The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains that rise more than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) above sea level. They are all in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges. This is a list of mountaineers who have died on these mountains.

Mount Everest

Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain at 8,848.86 meters (29,031 ft 8+1⁄2 in) above sea level, has been host to numerous tragedies. Deaths have occurred on the mountain every year since 1978, excluding 2020, when permits were not issued due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The most notable deadly events on Everest were the 1922 British Mount Everest expedition, 1970 Everest disaster, 1974 Everest disaster, 1996 Everest disaster, 2014 Mount Everest avalanche, and 2015 Mount Everest avalanches. As of May 2022, there had been 11,341 successful summits, and 330 people had died during their attempts: a death rate of about 2.8%.

K2

K2 is the world's second-highest mountain at 8,611 meters (28,251 ft) above sea level. It lies in the Karakoram range, partially in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and partially in the China-administered Trans-Karakoram Tract in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang. While its summit is at a lower altitude than the summit of Mount Everest, it is considered a much harder mountain to climb due to its steep faces and extreme weather. The most deadly events on K2 were the 1986 K2 disaster, 1995 K2 disaster, and 2008 K2 disaster. As of August 2022, an estimated 700 people had completed a summit of the mountain, and 96 had died trying: a fatality rate of around 13.7%.

Kangchenjunga

Kangchenjunga is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit sits at 8,586 meters (28,169 ft) in a section of the Himalayas called the Kangchenjunga Himal. Because of its remote location in Nepal and the difficulty of accessing it from India, the Kangchenjunga region is not much explored by trekkers. Despite modern improvements to climbing gear, the fatality rate of summit attempts on Kanchenjunga is high. While there had been 532 successful summits as of May 2022, 52 climbers had lost their lives on the mountain. 10 more climbers had died on Yalung Kang (Kangchenjunga West), one of several satellite peaks in the massif, which features routes to the summit of Kangchenjunga. The summit attempt fatality rate of Kangchenjunga thus stands around 11.7%.

Lhotse

Standing at 8,516 meters (27,940 ft) above sea level, Lhotse is the fourth-highest mountain in the world. It is part of the Everest massif, and its standard climbing route follows the same path as Everest's South Col route up to the Yellow Band beyond Camp 3. After the Yellow Band, the routes diverge with climbers bound for Everest taking a left over the Geneva Spur up to the South Col, while Lhotse climbers take a right further up the Lhotse face. As of May 2022, there had been 1,089 successful summits and 22 deaths on Lhotse. A further 10 deaths had occurred on Lhotse Shar, a subsidiary mountain of Lhotse that offers a more difficult climb to Lhotse's peak than the standard route. The summit attempt fatality rate thus stands around 2.9%.

Makalu

Makalu is the world's fifth-highest mountain at 8,481 meters (27,825 ft) above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas 19 kilometers (12 mi) southeast of Mount Everest on the China–Nepal border. As of May 2022, there had been 647 successful summits of Makalu and 48 deaths on the mountain, coming out to a summit attempt fatality rate of around 7.4%.

Cho Oyu

Cho Oyu is the world's sixth-highest mountain at 8,188 meters (26,864 ft) above sea level. Standing on the China Tibet–Nepal Province No. 1 border, the mountain is the westernmost major peak of the Khumbu sub-section of the Mahalangur Himalaya 20 kilometers west of Mount Everest. Its standard northwest ridge route features generally moderate slopes, and it is close to Nangpa La, a glaciated pass that serves as the main trading route between the Tibetans and the Khumbu's Sherpas. For these reasons, Cho Oyu is considered the easiest 8,000-meter peak to climb. As of September 2020, there had been 3,923 successful summits and 52 deaths on the mountain, a fatality-to-summit ratio of just over 1:100.

Dhaulagiri I

Dhaulagiri I is the world's seventh highest mountain.

Manaslu

Manaslu is the world's eighth highest mountain.

Nanga Parbat

Nanga Parbat is the world's ninth highest mountain.

Annapurna I

Annapurna I is the world's 10th highest mountain.

Gasherbrum I

Gasherbrum I, also known as Hidden Peak or K5, is the world's 11th highest mountain.

Broad Peak

Broad Peak is the world's 12th highest mountain.

Gasherbrum II

Gasherbrum II, also known as K4, is the world's 13th highest mountain.

Shishapangma

Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the world's 14th highest mountain.

Deaths per mountain

See also

• The Himalayan Database
• 1986 K2 disaster
• List of Mount Everest death statistics
• List of people who died climbing Mount Everest
• Lists of people by cause of death
• Mount Hood climbing accidents

Bibliography

• Liam Neeson, Lhakpa Dorji, and Dorje Sherpa (1998). Everest (Documentary Film). Nepal, Colorado: Arcturus Motion Pictures, MacGillivray Freeman Films, Polartec.

References