8000m+ Expeditions

• Altitude: 8,848m / 29,029 ft 
• Location: Himalaya main ridge (border Nepal-China),

• First ascent: 29 May 1953 (Norgay Tenzing, Sir Edmund Hillary)

Mount Everest, at 8,848 meters above sea level, is the highest mountain on Earth. It is one of the 14 eight-thousand-meter peaks and, as the highest peak in Asia, one of the Seven Summits. The mountain, along with the rest of the Himalayas, was formed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. It is named after the British surveyor Sir George Everest. In Nepali, it is called Sagarmatha, and in Tibetan, Qomolangma (with the German pronunciation “Tschomolangma” and the English transcription “Chomolungma”). Mount Everest is located in the Mahalangur Himal in Nepal’s Khumbu region, on the border with Tibet, with its western and southeastern summit ridges forming the boundary. On the Nepalese side, it is part of Sagarmatha National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, while on the northern side it lies within the Qomolangma National Nature Reserve, corresponding to the UNESCO-designated Qomolangma Biosphere Reserve. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay successfully made the first ascent of this “third pole” on 29 May 1953.

Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world and the easternmost eight-thousander. Its summit straddles the border between Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim. Until 1852, it was believed to be the highest mountain on Earth. However, the British trigonometric survey of India in 1849 proved that Mount Everest and K2 are even higher, establishing Kangchenjunga as the third highest peak. The mountain was first ascended on 25 May 1955 by George Band and Joe Brown. In respect for the Sikkimese inhabitants who revere the summit as a sacred site, the British climbers stopped just short of the actual peak - a tradition that has been followed by many subsequent expeditions. The final meters of the ascent pose little mountaineering challenge. Since the former Kingdom of Sikkim joined the Indian Union in 1975, Kangchenjunga - often referred to in mountaineering circles as "Kantsch" - has been recognized as the highest mountain in India. Many climbers, including Reinhold Messner, have described Kangchenjunga as the most dangerous and one of the most difficult of all 8,000-meter peaks. Its Tibetan name, "Gangs chen mdsod Inga," translates to "the five treasure chambers of the great snow," hinting at the inherent perils: the five peaks, each over 8,000 meters high, lie at the eastern edge of the Himalayas, receiving the full force of the monsoon and resulting in massive new snowfalls. The normal route along the southeast side—a vast 3,000-meter face—is dominated by snow and ice avalanches, while the alternative routes are even more technically demanding. SummitClimb has so far conducted two expeditions to the north side of Kangchenjunga.

• Altitude: 8486m / 27,838 ft
• Location: Himalaya (border Nepal-China)
• Erstbegehung: 15.Mai 1955 (Lionel Terray und Jean Couzy)

Makalu, at an elevation of 8,485 meters, is the fifth-highest mountain in the world. It is located east of Mount Everest on the border between Nepal and the Tibetan Autonomous Region in the Mahalangur Himal, and its Nepali side is part of the Makalu-Barun National Park. The first ascent was made in May 1955 by a nine-member French expedition led by Jean Franco. For the first time on an eight-thousander, every member of the expedition reached the summit. However, the first ascenders are typically considered to be climbers Lionel Terray and Jean Couzy, who reached the top on May 15. A day later, Jean Franco, Guido Magnone, and Sherpa Gyalzen Norbu also stood on the summit, and on May 17, Jean Bouvier, Serge Coupé, Pierre Leroux, and André Vialatte reached the peak. The route, which crosses the Makalu La, is now known as the “French Route.” In 1975, Makalu was climbed for the first time without supplemental oxygen by Marjan Manfreda. For many years, Makalu was the only eight-thousander in Nepal that had never been climbed in the official winter season. Numerous renowned climbers, including Jean-Christophe Lafaille, who has been missing since his winter attempt in 2005/2006. It wasn’t until around midday on February 9, 2009, that Simone Moro and Denis Urubko became the first to reach Makalu’s summit in winter. With its elegant, pyramidal shape, Makalu—located 22 km southeast of Mount Everest—is considered one of the more challenging 8,000-meter peaks. The standard ascent requires technical climbing at altitudes well above 8,000 meters. We have already led expeditions to Makalu from both Tibet and Nepal. The mountain’s West Ridge (first climbed in 1971 by a French team during the fifth ascent of Makalu) offers one of the most beautiful and impressive lines in the Himalayas.

