Even though the highest mountain in the world has been conquered many times in the last forty plus years since the first conquest in 1953, Everest is still as mysterious, beguiling and magnificent as ever. Standing incredibly tall silhouetted against the shared sky of Nepal and Tibet, this mountain has many names: Chomolungma, Sagarmatha, Qomolungma or Mt. Everest. Which ever name one chooses, its mystery still lives on. It was first climbed by Sir Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953.

As far as measurement goes it is the third highest mountain in the world, and sits astride the Nepal/Sikkim border only a few miles from Tibet. It was first climbed by G.Band, Evans & J. Brown in 1955. In keeping with its name "five treasure houses of the great snows" the Kanchenjunga Himal is a grand collection of shapely spires. It is unique in as much as it is buttressed north and south as well as east and west by mountains of equal stature. This multi-topped massif comprises of four summits. Main Summit, Middle Summit, South Summit & Yalung Kang or West Summit, each one measuring over eight thousand meters.

"Lhotse" which means south peaks is part of the Everest massif. By virtue of it being 3km south of Mount Everest, from which it is separated by the South Col. It is considered an independent mountain. It was first climbed by F. Luchsinger & E. Reiss in 1956. An impressive ring of three peaks make up the Lhotse massif: Lhotse East or Middle, Lhotse & Lhotse Shar. The south face of Lhotse is one of the largest mountain faces in the world. We attempt to climb the normal route to the tallest peak of the Lhotse massif.

This mountain is an impressive mass of red granite. The Great Black One, so called due to its dark brooding appearance, is considered a massif with a "future". Makalu lies in the north east region of Nepal and is a close neighbour to Mount Everest. Despite it being the fifth tallest among the eight thousanders, the mountain is still virtually 'new'. It was first climbed by a French Team led by Jean Franco in 1955.