Eight-thousander in the context of "Lhotse"

The Karakoram (/ˌkɑːrəˈkɔːrəm, ˌkær-/) is a mountain range in Asia located primarily in the Kashmir region. The range spans the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the north-western extremities of the range extending into Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The Karakoram contains four of the fourteen eight-thousanders, the highest of which is K2, the second highest mountain on Earth.

The Karakoram begins in the Wakhan Corridor in western Afghanistan and extends eastwards into Indian-administered Ladakh and Chinese-administered Aksai Chin, as well as the Chinese province of Xinjiang. Most of the Karakoram is located within the Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan region. The Karakoram is bounded on the east by the Aksai Chin plateau, on the north-east by the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, and on the north by the river valleys of the Yarkand and Karakash rivers, beyond which lie the Kunlun Mountains. At the north-west corner are the Pamir Mountains. The southern boundary of the Karakoram is formed west to east by the Gilgit, Indus, and Shyok rivers, which separate the range from the north-western end of the Himalaya. These rivers flow north-west before making an abrupt turn south-westwards towards the plains of Pakistan. Roughly in the middle of the Karakoram range is the Karakoram Pass, which was part of a now unused trade route between Ladakh and Yarkand.

Nanga Parbat, known locally as Diamer, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth with its summit at 8,126 m (26,660 ft) above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Nanga Parbat is the westernmost major peak of the Himalayas, and thus in the traditional view of the Himalayas as bounded by the Indus and Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra rivers, it is the western anchor of the entire mountain range.

Nanga Parbat is one of the 14 eight-thousanders. It rises far above its surrounding terrain and has the second-highest prominence among the 100 tallest mountains on Earth only behind Mount Everest. Nanga Parbat is well-known for being an extremely difficult climb, and has earned the nickname Killer Mountain for its high number of climber fatalities and pushing climbers to their limits. According to Guinness World Records, Nanga Parbat is the fastest growing mountain in the world, growing taller at a rate of 7 mm (0.27 in) per year.

Skardu (Urdu: سکردو, romanized: skardū, Tibetan script: སྐར་མདོ, pronounced [skərduː]) is a city located in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. Skardu serves as the capital of Skardu District and the Baltistan Division. It is situated at an average elevation of nearly 2,500 metres (8,202 feet) above sea level in the Skardu Valley, at the confluence of the Indus and Shigar rivers. It is an important gateway to the eight-thousanders of the nearby Karakoram mountain range. The Indus River running through the region separates the Karakoram from the Ladakh Range.

In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain peak or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers and climbers were mainly focused on reaching the tops of notable mountain peaks (e.g. the eight-thousanders such as Mount Everest) and the tops of iconic climbing routes (e.g. the great north faces of the Alps such as the Eiger) by whatever means possible, and often using considerable amounts of aid climbing and/or with large expedition style support teams allowing them to "lay siege" to the climb.

As all the key tops were summited, the manner or "style" in which each top was reached became important to climbers, and particularly the ability to complete the ascent without the use of any artificial aids, which is called free climbing. In free-climbing, the term first free ascent (abbreviated FFA) denotes where a mountain or climbing route is ascended without any artificial aid — note that equipment for protection in the event of a fall can be used as long as they did not aid in the climber's upward progression. Completing the FFA of a climbing route is often called freeing (or more latterly sending) a route, and is highly coveted.

Annapurna (/ˌænəˈpʊərnəˌ -ˈpɜːr-/; Nepali: अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the 10th highest mountain in the world at 8,091 metres (26,545 ft) above sea level and is well known for the difficulty and danger involved in its ascent.

Maurice Herzog led a French expedition to its summit through the north face in 1950, making it the first eight-thousander to be successfully climbed. The entire massif and surrounding area are protected within the 7,629-square-kilometre (2,946 sq mi) Annapurna Conservation Area, the first and largest conservation area in Nepal. The Annapurna Conservation Area is home to several world-class treks, including Annapurna Sanctuary and Annapurna Circuit.

In mountaineering, the death zone refers to altitudes above which the pressure of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span. This point is generally considered to be 8,000 m (26,200 ft), where atmospheric pressure is less than 356 millibars (10.5 inHg; 5.16 psi). The concept was conceived in 1953 by Edouard Wyss-Dunant, a Swiss doctor, who called it the lethal zone. All 14 peaks above 8000 m (the "eight-thousanders") in the death zone are located in the Himalaya and Karakoram regions of Asia.

Many deaths in high-altitude mountaineering have been caused by the effects of the death zone, either directly by the loss of vital functions or indirectly by poor decisions made under stress (e.g., not turning back in deteriorating conditions, or misreading the climbing route), or physical weakening leading to accidents (e.g., falls). An extended stay above 8,000 m (26,200 ft) without a high-altitude breathing apparatus (which includes bottled oxygen) will result in deterioration of bodily functions and death.