What are the 14 peaks over 8,000 meters, and which one do people climb before Everest?

This page is for you if you've climbed a few 5,000 to 7,000 meter peaks and you're wondering what the next level looks like. If you're earlier on the path, my guide to starting mountaineering from zero is the place to begin. What Everest itself costs is on my Everest cost page.

Quick picks

What are the 14 mountains over 8,000 meters?

So here are all 14, tallest first. The Himalaya and the Karakoram are two neighboring mountain ranges. Heights are in meters (m) with feet in brackets. The first climbed column gives the year someone first reached the top, and the nationality of that expedition.

The heights and first climbs match the list on 8000ers.com, kept by the mountain record keeper Eberhard Jurgalski. The one difference is that I show Everest's 2020 figure to two decimals. Ranges and countries come from Wikipedia's eight-thousander list, because no official list covers them. Annapurna I was the first of the 14 climbed, in 1950, and Shishapangma was the last, in 1964.

Why do the heights differ from list to list?

So there is no single official worldwide list. Heights come from national surveys and expeditions, and Wikipedia's list doesn't name the survey behind each number. These are the places where sources disagree.

• Everest: Nepal and China announced 8,848.86 m together in December 2020, according to Al Jazeera. Older lists show 8,849 m.
• Cho Oyu: 8,188 m is the 8000ers.com figure, and Wikipedia ties it to a 1996 survey. Some company pages still print the older 8,201 m.
• Manaslu: 8,163 m is the figure Wikipedia attributes to the Nepal government in 2018. Madison Mountaineering's Manaslu page also prints 8,156 m in its text.
• K2: 8,611 m is the usual figure. Wikipedia's K2 page also mentions a 2014 GPS measurement of 8,609.02 m.
• Lhotse, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum II and Nanga Parbat: Some lists give Lhotse as 8,501 m, and a 2013 American Alpine Journal article gives Broad Peak as 8,047 m. Wikipedia's own peak pages give Gasherbrum II as 8,035 m and Nanga Parbat as 8,126 m. The table uses the 8000ers.com numbers.

The feet are my conversion at 3.28084 feet per meter. So a foot figure can differ by a few feet from one that uses a different meter number.

How dangerous is each of the 14 peaks?

Now no single number answers that, and a low number never means a peak is safe. Each source counts different things over different years, so their percentages don't match. I'll give the dated numbers and say what each one covers.

The best-sourced numbers come from the Himalayan Database. It is a non-profit record of expeditions in the Nepal Himalaya, built from Elizabeth Hawley's archive. It includes both sides of border peaks like Everest, Cho Oyu, Makalu and Kangchenjunga. Guinness World Records published these eight figures from it, with data to February 7, 2025, covering all recorded climbing up to that date.

Keep in mind that Guinness doesn't say whether a "climb" means a summit or a climber's trip above base camp. So read the last column as deaths per recorded climb, not deaths per summit. Old deaths from the 1950s to the 1980s also weigh heavily in an all-time count.

Everest shows how much the method matters. A peer-reviewed study in The Journal of Physiology, "Updates to mortality on Mount Everest: 1921-2024," came out online on April 22, 2026. The study used Himalayan Database records and looked at everyone who went above base camp. The death rate fell from 1.4% in 1921 to 2006, to 0.7% in 2007 to 2024. The study also found that 76.5% of the climbers who died, died on summit day. That study counts people above base camp over different years than Guinness does, so the two Everest numbers don't conflict.

Which peaks have no Himalayan Database numbers?

So the Himalayan Database covers the Nepal Himalaya only. That means it has no figures for K2, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II, Broad Peak or Shishapangma.

Now K2 shows how loose the other counts are. K2's summit and death totals come from guide companies, websites and news tallies, and they don't agree with each other. So K2's ratio depends on who counted and when, and I wouldn't trust any single K2 percentage.

On July 30, 2026, an avalanche on Broad Peak killed all 10 members of one expedition, Arab News reported. LaCrux reported, citing the Alpine Club of Pakistan, that the avalanche hit at about 6,600 m, between Camp II and Camp III. Alan Arnette calls Broad Peak a straightforward climb, so the avalanche is a reminder that no peak on this list is safe.

Which peaks are technically easier or harder?

Now this part is opinion, not a safety fact. The mountaineer and Everest writer Alan Arnette describes each peak on Arnette's 8000ers page but gives no formal ranking. Arnette calls Cho Oyu "technically speaking the easiest of the 14," and Broad Peak a straightforward climb. Arnette puts Kangchenjunga firmly in the higher end of the difficulty list, and calls K2 arguably the world's most difficult mountain. And Arnette calls Annapurna the most dangerous of the 14.

