–Prakash Adhikari
Kathmandu, 26 February. Australian mountaineer Allie Pepper has announced that she will climb Annapurna-1 this spring without artificial oxygen.
In a press conference held today in the capital Kathmandu, she has also announced an ambitious plan to climb all 14 mountains above 8000 meters in the world without supplementary oxygen within the next two years (year 2026).
The height of Annapurna-1, considered the 10th highest peak in the world, is 8,091 meters.
She successfully climbed Manaslu Himal in Nepal without oxygen on September 28, 2023. Manaslu is the fifth highest mountain in the world. Its height is 8,163 meters above sea level.
Before this, he successfully climbed Broad Peak, the 12th highest mountain in the world, without oxygen on July 15, 2023. Broad peak in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan belongs to the Karakoram mountain range. Its height is 8,052 meters.
Allie, who is also an Australian mountain climbing female guide, has started climbing high mountains without the use of artificial oxygen since 2007. She climbed Cho-Oyu Himal from Tibet that year. The height of Cho-OYu is 8,150 meters above sea level. It is the seventh higher mountain in the world.
Mountaineer Allie Pepper is aiming to climb Kanchenjunga and Makalu Himal in Nepal in addition to Annapurna-1 in the spring season of this year.
Ellie Pepper, who has 23 years of experience in mountain climbing, said that she took the challenging goal of climbing mountains without oxygen to encourage women. “Due to my climbing style, I am confident that I will be able to achieve the target within the projected time. I have prepared myself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually to achieve this goal. All these things are motivating me to set and achieve this goal.”, she said,
Annapurna and other mountain climbing arrangements in Nepal have been managed by the Seven Summits Treks Pvt. Ltd, a reputed company in mountaineering. Managing Director of Seven Summits, Mingma Sherpa said that Allie Pepper herself is an experienced mountaineer and a guide, so it will not be difficult for her to reach the summit, but climbing without oxygen should be taken as a challenge.
So far, only six people in the world have climbed the mountains above 8000 in the world without supplementary oxygen. Among them, there are only two male climbers who have climbed all 14 mountains without oxygen. It took them 16 years to climb 14 mountains without oxygen.
Allie Pepper has said that this goal can be achieved within the next two years due to the physical equipment available for climbing, weather information facilities, rescue and other facilities.
So far, 14 mountains in the world have been recognized as having a height above 8,000. Among them are Mount Everest, Mount K2, Kanchanjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho-oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Nanga Parbat, Annapurna-1, Gasherbrum -1, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum-2 and Shishapagma.
Even though the Nepal Mountaineering Association has submitted the fact that there are 14 mountains above 8,000 meters in Nepal to the World Mountaineering Federation, it has not been recognized.
These 14 peaks include Kanchenjunga South (8,476), Kanchenjunga Center (8,473), Kanchenjunga Main (8,586), Kanchenjunga Yalungkhang (8,505), Yalungkhang West (8,077), Makalu (8,485), Lhotse. Sad (8,388), Lhotse Middle (8,410), Lhotse Main (8,516), Everest (8,848), Cho-oyu (8,188), Manaslu (8,163), Annapurna-1 (8,091) and Dhaulagiri (8,167).
