Dhaulagiri Iधौलागिरी

Dhaulagiri I rises to 8,167 metres (26,795 feet), making it the seventh-highest mountain in the world and one of the fourteen peaks on Earth that exceed 8,000 metres. It is the highest point of the Dhaulagiri Himal, a section of the Nepalese Himalaya that stretches northwest of the Kali Gandaki River, and it lies entirely within Nepal in Myagdi District, Gandaki Province. Its summit sits at approximately 28°41′46″N, 83°29′43″E.

The mountain takes its name from Sanskrit: dhawala (धवल), meaning dazzling, white or beautiful, combined with giri (गिरि), meaning mountain. Hence Dhaulagiri is widely translated as the "White Mountain" or "Dazzling White Mountain," a reference to its broad, snow-mantled flanks. The peak has a prominence of about 3,357 metres (11,014 feet), reflecting how dramatically it stands above the surrounding terrain.

One of Dhaulagiri's most striking geographical features is its proximity to Annapurna I (8,091 m), which lies about 34 kilometres to the east on the opposite side of the Kali Gandaki gorge. The river valley between the two giants forms one of the deepest gorges on Earth, with the two eight-thousanders towering on either side. This setting gives Dhaulagiri exceptional vertical relief and contributes to the severe, fast-changing weather that climbers encounter on its slopes.

When Dhaulagiri was first surveyed by Western geographers around 1808, computations showed it to be the highest mountain yet measured, surpassing the previous candidate, Ecuador's Chimborazo. It retained that reputation for roughly three decades, until the surveying of Kangchenjunga around 1838 (and later Everest) displaced it. This early prominence in the historical record gives Dhaulagiri a distinctive place in the story of mountain measurement.

Today the peak ranks seventh among the world's mountains by elevation. Although it no longer holds the title of highest, its history as a one-time "highest known mountain" remains a notable part of its significance and is frequently cited in accounts of how the great Himalayan summits were first measured and ranked from the plains of India.

Dhaulagiri I had a long reputation as a formidable objective. During the 1950s, multiple expeditions attempted the mountain and were turned back, leaving it as the highest unclimbed mountain in the world and the last 8,000-metre summit in Nepal to remain unclimbed. Several of these early attempts focused on the difficult North Face before climbers turned their attention to the northeast approach.

The mountain was finally climbed on 13 May 1960 by a Swiss-led international expedition organised by Max Eiselin. The summit was reached without supplemental oxygen by Kurt Diemberger, Peter Diener, Ernst Forrer, Albin Schelbert, and the Sherpa climbers Nyima Dorje and Nawang Dorje, ascending via the Northeast Ridge. A second group, Michel Vaucher and Hugo Weber, reached the summit on 23 May. Dhaulagiri was the penultimate eight-thousander to be climbed for the first time, and the last to be summited in Nepal.

The 1960 expedition is famous for being the first Himalayan climb supported by a fixed-wing aircraft. Eiselin's team brought a Pilatus Porter PC-6, nicknamed the "Yeti," flown by Swiss pilots Ernst Saxer and Emil Wick (who doubled as mechanic). The plane ferried personnel and supplies to high glacier camps, landing at altitudes around 5,700 metres and setting an altitude landing record for the time. The aircraft suffered repeated mishaps and was ultimately wrecked and abandoned in the Hidden Valley region north of the mountain; the pilots survived.

The standard and most-travelled route on Dhaulagiri I follows the Northeast Ridge, the line used on the 1960 first ascent. While it is the normal route, Dhaulagiri retains a reputation as one of the more serious eight-thousanders. Climbers contend with steep, exposed ground, severe and rapidly deteriorating weather, high winds, and significant avalanche danger, particularly on the slopes leading to the upper camps.

These hazards are reflected in the mountain's safety record. Figures compiled over the decades record several hundred successful ascents against dozens of deaths, with a fatality rate among climbers that places Dhaulagiri among the more dangerous of the 8,000-metre peaks rather than the easiest. Avalanches, falls, and exposure in extreme cold are recurring causes of accidents.

The first winter ascent was achieved on 21 January 1985 by the Polish climbers Jerzy Kukuczka and Andrzej Czok, via the normal route. Their expedition endured weeks of extremely harsh weather and severe cold, and their climb was one of the earliest winter ascents of any eight-thousander and a landmark in Poland's pioneering era of Himalayan winter mountaineering.

Beyond its first and first-winter ascents, Dhaulagiri has been the stage for several notable mountaineering feats. In 1995 the Kazakh-Russian climber Anatoli Boukreev set a celebrated speed record on the peak, reportedly climbing from base camp to the summit in about 17 hours and 15 minutes, an extraordinary effort on an 8,000-metre mountain.

Dhaulagiri's combined attributes — its great height, its history as a once-presumed highest mountain on Earth, its proximity to Annapurna across one of the deepest river gorges in the world, and the dramatic aircraft-assisted first ascent of 1960 — give it an outsized place in Himalayan history. Lying wholly within Nepal in Myagdi District, it is also a point of national significance and a destination for trekkers and expedition climbers alike.

As the seventh-highest summit on the planet and the centrepiece of the Dhaulagiri Himal, the "White Mountain" remains a sought-after objective for those attempting all fourteen eight-thousanders, while its surrounding region supports demanding high-altitude treks such as the Dhaulagiri Circuit. Its blend of difficulty, beauty and historical importance ensures its standing among the most storied peaks of Nepal.