So keep in mind this is one writer's view, not an official ranking.

Which 8,000 meter peak do people climb first, before Everest?

So companies mostly point to Cho Oyu or Manaslu as the first 8,000 meter climb. Cho Oyu is number 6 on the height list and Manaslu is number 8. Neither is safe or easy, and both need earlier high-altitude experience.

Why do people pick Cho Oyu?

• Companies call Cho Oyu the gentler one. Madison Mountaineering calls Cho Oyu a great introduction to climbing above 8,000 meters. Furtenbach Adventures calls it one of the safest 8,000 meter peaks. Adventure Peaks calls it technically straightforward but says it needs careful preparation and high fitness.
• Cho Oyu has the lowest death percentage of the eight peaks in the Guinness table above, at 1.27% of recorded climbs.
• One company gives its reasons. Alpenglow Expeditions says Cho Oyu has fewer seracs (towers of ice) and crevasses, steadier autumn weather and better base camp access than Manaslu. Keep in mind that Alpenglow guides Cho Oyu and not Manaslu, so it's selling the peak it recommends. The post gives no figures and cites no source.

Is Cho Oyu open to climbers right now?

No, Cho Oyu is closed for fall 2026, as reported. Cho Oyu's normal route is on the Tibet side. ExplorersWeb reported on August 24, 2026 that the China-Tibet Mountaineering Association is keeping Cho Oyu and Shishapangma closed to climbers this fall. The article names Climbalaya Treks and Expeditions, a Nepal company, as its source.

ExplorersWeb links the closure to a fireworks show near Shigatse in September 2025 that drew an environmental backlash. Citing The Tourism Times, it also reports that officials were jailed over permit corruption.

Companies still list Cho Oyu trips for 2027, and those depend on China reopening. Whether Tibet reopens for fall 2027 is unknown. Adventure Peaks says on its Cho Oyu page that if access is denied, it could move the trip to Manaslu. So ask any company in writing what happens to your trip and your money if China keeps Cho Oyu closed.

Why do people pick Manaslu, and what happened in fall 2026?

• Companies use Manaslu as an Everest warm-up. Climbing the Seven Summits rates Manaslu "Intermediate to Advanced." On its page on choosing a Manaslu trip, the company calls Manaslu one of its favorite peaks for preparing for Everest climbs. Its Manaslu price is the lowest of the company prices I link below.
• Companies and writers say Manaslu has more avalanche risk. Alpenglow's post says Manaslu has hanging glaciers, steep snowfields and more avalanche risk. Alan Arnette says avalanche danger is usually the main problem on the lower half of the normal route, and that Manaslu has one of the higher death rates.
• Manaslu's fall 2026 season ended early. The Himalayan Times reported four deaths on September 20, 2026. A climber died at about 6,000 m, and a porter was found dead at base camp. A foreign climber and a Sherpa were found in a Camp III tent buried under fresh snow, which the paper said suggested a fresh avalanche. The same paper said Nepal's Department of Tourism issued 493 Manaslu permits that fall. Deseret News reported on September 24, 2026 that heavy snow and storms closed Manaslu for the season and helicopters evacuated climbers. Deseret News said the guides fixing ropes reached the summit, but it reported no client summits.

For me personally, I'd pick between Cho Oyu and Manaslu by asking which one a company can actually run in the season I want. That is my opinion. Cho Oyu is the one most companies and Alan Arnette call technically easier, but it depends on China reopening. Manaslu has more climbers and the lower prices below, and also more avalanche exposure. If a company tells you to start on a different peak, ask the company why.

Keep in mind that Madison calls Cho Oyu excellent preparation for Everest, and Climbing the Seven Summits says the same kind of thing about Manaslu. That is the companies' view, and no warm-up peak promises you'll reach Everest's top.

Something to note is that Ama Dablam is 6,812 m (22,349 ft), so it isn't one of the 14. Some companies sell Ama Dablam and Manaslu together as a combination. For example, Climbing the Seven Summits lists a Manaslu plus Ama Dablam add-on for $14,995 on its Manaslu page.

What experience do companies ask for before Cho Oyu or Manaslu?

Now each company sets its own requirement, so here they are one by one, close to each company's own words.

