Makalu
was first climbed by a French party in 1955.
         By 1996, 160 climbers from
125 expeditions
         had reached the summit 
        
        - 15 climbers having died in
their attempts. 
        
        The peak was first mapped and photographed
         from the
Tibetan side 
        
        by the 1921 British Everest Reconnaissance. 
        Makalu is one of the harder eight-thousanders, 
        
and one of
the most difficult
        
 mountains in the world to climb. 
        
The mountain is
notorious for its steep pitches
        
 and knife-edged ridges that are
        
completely open to the elements.