Locations of the world's 14 eight-thousanders, which are split between theHimalayan (right, includingNanga Parbat, left), and theKarakoram mountain ranges (left)
Theeight-thousanders are 14mountains recognized by theInternational Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) with summits that exceed 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) in elevation abovesea level and are sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks as measured bytopographic prominence. There is no formally agreed-upon definition of prominence, however, and at times the UIAA has considered whether the list of 8,000-metre peaks should be expanded to 20 peaks by including the major satellite peaks of the canonical 14 eight-thousanders. All of the Earth's eight-thousanders are located in theHimalayan andKarakoram mountain ranges inAsia, and their summits lie in the altitude range known as thedeath zone, where atmospheric oxygen pressure is insufficient to sustain human life for extended periods of time.
From 1950 to 1964, all 14 of the eight-thousanders were first summited byexpedition climbers in the summer season (the first to be summited wasAnnapurna I in 1950, and the last wasShishapangma in 1964); from 1980 to 2021, all 14 were summited in the winter season (the first to be summited in winter wasMount Everest in 1980, and the last wasK2 in 2021). As measured by a variety of statistical techniques, the deadliest eight-thousander isAnnapurna I, with one death (climber or climber support) for every three summiters, followed byK2 andNanga Parbat (each with one death for every four to five summiters), and thenDhaulagiri andKangchenjunga (each with one death for every six to seven summiters).
The first person to summit all 14 eight-thousanders was the Italian climberReinhold Messner in 1986, who did not use any supplementary oxygen. In 2010,Edurne Pasaban, aBasqueSpanishmountaineer, became the first woman to summit all 14 eight-thousanders, though with the aid of supplementary oxygen. In 2011, AustrianGerlinde Kaltenbrunner became the first woman to summit all 14 eight-thousanders without the aid of supplementary oxygen. In 2013, South KoreanKim Chang-ho set a speed record by climbing all 14 eight-thousanders in 7 years and 310 days, without the aid of supplementary oxygen. In July 2023,Kristin Harila andTenjen 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.
Thefirst winter ascent of an eight-thousander was by a Polish team led byAndrzej Zawada onMount Everest, withLeszek Cichy andKrzysztof Wielicki reaching the summit on 17 February 1980;[4] all-Polish teams would complete nine of the first fourteen winter ascents of eight-thousanders.[5] 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.[6]
Only two climbers have completed the first ascent of more than one eight-thousander,Hermann Buhl (Nanga Parbat and Broad Peak, in 1953 and 1957) andKurt Diemberger (Broad Peak and Dhaulagiri, in 1957 and 1960). Buhl's summit ofNanga Parbat in 1953 is notable as being the onlysolo first-ascent of an eight-thousander.[7] The Polish climberJerzy Kukuczka is noted for creating over ten new routes on various eight-thousander mountains.[5] Italian climberSimone Moro made the first winter ascent of four eight-thousanders (Shishapangma, Makalu, Gasherbrum II, and Nanga Parbat),[8] 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) andJerzy Kukuczka (Dhaulagiri I, Kangchenjunga, and Annapurna I).[5]
Comparison of the heights of the Eight-thousanders (red triangles) with theSeven Summits andSeven Second SummitsThe 30–highest peaks in the world with over 500 m (1,640 ft) inprominence[9]
On 16 October 1986, ItalianReinhold Messner became the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders. In 1987, Polish climberJerzy Kukuczka became the second person to accomplish this feat.[5] Messner summited each of the 14 peaks without the aid ofbottled oxygen, a feat that was only repeated by the SwissErhard Loretan nine years later in 1995 (Kukuczka had used supplementary oxygen while summiting Everest but on no other eight-thousander[5]).[10]
On 17 May 2010, Spanish climberEdurne Pasaban became the first woman to summit all 14 eight-thousanders.[11] In August 2011,Austrian climberGerlinde Kaltenbrunner became the first woman to climb the 14 eight-thousanders without the use of supplementary oxygen.[12][13]
The first couple and team to summit all 14 eight-thousanders were the ItaliansNives Meroi (who was the second woman to accomplish this feat without supplementary oxygen), and her husbandRomano Benet [it] on 11 May 2017.[14][15] The couple climbedalpine style, without the use of supplementary oxygen or other support.[15][16]
On 22 May 2024,Nepali guideKami Rita summitted Everest for the 30th time (a record for Everest), also becoming the first-ever person to climb an eight-thousander 41 times.[17] In July 2022,Sanu Sherpa became the first person to summit all 14 eight-thousanders twice.[18] He started with Cho Oyu in 2006, and completed the double by summiting Gasherbrum II in July 2022.[19]
On 20 May 2013,South Korean climberKim 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, theBritish-Nepali climberNirmal Purja set a speed record of 6 months and 6 days for climbing all 14 eight-thousanders with the use of supplementary oxygen.[20][21][22] On 27 July 2023,Kristin Harila andTenjen Lama Sherpa set a new speed record of 92 days for climbing all 14 eight-thousanders with supplementary oxygen.[23][24]
The eight-thousanders are some of 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 (ordeath rate) is high.[31] Two metrics are quoted to establish adeath rate (i.e. broad and narrow) that are used to rank the eight-thousanders in order ofdeadliest.[30][32]
Broad death rate: The first metric is theratio of total deaths[c] on the mountain to successful climbers summiting over a given period.[30] TheGuinness 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 statisticianEberhard 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 includingMountainIQ, 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 theHimalayan Database (HDB) tables, the climber (or member) "Death Rate" is theratio 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 trueprobability 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]
From 1950 to 1964, all 14 of the eight-thousanders were summited in the summer (the first wasAnnapurna I in 1950, and the last wasShishapangma in 1964), and from 1980 to 2021, all 14 were summited in the winter (the first beingEverest in 1980, and the last beingK2 in 2021).
