The Everest summiteer Babar Ali has become the first Bangladeshi to climb the world’s eighth-highest mountain Manaslu with 8,163-metre height without supplemental oxygen at 4:30am local time in Nepal on 26 September.
Another Bangladeshi mountaineer, Tanvir Ahmed, also reached the peak of Manaslu at 3:30am local time. Both are members of the mountaineering club Vertical Dreamers, and the joint expedition was named “Manaslu Ascent: Vertical Duo.”
Vertical Dreamers’ president and expedition manager Farhan Zaman said Bangladesh’s red and green flag flew twice on Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest peak, on the same day, according to mountaineering club Vertical Dreamers.
He said, Babar Ali fulfilled his long-cherished dream by becoming the first Bangladeshi to climb an 8,000-metre peak without supplemental oxygen, while Tanvir Ahmed proved success is possible without formal mountaineering training abroad.
Earlier, on 25 September, mountaineer Toufiq Ahmed became the second Bangladeshi to summit Manaslu. The first Bangladeshi to achieve the feat was Everest summiteer MM Muhit, who scaled the peak on 12 October, 2011.
Tanvir Ahmed and Babar Ali left Bangladesh for Nepal on 5 September. After completing preparations, they travelled by car from Kathmandu to Tilche village on 7 September. From there, they trekked for five days to reach the base camp and then acclimatised by moving between higher camps. For the final summit push, Tanvir left base camp on 22 September, followed by Babar on 23 September.
Among the two climbers, Babar Ali had previously scaled Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, and Mount Lhotse, the fourth-highest, in the same expedition in 2024. In April this year, he also climbed Annapurna I, the tenth-highest mountain. With Manaslu, this marks his fourth successful ascent of an 8,000-metre peak as the general secretary of Vertical Dreamers.
Meanwhile, Tanvir Ahmed, who serves as the club’s mountaineering and trekking secretary, climbed Ama Dablam (6,812 metres) in November 2024. Manaslu is his first 8,000-metre expedition.
Globally, there are 14 mountains above 8,000 metres. At such extreme altitudes, oxygen levels are one-third of those at sea level, making survival extremely challenging. Climbers generally rely on supplemental oxygen to sustain themselves.
