Eight-thousanders

The fourteen mountains whose summits rise above 8,000 meters above sea level, all located in the Himalaya or Karakoram ranges.

Mount Everest: The world’s highest mountain, with a summit elevation of 8,848.86 meters on the Nepal–China border. It is the highest of the fourteen and the best-known example.
Elevation: The vertical distance of a location above a specified reference level, commonly mean sea level. The 8,000-meter threshold is defined by summit elevation above sea level.
High-altitude mountaineering: Mountaineering at elevations where reduced oxygen and extreme conditions strongly affect human performance. Eight-thousander ascents are among the most demanding forms of this activity.
Great Trigonometrical Survey: A nineteenth-century British-led project that measured and mapped the Indian subcontinent using triangulation. Its measurements established the elevations of several Himalayan giants.
Seven Summits: The highest mountain on each of the world’s seven continents. This mountaineering challenge groups peaks by continent rather than by an elevation threshold.
K2: The world’s second-highest mountain, rising 8,611 meters in the Karakoram on the Pakistan–China border. Its steep routes and severe weather make it a particularly demanding eight-thousander.
Topographic prominence: A summit’s height above the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit. Prominence helps distinguish independent mountains from subsidiary summits.
Death zone: The region above roughly 8,000 meters where oxygen scarcity makes prolonged human survival increasingly difficult. Every summit lies in this zone, where climbers face severe physiological stress.
George Everest: A Welsh surveyor who served as Surveyor General of India from 1830 to 1843. The mountain later named Everest was identified through the survey office he led.
Fourteen Peaks: A 2021 documentary following Nirmal Purja’s attempt to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders in a single season. It popularized a rapid completion challenge distinct from the broader category itself.

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