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Re: How many of the 14, 8000ers are harder than Everest??

Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2021 11:54 am
by Salient
Scott P wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 11:27 am
Similar. Sources are John Cleare, Richard Sale, and Dan Mazur.

> Hardest
K2
Annapurna
Nanga Parbat
Kangchenjunga
Makalu
Gasherbrum I
Dhaulagiri
Lhotse
Everest
Manaslu
Broad Peak
Gasherbrum II
Shisha Pangma
Cho Oyu
> Easiest

The one that varies the most seems to be Dhalagiri. For some reason it goes all over the place on the lists. Some say it belongs to the tougher part of the list and some people say it belongs to the easier part of the list. I'm not sure why there is so much disagreement on this one. I know the mountain gets a lot of storms and along with Annapurna get more moisture and precipitation than the other peaks, but I don't know what else makes the opinion vary so much.

Other comments:

While Shisha Pangma and Broad Peak are often considered some of the easier ones, the last part of both ridges is sometimes really difficult and trecherous. When conditions are good, the peaks are straight foreward. When the last part of the ridges are heavily corniced, even the really experienced mountaineers fail.

Gasherbrum II once shared the distinction with Cho Oyu as the easiest 8000, but part of the ridge fell off making the climb more difficult.

Dan Masur at least said that Manaslu is among the easiest from a technical standpoint, but it can have lots of avalanche danger and has a high death rate. When he guided it, Dan Masur went as far as saying it might be the easiest 8000er, but he's the only one I have heard who has said that.
I suppose quite a fair bit varies based on the conditions at any given time.