ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s elite mountaineer Sirbaz Khan has etched his name in the history books by becoming the first Pakistani to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks without using supplemental oxygen.
Hailing from Hunza Valley, Sirbaz completed his record-setting mission on Sunday after successfully climbing Kangchenjunga (8,586m) — the world’s third-highest mountain. This final climb marked the completion of his oxygen-free ascents, cementing his place among the world’s most elite high-altitude climbers.
Although Sirbaz had climbed all 14 eight-thousanders by 2024, two of those ascents involved bottled oxygen. To achieve the pure alpine style record, he re-climbed Annapurna in April 2025, and now Kangchenjunga, both without supplemental oxygen.
This incredible achievement places Sirbaz among an exclusive group of approximately 70 climbers globally to have summited all 14 peaks, and among fewer than 25 who have done so entirely without oxygen, enduring the perilous death zone conditions where survival becomes a race against time.
His mountaineering journey began in 2017 with Nanga Parbat (8,126m) — known for its danger — followed by K2 in 2018 and Lhotse in 2019, where he made history as the first Pakistani to summit it. That same year, he climbed Broad Peak without oxygen.
Over the years, he added Manaslu, Annapurna, Everest, Gasherbrum I & II, Dhaulagiri, Makalu, Cho Oyu, and Shishapangma to his list, often becoming the first Pakistani to achieve these summits.
In a related triumph, Sajid Ali Sadpara recently scaled Dhaulagiri (8,167m) without supplemental oxygen — another proud moment for Pakistan’s climbing community.