• Alpenglow Expeditions, Cho Oyu Rapid Ascent: earlier ascents of several 6,000 to 7,000 meter peaks, solid ice axe, crampon and fixed-rope skills, and excellent fitness. Its FAQ says experience on one 7,000 meter peak, so the page doesn't agree with itself. It also requires pre-acclimatization, which means getting your body used to thin air at home before the trip. Alpenglow uses a Hypoxico altitude tent system for this, or an equivalent.
• Climbing the Seven Summits, Manaslu: prior high-altitude experience, solid cramponing skills, and familiarity with glacier and fixed-line climbing. The page says it does not accept beginner climbers on Manaslu. Its training page says to train at least three months ahead and suggests 1,500 vertical feet an hour with a 40 pound pack. Its Manaslu page names its Ecuador volcanoes trip, its 3 Peaks in Nepal trip and a five-day Mount Baker course as earlier steps.
• Climbing the Seven Summits, Cho Oyu: serious fitness, an ability to perform well at altitude, solid crampon skills, and familiarity with glacier and fixed-line climbing.
• Furtenbach Adventures, Manaslu and Cho Oyu: you must already have high-altitude and mountaineering experience and list your peaks when you book. You must move on fixed ropes by yourself and use crampons and an ice axe on mixed terrain. The page recommends a medical exam, and newcomers can ask for a tailored training program.
• Adventure Peaks, Manaslu: enough experience and skill to be relatively self-sufficient, and the trip is for experienced mountaineers who work as part of a team.
• Adventure Peaks, Cho Oyu: the page lists no specific earlier climbs.
• Madison Mountaineering, Manaslu and Cho Oyu: the pages list no formal prerequisites.

Alpenglow's Cho Oyu or Manaslu post says its Everest team members need experience on at least one 8,000 meter peak. And Alpine Ascents names Cho Oyu, Denali, Aconcagua and Vinson as good preparation for Everest. My Everest cost page has every company's Everest requirement. And for the step before Cho Oyu or Manaslu, my Kilimanjaro vs Everest Base Camp page covers two earlier big trips.

What do guided Cho Oyu and Manaslu trips cost?

So these are the prices each company lists on its own trip page, and each one is linked. Trips are listed for 2027 unless noted. What is inside each price differs a lot, so I give the inclusions with each.

Now the prices differ so much for reasons the pages show. Cho Oyu trips go in through Tibet, and Madison's Cho Oyu price includes China's permits and fees. Manaslu's Nepal government fee is lower, as the permit table below shows. Madison lists one Sherpa for every climber, and Adventure Peaks lists one for every two. And the bottles of oxygen included range from 3 to 6.

What permits and fees do the 14 peaks need?

What does Nepal charge?

Nepal has 8 of the 14 peaks, either alone or shared. Every foreign climber pays a government fee, called a royalty, to Nepal. These are government figures from the Department of Tourism's mountaineering fee page, in US dollars per person, in effect from September 1, 2025.

The page lists Manaslu's autumn fee as higher than its spring fee, and I'm reporting it as published. Autumn is when the companies above run Manaslu. The "other mountains above 8,000 m" row doesn't name any peaks.

The same page lists a garbage management deposit. That is money you put down and may get back. It is $4,000 for Everest and $3,000 for other peaks above 8,000 m, and it is charged per expedition team, not per climber. Ask your company who pays it and when it comes back.

Madison includes the permits in both of its prices above. So ask any other company in writing whether its price includes the permit.

What does Tibet charge, and what about Pakistan?

No English fee page from the China-Tibet Mountaineering Association is available to link. ExplorersWeb, citing Climbalaya Treks and Expeditions, reports permits for Cho Oyu and Shishapangma at $9,300 each, plus $4,000 for each Nepalese staff member. That is a news report, not an official figure.

For Pakistan, ExplorersWeb reported on February 27, 2025 that a K2 permit was $12,000 for a group of seven plus $3,000 for each extra climber. That was the 2023 and 2024 system. A new individual-permit plan was announced and then blocked by a court order, so Pakistan's fees are unsettled. Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I and II and Nanga Parbat were reported at about 25% less than K2. So use a registered tour operator, and ask the operator for the current fee in writing.

What is the "death zone," in plain words?

Basically, "death zone" is a popular nickname climbers use for the very highest part of these mountains. It isn't a medical term in any of the health sources below. So here's what those medical sources actually measured.

