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For teachers

15 stations on this tour

1. MOUNT EVEREST — 8,849m

   HEIGHT: 8,849m (29,032 ft) — highest point on Earth. FIRST SUMMIT: May 29, 1953 — Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) & Tenzing Norgay (Nepal/India) via the South Col route. DEATH TOLL: ~320 fatalities (as of 2024). 1 in 34 climbers have died attempting the summit. Over 6,000 successful summits. Base camp sits at 5,364m. The "Death Zone" above…

2. K2 — 8,611m

   HEIGHT: 8,611m (28,251 ft) — the "Savage Mountain." FIRST SUMMIT: July 31, 1954 — Achille Compagnoni & Lino Lacedelli (Italian expedition). DEATH TOLL: ~92 fatalities. 1 in 4 climbers who attempt K2 die — the highest fatality rate of any 8000er. Fewer than 400 successful summits (compared to 6,000+ on Everest). The Bottleneck couloir at…

3. KANGCHENJUNGA — 8,586m

   HEIGHT: 8,586m (28,169 ft) — the world's third highest peak. FIRST SUMMIT: May 25, 1955 — Joe Brown & George Band (British expedition). DEATH TOLL: ~53 fatalities. Fatality rate around 14%. The mountain's name means "Five Treasures of the Snow" in Tibetan. By tradition, climbers stop just short of the true summit out of respect for the…

4. LHOTSE — 8,516m

   HEIGHT: 8,516m (27,940 ft) — the fourth highest mountain. FIRST SUMMIT: May 18, 1956 — Fritz Luchsinger & Ernst Reiss (Swiss expedition). DEATH TOLL: ~13 fatalities. Relatively low fatality rate (~1.5%). Lhotse shares the South Col approach with Everest — climbers on both peaks follow the same route until Camp III. The Lhotse Face is a…

5. MAKALU — 8,485m

   HEIGHT: 8,485m (27,838 ft) — a perfect pyramid of rock and ice. FIRST SUMMIT: May 15, 1955 — Jean Couzy & Lionel Terray (French expedition). DEATH TOLL: ~34 fatalities. Fatality rate around 9%. Makalu is considered one of the most difficult 8000ers due to its steep, technical terrain and isolated location. The entire 1955 French team of…

6. CHO OYU — 8,188m

   HEIGHT: 8,188m (26,864 ft) — the "easiest" 8000er. FIRST SUMMIT: October 19, 1954 — Herbert Tichy, Joseph Jöchler & Pasang Dawa Lama (Austrian expedition). DEATH TOLL: ~49 fatalities. Fatality rate around 1.4% — the lowest of all 8000ers. Cho Oyu means "Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. Its relatively straightforward northwest ridge makes…

7. DHAULAGIRI — 8,167m

   HEIGHT: 8,167m (26,795 ft) — the "White Mountain." FIRST SUMMIT: May 13, 1960 — Kurt Diemberger, Peter Diener, Nawang Dorje & Nima Dorje (Swiss/Austrian expedition). DEATH TOLL: ~73 fatalities. Fatality rate around 16%. Dhaulagiri was the world's highest known peak from 1808 to 1838. Its name comes from Sanskrit: dhavala (white) + giri…

8. MANASLU — 8,163m

   HEIGHT: 8,163m (26,781 ft) — "Mountain of the Spirit." FIRST SUMMIT: May 9, 1956 — Toshio Imanishi & Gyalzen Norbu (Japanese expedition). DEATH TOLL: ~68 fatalities. Fatality rate around 10%. Manaslu was effectively the "Japanese mountain" — Japan organized four expeditions between 1952 and 1956. The first reconnaissance team tragically…

9. NANGA PARBAT — 8,126m

   HEIGHT: 8,126m (26,660 ft) — the "Killer Mountain." FIRST SUMMIT: July 3, 1953 — Hermann Buhl (Austrian), solo without oxygen or fixed ropes — one of mountaineering's greatest feats. DEATH TOLL: ~77 fatalities. Fatality rate around 21% — second deadliest after K2. The Rupal Face is the highest mountain face on Earth: 4,600m of vertical…

10. ANNAPURNA I — 8,091m

    HEIGHT: 8,091m (26,545 ft) — the first 8000er ever climbed. FIRST SUMMIT: June 3, 1950 — Maurice Herzog & Louis Lachenal (French expedition). DEATH TOLL: ~72 fatalities. Fatality rate of ~27% for the south face — the most dangerous route on any 8000er. Annapurna's first ascent was a landmark of human achievement but came at a terrible…

11. GASHERBRUM I — 8,080m

    HEIGHT: 8,080m (26,510 ft) — "Beautiful Mountain." FIRST SUMMIT: July 5, 1958 — Pete Schoening & Andy Kauffman (American expedition). DEATH TOLL: ~29 fatalities. Fatality rate around 9%. Also known as "Hidden Peak" because it cannot be seen from the standard approach through the Baltoro Glacier. Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler made…

12. BROAD PEAK — 8,051m

    HEIGHT: 8,051m (26,414 ft) — named for its 1.5km-wide summit ridge. FIRST SUMMIT: June 9, 1957 — Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger & Hermann Buhl (Austrian expedition). DEATH TOLL: ~21 fatalities. Fatality rate around 5%. Broad Peak was the first 8000er climbed without supplemental oxygen or high-altitude porters above…

13. GASHERBRUM II — 8,034m

    HEIGHT: 8,034m (26,358 ft) — one of the most accessible 8000ers. FIRST SUMMIT: July 7, 1956 — Fritz Moravec, Josef Larch & Hans Willenpart (Austrian expedition). DEATH TOLL: ~22 fatalities. Fatality rate around 2.3%. Gasherbrum II is considered one of the safer 8000-meter peaks and is often climbed together with Gasherbrum I in a single…

14. SHISHAPANGMA — 8,027m

    HEIGHT: 8,027m (26,335 ft) — the lowest of the 14 eight-thousanders. FIRST SUMMIT: May 2, 1964 — Xǔ Jìng & 9 other Chinese climbers — the last 8000er to be climbed. DEATH TOLL: ~25 fatalities. Fatality rate around 8%. Shishapangma lies entirely within Tibet, making it the only 8000er completely inside Chinese territory. It was the last…

15. The 14 Summits — By The Numbers

    ALL 14 PEAKS ABOVE 8,000 METERS — spread across the Himalaya and Karakoram ranges in Nepal, Pakistan, Tibet/China, and India. FIRST TO CLIMB ALL 14: Reinhold Messner (Italy) — completed October 16, 1986, all without supplemental oxygen. The greatest mountaineering achievement in history. KEY STATISTICS: • Combined death toll: ~950+…

Worksheet — 14 Summits — The 8000ers