Autumn Climbing Season Begins on Dhaulagiri

The autumn climbing season has begun on Mount Dhaulagiri, the world’s seventh-highest peak at 8,167 meters, located in Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-4 of Myagdi district.

According to Mingma Sherpa, director of Seven Summit Treks, a team comprising Spanish climber Jorge Egochaga Rodriguez, China’s Ping Lu, and France’s Catherine Marcel Rosa Bari successfully reached the summit on Sunday. They were supported by Nepali climbers Pema Norbu Sherpa, Taraman Tamang, and Pemba Tashi Sherpa.

Sherpa said a joint team of Sherpas from the 14 Peaks Expedition and Seven Summits Trek opened the route to the summit on Friday and fixed ropes on Saturday.

The Department of Tourism reported that three expedition groups, including seven women and 17 men, have received permits to climb Dhaulagiri this autumn, generating royalty fees of Rs 5.71 million.

Last spring, two groups of 15 climbers paid Rs 3.69 million in permit fees. In the autumn of 2024, a team of 14 male climbers was granted a permit, but five Russian members were killed in an avalanche.

Frequent weather changes make Dhaulagiri a challenging and risky climb, considered more demanding than many other Himalayan peaks. The first successful ascent was made on May 13, 1960, by an Austrian team led by Kurt Diemberger. -- RSS