ISLAMABAD:
Renowned Pakistani mountaineer Sirbaz Khan achieved yet another landmark in the history of high-altitude climbing as he successfully summited the world’s third-highest mountain, Kangchenjunga, on Sunday morning.
Khan reached the top of the 8,586 meters high Kangchenjunga at 5am Nepal Time. What makes this feat extraordinary is that he achieved it without the use of supplementary oxygen – a defining moment in Pakistan’s mountaineering legacy. With this latest accomplishment, Sirbaz Khan becomes the first Pakistani, and one of the very few elite mountaineers worldwide, to summit all the 14 peaks over 8,000-meters – known as the ‘Eight-Thousanders’ – without supplementary oxygen support.
Previously he has scaled Everest, 8,848 m; K2, 8,611m; Lhotse, 8,516 m; Makalu, 8,485m; Cho Oyu, 8,188 m; Dhaulagiri, 8,167 m; Manaslu, 8,163 m; Nanga Parbat, 8,126m; Annapurna I, 8,091m; Gasherbrum I, 8,080 m; Broad Peak, 8,051 m; Gasherbrum II, 8,035m; and Shishapangma, 8,027m.
Sirbaz Khan’s journey to this historic milestone spanned over a decade. His achievement on Sunday not only cemented his place among the greatest mountaineers of all time but also brings immense pride to the people of Pakistan.
Khan hails from Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B). His accomplishment was made in the spirit of pure alpine climbing — minimal gear, no fixed ropes or camps set by Sherpas, and no oxygen support.
“Sirbaz Khan has made the entire nation proud. Completing all 14 eight-thousanders without oxygen is a rare and heroic achievement. He is a symbol of Pakistani resilience, skill, and courage on the highest peaks of the world,” Karrar Haidri, Secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said, in a congratulatory message to Khan.
