Reinhold Messner (Italy) became the first person to climb the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000 m (26,246 ft) when he summited Lhotse (8,501 m; 27,890 ft) on the Nepal­/Tibet border, on 16 October 1986. His quest had started in June 1970, and the difficulty of this feat is illustrated by the fact that by the second half of 2005, only 12 people had achieved it.

In mountaineering circles the ‘8,000ers’ are regarded as the ultimate challenge and seen as more prestigious than the ‘seven summits’. Of the seven summits, only three (Everest, Mt McKinley and Aconcagua) are higher than 6,000 m (19,685 ft), and only Everest is higher than 7,000 m (22,965 ft).
Part of the challenge of climbing the 8,000ers is that they take climbers into the so-called death zone. Above 7,600 m (24,934 ft) ­ the ‘death-zone’ boundary ­ the level of oxygen in the air is so low that the effects of oxygen deprivation become extreme, resulting in confused thinking, poor sleep and poor digestion (or a lack of interest in food).