Marco Confortola hoped 2025 would be the year when he was officially recognized as the first Italian to complete the 14×8,000’ers without oxygen. But it has not turned out as he expected. Months after several climbers accused him of false summit claims, The Himalayan Database has invalidated his alleged climb of Kangchenjunga and put four more in doubt.
Years of controversy
Controversy has surrounded Confortola for years, but others in the climbing community started speaking up loudly after two main events:
In 2022, Confortola claimed to have summited Kangchenjunga, but provided no proof or details. Two days later, his team posted a supposed summit picture of him. However, closer inspection revealed that the image appeared to be part of a summit photo of another climber, Shehroze Kashif of Pakistan, who had been cropped out of the image. ExplorersWeb was the first media outlet to report this.
Below, Kashif’s summit picture:
Shehroze Kashif’s summit picture, with the section possibly copied by Confortola’s team.
And here is Confortola’s:
Confortola’s home team published this image of Kangchenjunga’s ‘summit.’
An even wider clamor arose in the summer of 2025, when Confortola summited Gasherbrum I and announced he had thus completed the 14×8,000’ers challenge without supplementary oxygen. Simone Moro pointed to the false Kangchenjunga claim, and Silvio Mondinelli accused him of falsely claiming the summit of Annapurna. Jorge Egocheaga of Spain showed how Confortola had used his, Egocheaga’s, summit picture from Lhotse and photoshopped in his face after deleting that of the Spaniard’s.
Marco Camandona noted Confortola has done exactly the same with his Makalu summit picture. Confortola replied, blaming everything on envy, but offered no further proof. To make things worse for Confortola, Reinhold Messner supported the accusations in an interview at La Repubblica.
We published all the evidence and the accusations in a long article this past August. At the time, we also asked The Himalayan Database (HDB) for comments. At the time, they said they were investigating the issue. The results of their investigation were published in the HDB some weeks ago.
‘Not recognized’
The latest update published by the HDB, which includes the summit lists from last spring, also features the results of a thorough investigation into Confortola’s summit claims in Nepal (plus Cho Oyu, although it was climbed from Tibet).
The team at the HDB, comprising Richard Salisbury, Billi Bierling, Jeevan Shrestha, Rodolphe Popier, Tobias Pantel, and Lisa Choegyal, has decided to categorize Comfortola’s summit of Kangchenjunga as “Not Recognized.”
This is not merely a question mark on the authenticity of the summit claim, which they indicate with a “Disputed” tag, but a positive statement concluding that Confortola never reached the summit. The entry is now deleted from the HDB’s archives.
Makalu summit pictures of Marco Camandona, left, and Marco Confortola. Note the identical background. Photos compiled by Montagna.tv
Disputed summits
There is more: Confortola has gained a “summit disputed” tag for his climbs of Annapurna (2006), Lhotse (2013), Makalu (2016), and Dhaulagiri (2017). These summits are still listed, but with an ominous “Sd” in front.
List of Confortola’s climbs on The Himalayan Database. Those with a capital S are recognized summits, and those tagged with ‘Sd’ mean ‘summit disputed.’ List by The Himalayan Database
They have given the Italian a chance to provide evidence for his disputed summits, such as reliable testimonies of witnesses and photographs, within the next 12 months.
The HDB doesn’t cover expeditions in Pakistan, which may have spared Confortola at least another “Sd” on his resumé, since his 2023 summit of Nanga Parbat is also unclear.
Confortola reportedly turned around on his summit push on July 2 and 3-4. On July 7, his home team posted a video. They admitted it was not from the summit but claimed that Confortola had reached the top in high winds. Unfortunately, he forgot to connect his InReach, he said.
We have asked Confortola for comments, but have received no reply.
A career in doubt
Confortola became well-known after he survived the 2008 K2 tragedy. That year, 11 died in the worst disaster ever on the mountain. He was rescued in a heroic effort by Pemba Gyalje Sherpa. By then, he was already after the 14 8,000’ers. However, rumors, lack of proof, and controversy surrounding his summits soon tainted his credibility. This latest blow by the HDB seems to be a definitive setback to his hopes of 8,000m recognition.
Confortola on the summit of Gasherbrum I, promoting his native region of Lombardia, in Italy. Photo: Fontana Officialle
The irony is that Marco Confortola is an experienced climber, an accredited UIAGM/IFMGA mountain guide, a heavily sponsored athlete, and an active member of the Italian mountain scene. On Gasherbrum I, he was supported by the regional government of Lombardia, where the Winter Olympic Games are set to begin in a few weeks. He could have been a prestigious ambassador, but now, as several commenters have pointed out on his Instagram, he is better known as the King of Photoshop.
