley's decision to "unrecognise" his ascent, see "Cho Oyu dispute". |
1987–2005 | 1954 | 53 | British |
| Vladislav Terzyul (Shishapangma (West) 2000, Broad Peak 1995[139][140])[141][142] As he did not claim the main summit of Shishapangma, this status is unlikely to change. |
1993–2004 (deceased) |
1953 | 49 |  Ukrainian |
| Oh Eun-sun (Kangchenjunga 2009)[143][144][145] As the potential first female climber of all 14, this dispute was followed internationally.[144] |
1997–2010 | 1966 | 44 | Korean |
| Carlos Pauner (Shishapangma 2012)[146] Pauner acknowledged his uncertainty as it was dark; said he might reclimb.[147] |
2001–2013 | 1963 | 50 | Spanish |
| Zhang Liang (Shishapangma 2018)[148][149][150] Suspected the 2018 Chinese Shishapangma expedition stopped at central summit. |
2000–2018 | 1964 | 54 | Chinese |
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.[1][42]
Cho Oyu 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).[151][152] Shishapangma 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.[1][153] When Hawley judged that Ed Viesturs 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.[154][1]
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".[1] In June 2021, Australian climber Damien Gildea 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.[42]
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, and Damien Gildea, Federico Bernardi, and Thaneswar Guragai).[2][155] According to their analysis, only three climbers, Ed Viesturs, Veikka Gustafsson and Nirmal Purja have stood on the true summit of all 14 eight-thousanders, and no female climber had yet done so.[2] Viesturs is also the first to have done so without the use of oxygen.[2] Jurgalski allowed for the fact that they had deliberately not stood on the true summit of Kangchenjunga out of religious respect.[2] The team has not formally published their work, and according to Popier, they had not decided about "the best respectful form to present it".[2]
Proposed expansion
Summarize
Perspective
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.[156] To address the growing capacity constraints, Nepal lobbied the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (or UIAA) to reclassify five subsidiary summits (two on Lhotse and three on Kanchenjunga), as standalone eight-thousanders, while Pakistan lobbied for a sixth subsidiary summit (on Broad Peak) as a standalone eight-thousander.[157] See table below for list of all subsidiary summits of eight-thousanders.
In 2012, the UIAA initiated the ARUGA Project, with an aim to see if these six new 8,000 m (26,247 ft)-plus peaks could feasibly achieve international recognition.[157] The proposed six new eight-thousander peaks have a topographic prominence above 60 m (197 ft), but none would meet the wider UIAA prominence threshold of 600 m (1,969 ft) (the lowest prominence of the existing 14 eight-thousanders is Lhotse, at 610 metres (2,001 ft)).[158][159] Critics noted that of the six proposed, only Broad Peak Central, with a prominence of 181 metres (594 ft), would even meet the 150 metres (492 ft) prominence threshold to be a British Isles Marilyn.[158] The appeal noted the UIAA's 1994 reclassification of Alpine four-thousander peaks used a prominence threshold of 30 m (98 ft),[h] amongst other criteria; the logic being that if 30 m (98 ft) worked for 4,000 m (13,123 ft) summits, then 60 m (197 ft) is proportional for 8,000 m (26,247 ft) summits.[160]
As of April 2024[update], there has been no conclusion by the UIAA and the proposals appear to have been set aside.
| Proposed new eight-thousander | Height (m) |
Prominence (m) |
Dominance (Prom / Height) as a %[162] |
Dominance classification[162] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broad Peak Central | 8011 | 181 | 2.26 | B2 |
| Kangchenjunga W-Peak (Yalung Kang) | 8505 | 135 | 1.59 | C1 |
| Kangchenjunga S-Peak | 8476 | 116 | 1.37 | C2 |
| Kangchenjunga C-Peak | 8473 | 63 | 0.74 | C2 |
| Lhotse C-Peak I (Lhotse Middle) | 8410 | 65 | 0.77 | C2 |
| Lhotse Shar | 8382 | 72 | 0.86 | C2 |
| K 2 SW-Peak | 8580 | 30 | 0.35 | D1 |
| Lhotse C-Peak II | 8372 | 37 | 0.44 | D1 |
| Everest W-Peak | 8296 | 30 | 0.36 | D1 |
| Yalung Kang Shoulder | 8200 | 40 | 0.49 | D1 |
| Kangchenjunga SE-Peak | 8150 | 30 | 0.37 | D1 |
| K 2 P. 8134 (SW-Ridge) | 8134 | 35 | 0.43 | D1 |
| Annapurna C-Peak | 8051 | 49 | 0.61 | D1 |
| Nanga Parbat S-Peak | 8042 | 30 | 0.37 | D1 |
| Annapurna E-Peak | 8026 | 65 | 0.81 | C2 |
| Shisha Pangma C-Peak | 8008 | 30 | 0.37 | D1 |
| Everest NE-Shoulder | 8423 | 19 | 0.23 | D2 |
| Everest NE-Pinnacle III | 8383 | 13 | 0.16 | D2 |
| Lhotse N-Pinnacle III | 8327 | 10 | 0.12 | D2 |
| Lhotse N-Pinnacle II | 8307 | 12 | 0.14 | D2 |
| Lhotse N-Pinnacle I | 8290 | 10 | 0.12 | D2 |
| Everest NE-Pinnacle II | 8282 | 25 | 0.30 | D2 |
Gallery
- No. 1 – Mount Everest
- No. 2 – K2
- No. 3 – Kangchenjunga
- No. 4 – Lhotse
- No. 5 – Makalu
- No. 6 – Cho Oyu
- No. 7 – Dhaulagiri
- No. 8 – Manaslu
- No. 9 – Nanga Parbat
- No. 10 – Annapurna
- No. 11 – Gasherbrum I
- No. 12 – Broad Peak
- No. 13 – Gasherbrum II
- No. 14 – Shishapangma
See also
- List of deaths on eight-thousanders
- List of Mount Everest summiters by number of times to the summit
- List of ski descents of eight-thousanders
- Three Poles Challenge, the North Pole, the South Pole, and Mount Everest
- Explorers Grand Slam, the North Pole, the South Pole, and the Seven Summits
- Volcanic Seven Summits, the highest volcanos on each continent
- Fourteener, peak with at least 14,000 ft. elevation
- List of mountains by elevation
Notes
- Per 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, for 1950 to 2009, and is closer to a true probability of death; the data is only for Nepalese Himalaya. Summary tables from the HDB report for all mountains above 8,000 metres, imply that the death rate for the period 1990 to 2009 (e.g. modern expeditions), is roughly half that of the combined 1950 to 2009 period.[28]
- As recorded by Eberhard Jurgalski
- As recorded by Eberhard Jurgalski and being any death (climber or other) above Base Camp.[30]
- This should not be mistaken as being a death rate; it does not imply a probability of death for a climber attempting to climb an eight-thousander as it includes all deaths from all activities undertaken above base camp (e.g. training or reconnaissance trips, camp stocking activities by porters who will not be summiting the mountain, rescue attempts etc.). Thus it compares deaths from the larger group of people who were, and were not, making a summit attempt, with the smaller group who were making a summit attempt. While it is not a probability, the statistic does reflect the ratio of people who died above base camp for each climber who summited.
- It remains unclear whether George Mallory and Andrew Irvine reached the summit in 1924 or not. For more details, see 1924 British Mount Everest expedition.
References
External links
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