Mountaineer Babar Ali has become the first Bangladeshi to successfully scale Mount Makalu, the world’s fifth-highest peak.
Standing at 8,485 metres in Nepal’s Mahalangur Himalayas, the summit marks Babar’s fifth conquest of an eight-thousander, a feat unmatched by any other Bangladeshi.
Babar shared the details of his historic journey, titled “Expedition Makalu: The Fifth Frontier”, during a press conference and flag-handover ceremony at Chittagong Press Club at 11am on Sunday.
The event was organised by the mountaineering club Vertical Dreamers and attended by Ahmed Nur Faisal, managing director of Visual Knitwear Ltd, who pledged continued support for the climber.
Babar revealed that while he had initially intended to climb Nanga Parbat, funding constraints led him to target Mount Makalu instead.
He described the mountain as technically difficult and weather-wise mysterious, with extreme cold and bone-chilling winds making every minute a struggle.
The climber also spoke of the tragedies that occurred during the expedition. His American friend, Shelley Johansen, died in an avalanche during the descent, and his Russian companion, Konstantin, suffered severe frostbite resulting in the loss of several fingers and toes.
Babar expressed mixed feelings, stating that the joy of the summit was tempered by the sadness of these losses.
The expedition began on 7 April, with Babar reaching the high base camp by 17 April. After completing acclimatisation phases that included reaching 7,000 metres at Camp-2 on 22 April, he waited for a suitable weather window. The final ascent began on 30 April, with Babar reaching Camp-3 at 7,400 metres on 1 May.
He commenced his summit push at midnight, overcoming a climb of more than 1,100 metres to reach the peak at 5:45am Bangladesh time on 2 May. He returned to the base camp later that same day.
Babar’s mountaineering career began in 2014, though he started trekking in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in 2010. He completed basic training at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in 2017.
His previous achievements include becoming the first Bangladeshi to scale Ama Dablam in 2022, and scaling both Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse in a single expedition in 2024.
In April 2025, he reached the summit of Annapurna-I, and in September 2025, he became the first Bangladeshi to climb Mount Manaslu without supplemental oxygen. Babar now aims to scale all 14 of the world’s eight-thousanders, with nine peaks remaining.
