Annapurna Iअन्नपूर्ण
The first eight-thousander ever climbed — and statistically the most dangerous. Annapurna I crowns a 55 km massif holding sixteen peaks over 7,000 m, ringed by the Annapurna Circuit and Sanctuary treks.
Height
8,091 m
World rank
#10
among the world's highest mountains
First ascent
1950
3 June 1950
District
Kaski / Myagdi
Gandaki Province
- Border
- Entirely in Nepal
- Standard route
- North Face (1950 French route); the immense South Face is one of alpinism's great test-pieces
3 June 1950
Summit party
Maurice Herzog & Louis Lachenal (France)
French expedition — the first ascent of any 8,000 m peak
Achieved without supplemental oxygen and without prior reconnaissance, three years before Everest; Herzog and Lachenal lost fingers and toes to frostbite on the descent.
What the record shows
Herzog's expedition book 'Annapurna' became the best-selling mountaineering title of all time and fixed the peak in global imagination.
The 3,000 m South Face, climbed by Chris Bonington's team in 1970 (summit: Don Whillans & Dougal Haston), opened the era of big-wall Himalayan climbing; Ueli Steck's 28-hour solo of 2013 remains its most audacious repeat.
Avalanche exposure on the standard North Face routes — not technical difficulty alone — drives the grim statistics; 2014's Dhaulagiri–Annapurna snowstorm disaster also struck trekkers on the Circuit (43 deaths).
Firsts & records
First winter ascent: 3 February 1987 — Jerzy Kukuczka & Artur Hajzer (Poland)
First 8,000 m summit in history (1950)
First women's ascent: Vera Komarkova & Irene Miller with Mingma Tsering & Chewang Ringjing Sherpa, 1978 (American Women's Himalayan Expedition)
Safety record
Long the deadliest 8,000er: historical fatality rates exceeded 30%; with the surge in guided ascents the summits-to-deaths ratio fell to ≈13–14% by early 2025 (559 summits / 75 deaths) — still the highest of the fourteen.
Fatality 'rates' are summits-to-deaths ratios that shift as traffic grows — the year of each figure is stated.
Most visitors experience this region not by climbing but on foot: Nepal's trekking routes reach base camps and viewpoints beneath Annapurna I without the technical risks of the summit.
The peak in context
The highlighted marker is this mountain; the others show all eight of Nepal's eight-thousanders.
Annapurna I — frequently asked
How tall is Annapurna I?+
Annapurna I is 8,091 m high, making it the 10th-highest mountain in the world. It lies in the Annapurna Himal on the Nepali side, entirely within Nepal.
When was Annapurna I first climbed, and by whom?+
Annapurna I was first summited on 3 June 1950 by Maurice Herzog & Louis Lachenal (France), as part of the French expedition — the first ascent of any 8,000 m peak.
How dangerous is Annapurna I?+
Long the deadliest 8,000er: historical fatality rates exceeded 30%; with the surge in guided ascents the summits-to-deaths ratio fell to ≈13–14% by early 2025 (559 summits / 75 deaths) — still the highest of the fourteen.
Where is Annapurna I located in Nepal?+
Annapurna I sits in Kaski / Myagdi district of Gandaki Province. The standard climbing line is the North Face (1950 French route); the immense South Face is one of alpinism's great test-pieces.
Sources & data note
Profile of Annapurna I compiled from the listed sources. Heights follow UIAA-accepted surveys; ascent and fatality statistics derive from Himalayan Database compilations and are dated in the text.