There is no single undisputed source or arbitrator for verified ascents of Himalayan eight-thousander peaks.
Various mountaineering journals, including theAlpine Journal and theAmerican 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.[42][43]
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 chroniclerElizabeth Hawley is considered a definitive source regarding the facts of the dispute. HerThe Himalayan Database is the source for other online Himalayan ascent databases (e.g. AdventureStats.com).[45][46] TheEberhard Jurgalski List is also another important source for independent verification of claims to have summited all 14 eight-thousanders.[42][43]
Vladislav Terzyul (Shishapangma (West) 2000, Broad Peak 1995[145][146])[147][148] 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)[149][150][151] As the potential first female climber of all 14, this dispute was followed internationally.[150]
1997–2010
1966
44
Korean
Carlos Pauner [es] (Shishapangma 2012)[152] Pauner acknowledged his uncertainty as it was dark; said he might reclimb.[153]
2001–2013
1963
50
Spanish
Zhang Liang (Shishapangma 2018)[154][155][156] Suspected the 2018 Chinese Shishapangma expedition stopped at central summit.
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 thedeath zone.[42][43]
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).[157][158]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.[42][159] When Hawley judged thatEd 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.[160][42]
In a May 2021 interview with theNew 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".[42] In June 2021, Australian climberDamien Gildea wrote an article in theAmerican 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 theGerman Aerospace Center.[43]
In July 2022, Jurgalski posted conclusions of the team's research (the wider team being of Rodolphe Popier and Tobias Pantel ofThe Himalayan Database, and Damien Gildea, Federico Bernardi, and Thaneswar Guragai).[161][162] According to their analysis, only three climbers,Ed Viesturs,Veikka Gustafsson andNirmal Purja have stood on the true summit of all 14 eight-thousanders, and no female climber had yet done so.[161] Viesturs is also the first to have done so without the use of oxygen.[161] Jurgalski allowed for the fact that they had deliberately not stood on the true summit ofKangchenjunga out of religious respect.[161] The team has not formally published their work, and according to Popier, they had not decided about "the best respectful form to present it".[161]
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.[163] To address the growing capacity constraints, Nepal lobbied theInternational Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (or UIAA) to reclassify five subsidiary summits (two onLhotse and three onKanchenjunga), as standalone eight-thousanders, while Pakistan lobbied for a sixth subsidiary summit (onBroad Peak) as a standalone eight-thousander.[164] See table below for list of all subsidiary summits of eight-thousanders.
In 2012, the UIAA initiated theARUGA Project, with an aim to see if these six new 8,000 m (26,247 ft)-plus peaks could feasibly achieve international recognition.[164] The proposed six new eight-thousander peaks have atopographic 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)).[165][166] 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 aBritish Isles Marilyn.[165] The appeal noted the UIAA's 1994 reclassification ofAlpine 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.[167]
As of April 2024[update], there has been no conclusion by the UIAA and the proposals appear to have been set aside.
Proposed to theUIAA in 2012 for reclassification as standalone eight-thousanders.[164]
List of the subsidiary peaks of the 14 eight-thousanders[168]
^PerThe 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 trueprobability of death; the data is only forNepalese 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]
^This should not be mistaken as being adeath rate; it does not imply aprobability of death for a climber attempting to climb an eight-thousander as it includesall deaths fromall 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.
^abcdeData is not available for theKarakoram Himalayas
^Herzog, Maurice (1951).Annapurna: First Conquest of an 8000-meter Peak. Translated from the French by Nea Morin and Janet Adam Smith. New York: E.P Dutton & Co. p. 257.
^abFreddie Wilkinson."Nepal climber makes history speed climbing world's tallest peaks".National Geographic. Archived fromthe original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved24 December 2019.On October 29th, Nirmal Purja Magar announced via Instagram that he had summited China's Shishapangma. This marked the fourteenth 8,000-meter peak he had climbed in seven months and the completion of an extraordinary project to speed climb the world's tallest mountains in rapid succession.
