Babar Ali first Bangladeshi atop Makalu
Bangladeshi mountaineer Babar Ali has successfully reached the summit of Makalu, the world’s fifth-highest mountain, standing at 8,485 metres, at 5:45am Bangladesh time on Saturday.
The expedition, named “Expedition Makalu: The Fifth Frontier”, was arranged by Chattogram-based climbing organisation Vertical Dreamers.
Confirming the achievement, the club’s president Farhan Zaman said the information was verified through Nepali expedition operator Makalu Adventure and its proprietor Mohan Lamsal. Sherpa climber Ang Kami Sherpa accompanied Babar during the final ascent.
Situated in Nepal’s Mahalangur Himal region, Makalu, widely known as the “Great Black One”, had remained unclimbed by any Bangladeshi until now.
Through this latest feat, Babar Ali has become the first climber from Bangladesh to scale the peak and has now summited five of the world’s 14 mountains higher than 8,000 metres the highest number achieved by any Bangladeshi mountaineer so far.
Babar started his journey from Bangladesh on April 7 and reached Tumlingtar two days later before travelling by road to Seduwa village. From there, he trekked to the base camp and completed several acclimatisation climbs up to 7,000 metres.
After waiting for a suitable weather window, he began the summit push on April 30, reaching Camp 2 at 6,600 metres that day and Camp 3 at 7,400 metres the following day. After resting at Camp 3, he set out for the final climb around midnight and covered more than 1,100 metres of steep snow-covered terrain before standing on the summit at dawn.
Expedition officials said he is expected to descend to Camp 2 later on Saturday and likely return to base camp by May 3.
Babar Ali began mountaineering in 2014 and is a founding member as well as general secretary of Vertical Dreamers. He received his formal climbing training from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi, India, in 2017.
Among his notable ascents are Ama Dablam in 2022, Mount Everest and Lhotse in 2024, Annapurna I in April 2025, and Manaslu in September 2025, the latter completed without supplemental oxygen.
The successful Makalu expedition marks another major step in Babar’s mission to climb all 14 eight-thousanders, a challenge completed by only a select few mountaineers across the globe.
