6. Cho Oyu (Himalayas, Nepal & Tibet)
Height: 8188 meters (26,864 feet)
First Ascent: 1954)
7. Dhaulagiri I
Height: 8167 meters (26,795 feet)
First Ascent: 1960
Image: Flickr User Neil Young
The successful ascent of Annapurna in 1950 triggered a series of successful climbs of the other 8000m peaks, including Everest by Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. However, some believe that the British expedition led by George Mallory and Andrew Irvine successfully summitted Everest in 1924, before both went missing on the way back down. Mallory’s body was not found until 1999, and his camera has never been recovered, so it’s impossible to know if he and Irvine made it to the top. The last eight-thousander to be successfully climbed is also the smallest – Shishapangma, which remained unconquered for so long largely because Tibetan authorities would not grant foreign climbers the authority to attempt an ascent.
8. Manaslu (Himalayas, Nepal)
Height: 8156 meters (26,759 feet)
First Ascent: 1956
9. Nanga Parbat (Himalayas, Pakistan)
Height: 8126 meters (26,545 feet)
First Ascent: 1953
Legendary Italian climber Reinhold Messner was the first person to successfully climb all 14 eight-thousanders, completing the incredible feat in October 1986 when he reached the peak of Lhotse. Since he completed his challenge, he has never climbed another eight-thousander. Messner completed all his summits without the use of supplemental oxygen, an achievement not repeated for another nine years. A total of 33 climbers have now ascended all 14 mountains without bottled oxygen, while Phurba Tashi of Nepal has completed the most climbs with 30 successful eight-thousander summits to his name.
10 Annapurna I (Himalayas, Nepal)
Height: 8091 meters (26,545 feet)
First Ascent: 1950
Image: Flickr User Lindsey Nicholson
Image: Flickr User Indrik Myneur
Image: Flickr User Guilhem Vellut
Image: aroundtheworld.net