^abcdeEberhard Jurgalski[in German]."Fatalities tables". 8000ers.com. Retrieved23 November 2018.Included are only fatalities from, at or above BC or caused from there. Fatalities on approach or return marches are not listed.
^abIf 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."Elizabeth Hawley, unrivalled Himalayan record keeper".BBC News. 29 August 2010.
^Mounteverest.net."The wolf is back: Gnaro bags Baruntse". Archived fromthe original on 28 October 2008. Retrieved30 November 2008.Last year, Silvio 'Gnaro' Mondinelli broke the haunted 13 when he summited the last peak on his list of 14, 8000ers – becoming only the 6th mountaineer in the world to have bagged them all without supplementary oxygen.
^"The 14th knight: Ecuadorian Ivan Vallejo is ready to continue". Mounteverest.net. Archived fromthe original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved30 November 2008.Implied in text:...Following Italian Silvio "Gnaro" Mondinelli last year and American Ed Viesturs in 2005, Ivan also became only the seventh mountaineer in the world to have done them all without supplementary oxygen.
^abcdNives Meroi and Romano Benet climbed all the Eight-thousanders together, it wasn't revealed if one of them climbed the last peak a few moments before the other, thus they share the same position
^Elizabeth Hawley (2014)."Seasonal Stories for the Nepalese Himalaya 1985–2014"(PDF).The Himalayan Database. p. 274.But a South Korean climber, who followed in their footprints on the crusted snow three days later [in 1997] in clearer weather, did not consider that they actually gained the top. While [Sergio] Martini and [Fausto] De Stefani indicated they were perhaps only a few meters below it, Park Young-Seok claimed that their footprints stopped well before the top, perhaps 30 meters below a small fore-summit and 150 vertical meters below the highest summit. Now in 2000 [Sergio] Martini was back again, and this time he definitely summited Lhotse.
^Elizabeth Hawley (2014)."Seasonal Stories for the Nepalese Himalaya 1985–2014"(PDF).The Himalayan Database. p. 347.But his claim to have now climbed all 8000ers is open to question. In April 1990 he and others reached the summit plateau of Cho Oyu. It was misty so they could not see well; nine years later Hinkes said he had "wandered around for a while" in the summit area but could see very little and eventually descended to join the others, one of whom said they had not reached the top.
^What would appear to be the most serious blow to Miss Oh, on 26 August this year the Korean Alpine Federation, the nation's largest climbing association, concluded that Miss Oh had not reached the top of Kangchenjunga."Seasonal Stories for the Nepalese Himalaya 1985–2014"(PDF).Elizabeth Hawley. 2014. p. 394.
^I have summited Cho Oyu 4 times and will be heading for my fifth this coming season. Each time I have watched the Koreans and Japanese go only to where they can see Everest, not the summit because they know this is what will be asked."Cho Oyu summit: Where is it exactly". Explorersweb.com. September 2017.
^Many people who climb Cho Oyu in Tibet stop at a set of prayer flags with views of Everest and believe they’ve reached the top, unaware they still have to walk for 15 minutes across the summit plateau until they can see the Gokyo Lakes in Nepal."When is a summit not a summit?". Mark Horrell. 12 November 2014.
^ab"Do we really need more 8000m peaks". Mark Horrell. 23 October 2013.The most prominent one, Broad Peak Central is just 196m high and the least prominent, Lhotse Middle, is a meagre 60m. To put this in context, the highest mountain in Malta is 253m, while the Eiffel Tower stands a whopping 300m.
^"UIAA Mountain Classification: 4,000ERS OF THE ALPS".UIAA. March 1994. Archived fromthe original on 9 September 2020. Retrieved23 November 2018.Topographic criterium: for each summit, the level difference between it and the highest adjacent pass or notch should be at least 30 m (98 ft) (calculated as average of the summits at the limit of acceptability). An additional criterium can be the horizontal distance between a summit and the base of another adjacent 4000er.
^Eberhard Jurgalski[in German]."Subsidiary Peaks". 8000ers.com. Retrieved23 November 2018.There are several different subsidiary peaks! Here are the geographical facts, from the one "relative independent Main-Peak" (EU category B) over the important subsidiary peaks (C) to the major notable points (D1) Especially the last category is just guessed by contours or from photographs.
^abEberhard Jurgalski[in German]."Dominance". 8000ers.com. Retrieved23 November 2018.Accordingly, the author introduced altitude classes (AC) and a proportional prominence, which he named orometrical dominance (D). D is calculated easily but fittingly: (P/Alt) x 100. Thus, it indicates the percentage of independence for every elevation, no matter what the altitude, prominence or mountain type it is. From a scientific point of view, altitude could be seen as the thesis, prominence as the antithesis, whereas dominance would be the synthesis.
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