GILGIT: Pakistani clim­bers Naila Kiani and Sir­baz Khan summited Cho Oyu, the world’s sixth-high­est peak (8,201 metres), in Tibet, China, on Monday.

Young Pakistani climber Shehroze Kashif has also reached the Cho Oyu base camp to start his ascent. The three climbers previously scaled Manaslu (8,163m) in Nepal on Sept 20 and 21.

According to Imagine Nepal, an eight-member expedition team, comprising Ms Kiani and Mr Khan from Pakistan, Sas­hko Kedev from North Macedonia, Naoki Ishi­kawa from Japan, Mingma G, (without supplementary oxygen), Dawa Gyalje She­rpa, Ngima Nuru Sherpa, and Dawa Jangbu Sherpa from Nepal, successfully reached the summit at 12:30pm local time on Monday.

They completed the summit five days after crossing the Tibet border from Nepal.

Cho Oyu is situated on the Nepal-Tibet border, 20km west of Mount Everest in the Mahalangur range, and it means “Turquoise Goddess” in Tibetan.

Saad Munawar, the expedition manager for Mr Khan, announced that he has become the first Pakistani to summit 13 eight-thousanders worldwide and the first to achieve this feat without supplementary oxygen. The climber, hailing from Hunza in Gilgit-Baltistan, is on a mission to complete the summit of all 14 eight-thousanders.

Ms Kiani became the first Pakistani woman to summit 10 eight-thousanders. She earlier scaled Man­aslu, Broad Peak, Annap­urna, K2, Lho­tse, Gashe­rbr­um I, Gasher­brum II, Nanga Parbat, and Mount Everest.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2023