Sirbaz summits 14 highest peaks without supplemental oxygen

KARACHI: Mountaineer Sirbaz Khan on Sunday became the first person from Pakistan to summit all 14 of the world’s highest peaks without supplemental oxygen, completing the milestone by reaching the top of Kangchenjunga.

Khan, who hails from the Hunza Valley, reached the 8,586-meter (28,169-foot) summit at 11:50 a.m. local time. The achievement capped years of efforts after having climbed all 14 of the “eight-thousanders” mountains (26,247 feet) — but with the aid of bottled oxygen on two of those ascents.

To achieve his goal, he returned this season to climb Annapurna and Kangchenjunga in in April and May, respectively, without artificial oxygen. “Even though I had summited all 14 peaks, there was still something missing,” Khan said before his Annapurna climb.

“When I first announced my project after summiting Nanga Parbat in 2017, my aim was simple: all 14 without using oxygen. That’s why I returned.” Khan is among about 70 climbers worldwide who have summited all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters.

Fewer than 25 have done so entirely without supplemental oxygen, a feat requiring extreme endurance in the oxygen-starved “death zone” above 8,000 meters. His latest accomplishment comes less than a year after he initially completed all 14 peaks, already securing his place among Pakistan’s greatest climbers. However, Khan sought to push further by re-climbing Annapurna and Kangchenjunga without oxygen.

Khan began his quest in 2017 by summiting the notoriously dangerous Nanga Parbat (8,126 meters). He then went on to climb some of the world’s most challenging peaks, including K2 in July 2018 and Lhotse in May 2019, becoming the first Pakistani to summit the 8,516-meter (27,940-foot) peak.