Our planet is blessed with a variety of physical features. Plains, deserts. coastal lines, grasslands and mountains. All of them have their own significance. There are approximately 108 mountains on Earth; 72,000 meters tall or more above sea level. Majority of the elevations lie on the edge of the Indian and Eurasian plate. The highest mountains above sea level are also not those with peaks farthest from the centre of the Earth, because the figure of the Earth is not spherical. Sea level closer to the equator is several kilometres farther from the centre of the Earth. The summit of Chimborazo, Ecuador’s tallest mountain, is usually considered to be the farthest point from the Earth’s centre, although the southern summit of Peru’s tallest mountain, Huascarán, is another contender. Both, have elevations above sea level more than 2 km less than that of Everest.
1.Mount Everest
With elevation of 8,848.86m Mount Everest tops the list of the highest peaks. It is located in Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The actual height of the mountain had been disputed by Nepal and China, the two countries that share the mountain. On December 8, 2020, it was jointly announced by the two countries that the new official height is 8,848.86 metres (29,032 feet). This was 0.86 m (2.8 ft) higher than had been previously officially calculated. Chinese authorities had argued previously Everest should be measured to its rock height, while Nepali authorities asserted the snow on top of the summit should be included.
2.K2
K2 lies in the Karakoram range, part in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in part in a China-administered territory of the Kashmir region included in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang. 8,611 metres tall K2 is also known Savage Mountain because George Bell, one of the climbers told 1953 American expedition that it is a savage mountain that tries to kill you. Mountain was first climbed by the Italian Climber but has not seen an eastern face on its face. 91 people have lost their lives while climbing this mountain. Name K2 have been derived from a notation us3.ed by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of British India.
3.Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world with a total altitude of 8,586 metres. It is located in a section of the Himalayas called Kangchenjunga Himal delimited in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak Chu and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River. It lies between India and Nepal, with three of the five peaks, namely Main, Central and South, directly on the border, the peaks West and Kangbachen in Nepal’s Taplejung District. Until 1852, Kangchenjunga was the highest peak on the planet. It was first climbed by Joe Brown and George Band in 1955. The brothers Hermann, Adolf and Robert Schlagintweit explained the local name ‘Kanchinjínga’ meaning “The five treasures of the high snow” as originating from the Tibetan word “gangs” meaning snow, ice; “chen” pronounced meaning great; “mzod” meaning treasure; “lnga” meaning five.
4.Lhotse
Lhotse is located in China. It is 8,516 metres tall. Lhotse means “South Peak” in Tibetan. The mountain comprises of small peaks Lhotse Middle (East) at 8,414 m (27,605 ft), and Lhotse Shar at 8,383 m (27,503 ft). The summit is on the border between Tibet and the Khumbu region of Nepal. The main summit of Lhotse was first climbed on 18 May 1956, by the Swiss team of Ernst Reiss and Fritz Luchsinger from the Swiss Mount Everest/Lhotse Expedition. On 12 May 1970, Sepp Mayerl and Rolf Walter of Austria made the first ascent of Lhotse Shar. High-altitude climbing Sherpas and the lead climbers will set fixed ropes up this wall of ice. Climbers and porters need to establish a good rhythm of foot placement and pulling themselves up the ropes using their jumars.
5.Makalu
The fifth highest peak, Makalu, 8,485 metres tall, is located Mahalangur Himalayas on the border between Nepal and Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Makalu has two notable subsidiary peaks. Kangchungtse, or Makalu II (7,678 m) lies about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north-northwest of the main summit. Rising about 5 km (3.1 mi) north-northeast of the main summit across a broad plateau, and connected to Kangchungtse by a narrow, 7,200 m saddle, is Chomo Lonzo (7,804 m). An American team led by Riley Keegan climbed the peak for the first time in 1954. An ascent without oxygen was attempted by 1960-61 Silver Hut expedition but two attempts did not succeed.
6.Cho Oyu
Cho Oyu means Turquoise Goddess in Tibetan. The mountain in the westernmost major peak of the Khumbu sub-section of the Mahalangur Himalaya 20 Km west of Mount Everest. 8,188-metre-tall mountains stands at China-Nepal border. This mountain was first climbed on October 19, 1954 by the way of north-west ridge by Herbert Tichy, Joseph Jochler and Sherpa Pasang Dawa Lama of an Austrian expedition. Cho Oyu was the fifth 8000 metre peak to be climbed, after Annapurna in June 1950, Mount Everest in May 1953, Nanga Parbat in July 1953 and K2 in July 1954. Until the ascent of Mount Everest by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler in 1978, this was the highest peak climbed without supplemental oxygen.
7.Dhaulagiri I
Dhaulagiri stands 8,167 meters high. Located on the borders of Nepal. Dhaulagiri is the Nepali name for the mountain which comes from Sanskrit where dhawala means dazzling, white, beautiful and giri means mountain. Dhaulagiri I is also the highest point of the Gandaki river basin. Most ascents have followed the northeast ridge route of the first ascent, but climbs have been made from most directions. As of 2007 there had been 358 successful ascents and 58 fatalities, which is a summit to fatality rate of 16.2%. Between 1950 and 2006, 2.88% of 2,016 expedition members and staff going above base camp on Dhaulagiri I died.
8.Manasula
Part of Nepalese Himalayas Manasula is 8,163 metres tall. Manasula means ‘mountain of the spirit’ and is derived from the Sanskrit word manasa, meaning intellect or soul. Manaslu was first climbed on May 9, 1956, by Toshio Imanishi and Gyalzen Norbu, members of a Japanese expedition. It is said that, given the many unsuccessful attempts by the British to climb Everest before Edmund Hilary, “just as the British consider Everest their mountain, Manaslu has always been a Japanese mountain”. The region is an outstanding trekking spot. It offers a variety of options in the same. the trekking trial follows an ancient salt-trading route along the Budhi Gandaki River. The Manaslu Conservation Area Project (MCAP) was established in 1997 with the primary objective of achieving conservation and sustainable management of the delimited area, which includes Manaslu.
9.Nanga Parbat
Total height of 8,126 Nanga Parbat is a part of Nanga Parbat Himalaya. Also known as Diamer is the ninth highest mountain on the planet. Nanga Parbat derives its name from a Sanskrit word nagna and parvata which together means ‘Naked Mountain’. The mountain is known locally by its Tibetan name Diamer or Deo Mir, meaning “huge mountain.” Parbat is one of only two peaks on earth that rank in the top twenty of both the highest mountains in the world, and the most prominent peaks in the world, ranking ninth and fourteenth respectively. On the Tibetan Plateau Nanga Parbat is the westernmost peak of the Himalayas whereas Namcha Barwa marks the east end.
10.Annapurna I
Located in the Himalayas in north-central Nepal Annapurna is 8000 metres tall. The entire massif and surrounding area are protected within the 7,629-square-kilometre (2,946 sq mi) Annapurna Conservation Area, the first and largest conservation area in Nepal. The Annapurna Conservation Area is home to several world-class treks, including Annapurna Sanctuary and Annapurna Circuit. In October 2014, at least 43 people were killed as a result of snowstorms and avalanches on and around Annapurna, thus resulting in Nepal’s worst ever trekking disaster. The most recent report of human casualty has been that of 17 January 2020, due to an avalanche triggered by heavy snowfall. Annapurna peaks have been among the world’s most treacherous mountains to climb with the particular case of the extremely steep south face. The fatality to summit ratio is 1:3:1 or 32%, highest of any the other listed above.