Dhaulagiri I, known as the "White Mountain," is the highest peak of the Dhaulagiri Himal and ranks as the seventh-highest mountain in the world at 8,167 meters. It is located approximately 35 km west of Annapurna, separated from it by the Kali-Gandaki Valley. The mountain’s height was first measured in 1809 by Lieutenant William Spencer Webb and Captain John Hodgson at 8,190 meters, making it the first discovered eight-thousander. Until Kangchenjunga was measured in 1838, Dhaulagiri was considered the highest mountain on Earth. Although classified as a medium-heavy 8,000-meter peak, Dhaulagiri is notoriously dangerous; heavy snowfall can trigger massive avalanches in a short time. SummitClimb member and seasoned expedition professional Ivan Vellejo conquered his 14th eight-thousander on Dhaulagiri—a testament to the mountain's formidable challenge. The normal route ascends via the northeast ridge.

Nanga Parbat (Urdu for "Naked Mountain"), also known as Diamir ("King of the Mountains"), is located in Baltistan, in what was formerly known as the Northern Areas of Pakistan within the disputed Kashmir region. With a height of 8,125 meters, it is the ninth-highest mountain in the world. Known to the Germans as the "Mountain of fate," Nanga Parbat had already attracted several German expeditions before the spectacular first ascent by the exceptional alpinist Hermann Buhl. In 1934, a catastrophe struck during one such expedition, and subsequently the NSDAP began referring to the peak by this ominous name. In 1937, another German expedition met with disaster, claiming 16 lives. Nanga Parbat is regarded as one of the most challenging 8,000-meter peaks—there is no easy standard route. The original route pioneered by Hermann Buhl is now seldom used; most climbers now opt for the Kinshofer route on the Diamir flank. With his first solo ascent of 6,900 meters in 41 hours without supplemental oxygen, capped by an emergency bivouac on the descent back to camp, Hermann Buhl was far ahead of his time—a feat that wasn’t replicated for sporting reasons until the 1970s.

Gasherbrum I, also known as Hidden Peak, is the highest peak in the Gasherbrum group and stands at 8,080 meters, making it the eleventh highest of all the eight-thousanders. Originally, Gasherbrum IV was referred to as Gasherbrum, which translates to "beautiful mountain" in German, and is visible from a distance. As the highest peak in the massif, Hidden Peak was named Gasherbrum I, with the other peaks numbered according to their height.
The name "Hidden Peak" was given by the British explorer William Martin Conway during his 1892 expedition to the Baltoro region. It was chosen because the mountain is not visible from the Baltoro Glacier, distinguishing it from its neighbor, Gasherbrum II. Prior to this, the mountain was known as K5, a designation given by T. G. Montgomerie. The ascent of Gasherbrum I is considered "moderately difficult" and is more technically and physically demanding than the climb to Gasherbrum II.

Gasherbrum II, formerly known as K4, stands at 8,034 meters and is the thirteenth highest mountain in the world. It is part of the Gasherbrum group, located southeast of K2 in the border region between the People's Republic of China and Pakistan. Gasherbrum II is the main summit of this group, stretching in a west-east direction and forming a ridge that reaches 7,600 meters in height. The summit pyramid of Gasherbrum II sits in the middle of this ridge. To the west lies Gasherbrum III, considered a secondary summit of Gasherbrum II. To the east is Gasherbrum II East, which has a rounded summit shape. These secondary peaks, Gasherbrum III and Gasherbrum II East, are sometimes referred to as relatively independent main peaks. The east ridge descends to Gasherbrum La, a pass approximately 6,500 meters high that connects Gasherbrum II with the north face of Gasherbrum I (Hidden Peak). To the west of Gasherbrum III lies Gasherbrum IV, an independent mountain within the same group.
The first ascent of Gasherbrum II was achieved on July 7, 1956, by three members of an Austrian expedition led by Fritz Moravec. Alongside Moravec, Josef Larch and Hans Willenpart reached the summit. Although the ascent involves exposed ridge passages, Gasherbrum II is considered one of the "easier" 8,000-meter peaks, though this does not imply it is an easy climb.

At SummitClimb, we regularly organize expeditions along the normal route of Gasherbrum II, as well as extraordinary projects. SummitClimb expedition leader Dan Mazur was forced to turn back at around 7,000 meters during two attempts to climb a new route via the Northeast Pillar. The planned route was successfully completed for the first time in 2007. In 2018, Felix Berg, our managing director, and Adam Bielicki ascended a new route through the West Face of Gasherbrum II.