Cho Oyu (8,201 meters): Every one of our summit bids on the “Turquoise goddess” has resulted in team members reaching the summit. I personally set a record of reaching the summit twice (with clients) within 24 hours. This mountain is the ideal first 8,000-meter mountain. In fear of sounding like an oxymoron Cho Oyu is the safest and easiest 8,000-meter mountain to climb. (no 8,000-meter mountain is safe or easy!). Plus, this mountain, its location and route to the top are incredibly beautiful. I have loved every expedition I have made to the mountain but unfortunately this mountain is in Tibet and therefore subject to the whims and mercy of the restrictions enforced by Chinese authorities on border control, fees, and climbing logistics. All of which have put a real damper on things and make the prospects of reaching the top both very expensive and a logistical nightmare.

Manaslu (8,156 meters): This striking Nepali mountain was my first 8,000-meter peak and as such holds a special place in my heart. This expedition was immense, largely self-supported and my team was varied and a lot of fun. The bonus was that my previous experience guiding 7,000-meter mountains paid off. I made a few radical decisions which led to our team being one of few to reach the summit. Another bonus was that our team was able to assist in the rescue of two frost-bitten climbers stranded near the summit and bring them down safely. The route to the top is largely straightforward bar a gnarly bit between camps 1 and 2 where a very active icefall needs to be negotiated. The downside at the time of our ascent in 2013 was that the mountain’s historically extreme avalanche risk strictly resticted how and when we moved on the mountain. The downside nowadays is that the avalanche risk hasn’t diminished one iota, and that this beautiful mountain is becoming increasingly popular and expensive to climb.

Mount Everest (8,848 meters): There’s little I can add to the millions of words already written about this mountain and the many varied impressions climbers have about the world’s biggest chunk of rock and ice. In all I have led 4 expeditions to the mountain, two to the north and two to the south. My favourite route is from the north. Climbing the mountain from Tibet is more impressive, quieter, feels more authentic and is much more adventurous. Despite the undeniable grandeur of the mountain itself and the immense privilege of working on the world’s highest mountain from the Nepali (south) side I have always felt an acute sense of disappointment that the climbers around me were blinded by their incessant quest to impress others rather than the intensely personal experience they could be having at the time. The major downside of climbing Mount Everest from the north is that, as on Cho Oyu the Chinese government calls the shots.

Lhotse (8,501 meters): I turned around on my solo summit attempt on Lhotse because a young Sherpa climbing ahead of the pack snapped a rotten bit of fixed line and fell thousands of meters down the Lhotse face. My private client at the time had given up on our double billed ascent of climbing both Mount Everest and Lhotse after we had reached the summit of Everest and since we still had permission to climb this peak I decided to go it alone. I would advise against Lhotse as a first time 8,000-meter mountain because of its height and because 80% of the route to its summit is shared by folk wanting to climb Mount Everest. Negotiating the notorious Khumbu icefall and Lhotse face with hundreds of people to get to the relative stillness of your dream mountain is kinda like lining up at Walmart to buy your favourite shirt, with a dozen people ahead of you clutching the same shirt. Your first 8,000-meter experience deserves to be awesome and unique.

And this brings me to, Pakistan…

Gasherbrum II (8.035 meters): To be perfectly honest I don’t need an expresso machine, a German bakery, a chill out pod and the help of a cast of thousands to reach the summit of an 8,000-meter peak. To be honest I revel in the prospect of the unknown, the rolling of the dice and the fact that sometimes the mountain calls the shots. Gasherbrum II therefore fulfilled everything I could have wished for on our successful attempt in 2022. I would only advocate this incredibly spectacular mountain to those wanting a truly “old school” adventure. Those willing to roll up their sleeves and give everything they have to reach the summit. The spectacular, isolated, and extremely rugged Karakoram region, where this mountain is situated, is no place for those yearning for an easy ride. Everything from the long march to basecamp, from finding a route through the ice fall and climbing the exposed slopes above camp one requires hard yakka. But none of this ever fails to distract from waking up each day and thinking “WOW! look at where I am” and “WOW! I can’t believe I am doing this” and WOW! I AM ACTUALLY GOING TO THE TOP!” Additionally, Gasherbrum II is the most affordable of the 8,000-meter peaks. The Pakistani mountaineering authorities actively encourages climbers to return to their justifiably mind blowing, jaw dropping country and for the time being have set their climbing permits and logistical support at a very low rate. Everything about Gasherbrum II suits my personal ethos of wanting to climb a mountain on its terms, not mine. Everything about climbing Gasherbrum II is adventurous and unique. My 2022 team came from all over the world and differed in their respected levels of experience. Stephan, from Sweden who joined me on the final summit push only had the summits of Mera peak and Ama Dablam under his belt. His words as we hugged on the summit will always ring in my ears; “ F@*k Rolfe, now I can die happy..” The magic of the mountain and its awesome life changing potential hadn’t escaped him. And this is what breaking this seemingly impossible barrier should be about…