KATHMANDU, JULY 3
Veteran Nepali mountaineer Kili Pemba Sherpa has joined the elite club of climbers to summit all 14 mountains above 8,000 metres after successfully scaling Nanga Parbat (8,125m) in Pakistan on Friday morning.
Kili Pemba reached the summit alongside fellow Nepali Sherpa Lakpa Chhiri Sherpa and Chinese climber Wang Zhong, capping a swift alpine-style push that began just days after the team arrived in Pakistan.
According to Mingma G, managing director of Imagine Nepal, the expedition reached Nanga Parbat Base Camp on June 30 and immediately climbed to Camp I to take advantage of a favourable weather window. The team progressed to Camp II on July 1, Camp III on July 2, began its summit push that night, and reached the summit early Friday.
"With this ascent, Kili Pemba Sherpa has completed all 14 of the world's 8,000-metre peaks, a monumental achievement in high-altitude mountaineering," Mingma G said. He added that Kili Pemba has now summited Mount Everest 15 times and K2 twice, further cementing his reputation as one of Nepal's accomplished high-altitude climbers.
Kili Pemba was among the 10 Nepali climbers who made history by completing the first winter ascent of K2 on January 16, 2021. He has also earned international recognition as a high-altitude guide, helping Russian double-leg amputee Rustam Nabiev summit Manaslu in 2021 and guiding Chinese double-leg amputee Xia Boyu to the summit of Everest in 2018 after the latter's fifth attempt.
He was also part of the team led by Mingma G that pioneered the route to the true summit of Manaslu in 2021, correcting decades of inaccurate summit records on the world's eighth-highest mountain.
Mingma G said the Nanga Parbat expedition also marked an important milestone for Wang Zhong, who has now climbed 11 of the world's 14 eight-thousanders. The Chinese climber plans to attempt Gasherbrum II, Broad Peak and Shishapangma later this year, potentially becoming one of China's few mountaineers to complete all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres.
"For Lakpa Chhiri Sherpa, this was his first expedition in Pakistan," Mingma G said. "Although he is well known within Nepal's Sherpa climbing community, he had previously climbed only in Nepal and China. He has summited Everest, Lhotse, Manaslu and Annapurna, as well as Muztagh Ata in China."
According to Mingma G, Lakpa Chhiri joined the Imagine Nepal team during the 2025 Everest-Lhotse expedition and successfully climbed both peaks.
The three climbers are expected to rest in Skardu for a few days before heading to Broad Peak Base Camp for their next expedition, Mingma G said.