Top 10 Highest Mountains in the World

Mountains are majestic and exciting. They are beautiful and deadly. Some are small, some are extremely large. This leads to many questioning which are the tallest mountains in the world. To answer this, here is a list of the top 10 highest mountains in the world.

10. Annapurna

The tenth tallest mountain is the Annapurna which comes in at 26,545 feet high. It is located in the Himalayan mountain range in north central Nepal and its parent peak is the Cho Oyu. The name Annapuran is Sanskrit and means “full of food”, but it is normally translated to mean the “Goddess of the Harvests”. This mountain was the first 8,000 metre peak to be climbed and it was done by a French expedition that was lead by Maurice Herzog. The first American team to climb it was led by Arlene Blum.

9. Nanga Parbat

The Nanga Parbat is 26,660 and its name literally means Naked Mountain. It is the western anchor of the Himalayan mountain range and the Indus river skirts around it before it runs into the plains of Pakistan. It is well known for being a difficult mountain to climb and numerous people have died trying. In the 20th century it earned the nickname “killer mountain” and it has never been climbed during the winter. The most unique thing about this majestic mountain is the way that it towers over the rest of the area around it and if you look at it from the south it is often said that it has the highest mountain face in the world. It also has one of the most prominent peaks according to a top twenty list where it comes in the 14 th position.

8. Manaslu

Manaslu is number eight on the list with its towering 26,759 feet. It is located in the west central area of Nepal and is part of the Nepalese Himalayas. It’s name means “Mountain of the Spirit” and comes from a Sanskrit word that means either “soul” or “intellect”. The first successful climb of this beautiful mountain was done by a Japanese expedition that was lead by Toshio Imanishi on May 9, 1956. This mountain appears to be a wall of snow and ice that hangs in the sky. Three sides of it fall in steps down to a terrace.

7. Dhaulagiri l

The Dhaulagiri l stands a proud 26,795 feet at its highest peak. The first people to climb this beast of a mountain were from a Nepali/Austrian/Swiss expedition. The mountains name means Dazzling, white, beautiful mountain in Sanskrit. It is the highest point of the river basis Gandaki. The Kali Gandaki River flows between this mountain and Annapurna l and it is said to be the deepest river in the world. Total there have been 358 successful climbs and 58 deaths on this mountain as of 2006.

6. Cho Oyu

This mountain’s name stands for “Turquoise Goddess” is 26,795 feet high which places it as the sixth highest mountain in the world. It is located on the Tibet-Nepal border. A climb up it was first attempted by Eric Shipton and it was financed and organized in 1952. It was canceled because of a danger for avalanches and other technical difficulties. In 1954, the first successful trek up the mountain happened on October 19. It was climbed by Herbert Tichy and others via the North West ridge of the mountain. At that time it was only the 5 th mountain over 8,000 metres high to be climbed.

5. Makalu

This massive mountain is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas and it is 27,825 feet high at its peak. It sits 19 km southeast of Mount Everest, right on the border between China and Nepal. Makalu is a peak that is isolated from others and looks like a four-sided pyramid. It also has two other peaks including the Makalu ll and the Kangchungtse. The first attempt to climb it was made by Americans and it was lead by William Siri during the spring of 54’. In the fall a French reconnaissance expedition completed the climb to a subsidiary summit. The mountain itself was first climbed successfully on May 15, 1955 by a team with Lionel Terray.

4. Lhotse

The word Lhotse means South Peak and it is connected to Everest by the South Col. It stands 27,940 above the ground at the highest peak. This majestic mountain is located on the border between Nepal’s Khumbu region and Tibet. The first climb attempt was in 1955and it was lead by Norman Dyhrenfurth. It was not climbed until May 18, 1956 by a Swiss team that included Fritz Luchsinger and Ernst Reiss. Statistics for the mountain as of December 2008 show that 371 people have successfully climbed Lhotse and 20 have lost their lives trying.

3. Kanchenjunga

This mountain is called the “Five Treasures of Snow” because of its five peaks and at its highest it is 28,169 feet above sea level. It has been worshipped by both the people of Sikkim and the people of Darjeeling. It is on the border between Sikkim and Nepal. Others tried before but it was successfully climbed the first time by George Band and Joe Brown on May 25, 1955. It is also rumored to be where the “Kangchenjunga Demon” calls home. It is a rakshasa or yeti type of creature that has become a very popular myth. Other legends state that there is a hidden valley of immortality located within its slopes.

2. K2

The K2 has a variety of names including Mount Godwin-Austen, Ketu/Kechu, and Chhogori/Qogir. It is located on the border between Baltistan and China and comes in as the second tallest mountain in the world at 28,251 feet at its highest peak. It is also called Savage Mountain because it is extremely difficult to climb. It has the second highest fatality rate and it has never been climbed in the winter. It is more difficult to reach its peak from the China side of the mountain, so it is usually done by starting out on the Pakistani side. It was first climbed by an Italian expedition on July 31, 1954. It was a climb lead by Ardito Desio and two others. A second successful climb did not happen until 23 years later.

1. Mount Everest

The tallest mountain in the world is Mount Everest which is also known as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Chomolungma in Tibet. It is an amazing 29,029 feet high. It is the 5 th furthest point from earth’s center and a border between China and Nepal runs across its summit point. The first successful climb came in 1953 and it was lead by John Hunt. It was actually two teams that would attempt it. The first team got within 330 ft of the summit but oxygen became a problem so they turned back. Two days later the second team went up an on May 29, 1953 the team reached summit at 11:30am local time. Most climbers spend a lot of time within what is called the death zone of the mountain. This area has very low temperatures which could result in slipping and frostbite. It also has very high winds and very little atmospheric pressure which means climbers have only about a third of the amount of oxygen that our body’s are use to. Many climbers have spent twelve hours trying to walk 1.07 miles through the death zone. This is why most climbs require oxygen tanks and masks to help climbers through it, but they still have to deal with the cold and possible frostbite to all exposed areas.
Many have tried and failed to climb the top 10 highest mountains in the world.It is a feat that only the brave try to accomplish. They risk their lives for the sake of exploration and luckily, most come back with amazing stories to tell.