• The CDC's Yellow Book says the body can adjust to moderate low oxygen up to about 5,200 m (about 17,000 ft), but it needs time to do that. The summits of all 14 peaks are more than 2,800 m higher than 5,200 m.
• A study in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2009 drew blood from 10 climbers on Everest who were breathing the outside air. The oxygen content of their blood stayed at or above sea-level values until about 7,100 m (23,294 ft). At 8,400 m (27,559 ft), the oxygen content of their blood was 26% lower than at 7,100 m. The authors said conditions at the Everest summit are "close to the limit of tolerance by humans." Only four samples came from 8,400 m.
• The Journal of Physiology Everest study above says profound exhaustion and impaired consciousness are frequent among the people who died above 8,000 m.
• The CDC says extra bottled oxygen is very effective at restoring blood oxygen to low-altitude levels, and that small handheld oxygen cans hold too little to help for long. The guided trips above list their oxygen bottles inside or outside their prices, as the price table shows.

None of these sources says how long a person can safely stay at a given height, so I won't give a number. My altitude sickness guide covers the warning signs and when to go down, and it says to see a doctor before a high trip. Also read the CDC's Nepal page. It says some evacuation insurance companies no longer cover Nepal, and that rescues generally have to be arranged through the insurer. So confirm in writing that your evacuation insurance covers Nepal. And I'd also ask the insurer whether the policy covers the height you plan to climb to.

What are the famous records for the 14 peaks?

• First to climb all 14: Reinhold Messner, finished on Lhotse on October 16, 1986, without bottled oxygen. Guinness World Records still shows this as a legacy record, and a second legacy page covers the climbs without bottled oxygen. But Messner's record is disputed. On September 26, 2023, ExplorersWeb reported that Guinness stopped recognizing Messner as first, saying Messner never reached Annapurna's true summit. Guinness now lists Ed Viesturs first. Messner rejects the change and says Jurgalski confused Annapurna's east summit with the main one.
• Fastest to climb all 14: Kristin Harila of Norway with Tenjen Lama Sherpa, 92 days, from April 26, 2023 on Shishapangma to July 27, 2023 on K2. Guinness lists the 92 days as the female record and says Tenjen Lama Sherpa assisted Harila on all 14 and also claimed the men's record. Guinness doesn't mention oxygen, but Wikipedia says all of those climbs used bottled oxygen.

What is the "true summit" problem?

So in recent years, a group of researchers around Eberhard Jurgalski of 8000ers.com studied satellite images from the German Aerospace Center and summit photos. The group found that many climbers stopped short of the true highest point on some of the 14. Damien Gildea laid it out in the American Alpine Journal's "The 8000-er Mess" (2020).

• Manaslu: most climbers stop at a spot called C2, about 20 m sideways and 3 to 6 m below the true summit, depending on the snow. Gildea says 250 to 300 people a year claimed the summit, most of them near C2.
• Annapurna I: there are two tops about 30 m apart, and Gildea estimates perhaps half of the people who claimed it reached neither.
• Dhaulagiri I: some stopped at the Western Rocky Foresummit, about 1 to 2 m lower and 30 m west. Others were misled by a metal pole lower down the ridge, east of the top.
• Shishapangma: its central summit (8,008 m) and west summit (7,966 m) are lower than the true summit (8,027 m). The true summit is about two hours of ridge away, according to Wikipedia's Shishapangma page.

Gildea writes that for climbs after 2020 "the summit is the summit," with no tolerance zone. Gildea also says many wrong claims were probably honest mistakes, and that a verified list of everyone who has climbed all 14 isn't currently possible. No single referee exists, so who counts as having climbed a peak depends on whose list you use. The main ones are the Himalayan Database and Jurgalski's list at 8000ers.com.

Videos about the 14 peaks

If you want to see these ideas explained, here are two videos. You can play each one on this page, and YouTube's usual controls work. The channels are not guide companies, and one of them gives numbers that differ from the sources above.

What should I do next?

So the usual step before Cho Oyu or Manaslu is a 6,000 to 7,000 meter peak. My guide to starting mountaineering from zero shows the path to get there. If you haven't done a big trek yet, my Kilimanjaro vs Everest Base Camp page compares two good first trips. And what Everest costs is on my Everest cost page.

More big trips guides

What does it cost to climb Everest in 2026, and where does the money go?

Nepal's government fee, six companies' own prices, the costs the trip fee leaves out, and a budget you can redo with your own numbers.

Kilimanjaro vs Everest Base Camp: which is harder, and which should you do first?

A plain comparison for someone choosing a first big trip, with the same facts for both side by side.

See all big trips guides