Mingma G Becomes the First Nepali to Climb All 14 8,000’ers Without O2

A group of at least 11 climbers summited Shisha Pangma at 4 pm Chinese time, some 14 hours after they launched their summit push from 7,000m.

The Imagine Nepal home team has confirmed that leader Mingma G summited without supplementary O2. This makes him the first Nepali to climb all 14 8,000m peaks without bottled oxygen.

Imagine Nepal’s summit announcement.

Other summiters

Tracee Lee Metcalfe of the U.S., Naoki Ishikawa of Japan, and Sirbaz Khan of Pakistan also reached the summit. Each bagged their respective national firsts for the 14×8,000’ers. Sasko Kedev of Macedonia (on his 12th 8,000m summit) also topped out. They were supported by Dawa Gyalje Sherpa (his final peak of the 14), Kili Pemba Sherpa, Phur Galjen Sherpa, Ngima Nuru Sherpa, Jangbu Sherpa, and Sensai Pema Waiba (who worked as photographer and videographer).

Imagine Nepal did not mention climbers from the other teams, although sources in Base Camp previously confirmed that Nirmal Purja had joined the summit push. Purja, a UK citizen who was born in Nepal, also insisted he would climb without oxygen to complete his own no-O2 14×8,000m list. In doing so, both Mingma G and Purja have ignored the China Tibet Mountaineering Association’s ban on no-O2 climbing above 7,000m.

Spanish variation

The Imagine Nepal team says that they took “the Spanish route followed by Edurne Pasaban.” Pasaban and her team followed Inaki Ochoa de Olza’s variation, traversing the upper slopes of the mountain to access the summit ridge very close to the highest point. Here is the route description by Pasaban.

The image shows the traditional route to Shisha Pangma summit along the summit ridge (in orange), with a possible shortcut, and the Spanish/Inaki Ochoa de Olza’s variation in green. Photo: Inaki Ochoa. Topo: Edurne Pasaban

Tracee Metcalfe’s tracker shows her descending from the summit at 5 pm Chinese time.