Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā and Khangchendzonga, is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at 8,586 m (28,169 ft) in a section of the Himalayas, the Kangchenjunga Himal, which is bounded in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak River and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River. It lies in the border region between Koshi Province of Nepal and Sikkim state of India, with three of the five peaks, namely Main, Central and South, directly on the border, and the peaks West and Kangbachen in Nepal's Taplejung District.
The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains recognised by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) as being more than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) in height above sea level, and sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no precise definition of the criteria used to assess independence, and at times, the UIAA has considered whether the list should be expanded to 20 mountain peaks by including the major satellite peaks of eight-thousanders. All of the eight-thousanders are located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges in Asia, and their summits lie in an altitude known as the death zone.
Baruntse is a mountain in the Khumbu region of eastern Nepal, crowned by four peaks and bounded on the south by the Hunku Glacier, on the east by the Barun Glacier, and on the northwest by the Imja Glacier. It is considered as one of the best preparation peaks in the Himalayas for climbers readying themselves for eight-thousanders, however the mountain has a low success rate due to its technical difficulties, steep slopes and unpredictable weather conditions. It is open for beginners, but requires the use of fixed ropes to climb.
Gasherbrum IV, surveyed as K3, is the 17th highest mountain on Earth and the 6th highest in Pakistan, as well as the highest independent mountain under eight thousand meters in Pakistan.
Edurne Pasaban Lizarribar is a Basque Spanish mountaineer. On May 17, 2010, she became the first woman to climb all 14 of the eight-thousanders – and the 21st person to do so. Her first 8,000 peak had been achieved 9 years earlier, on May 23, 2001, when she reached the summit of Mount Everest. She has also completed the seven summits.
Zemu Gap Peak or Zemu Peak is a peak on a high ridge running east of the south summit of Kangchenjunga in the Himalayas. It is located in Sikkim, India and until its successful summit it was known as one of the highest unclimbed named peaks of the world.
Artur Henryk "Słon” Hajzer was a Polish mountaineer. Hajzer summitted seven eight-thousanders, several via new routes and made the first winter climb of Annapurna on February 3, 1987.
Nives Meroi is an Italian mountaineer and a climbing writer. On 11 May 2017 she completed the ascent of all 14 eight-thousanders using the alpine style of climbing and without supplementary oxygen.
Jongsong Peak is a mountain in the Janak section of the Himalayas. At 7,462 metres (24,482 ft) it is the 57th highest peak in the world, although it is dominated by the 3rd highest, Kangchenjunga, 20 km (12 mi) to the south. Jongsong's summit is on tripoint of India, Nepal and China.
Zygmunt Andrzej Heinrich was a Polish mountaineer who made several ascents of eight-thousanders. He died in an avalanche on the northwest slopes of Mount Everest in 1989.
Muchu Chhish is a mountain in the Batura Muztagh sub-range of the Karakoram in Hunza Valley, in northern areas of Pakistan. Located in a very remote and inaccessible region, only a handful of attempts have been made to reach the summit. Muchu Chhish was one of the tallest mountains on Earth that remained unclimbed, until it's successful summit in 2024. The peak has a modest prominence however, rising only 263 m (863 ft) above the nearest col or pass. The Batura Glacier, one of the longest outside the polar regions, flanks Muchu Chhish to the north.
Kristin Harila is a Norwegian-Northern Saami mountaineer and former cross-country skier. During 2022–2023, she set multiple speed records for the ascent of all 14 eight-thousanders, which are the peaks in the world that are over 8,000 metres in elevation.
Richard Frank "Rick" Allen was a Scottish mountaineer. Allen summitted six eight-thousanders and was the first British climber atop some of Tajikistan's biggest mountains. He had over 40 years experience climbing in the Himalayas at the time of his death.
Marija "Mariča" Sabolek Frantar (1956-1991), was a Slovenian alpinist who was one of Slovenia's most successful mountaineers, and the second Slovene woman to summit an eight-thousander. In 1990, she received the Stanko Bloudek award, Slovenia's highest state award for sport for her achievements in mountaineering.
Kazimierz "Waldek" Waldemar Olech was a Polish mountaineer, alpinist, Himalayan climber, caver, climbing instructor and mountain photographer.
Yalung Kang is a 8,505 m high minor summit of the Kangchenjunga massif found in the Himalayan range.
Kanchenjunga South Peak is a 8,476 m high subsidiary peak of Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world.
