Babar Ali becomes first Bangladeshi to scale Makalu, world’s fifth-highest peak

Mountaineer Babar Ali reached new heights early this morning becoming the first Bangladeshi to conquer five of the world’s 14 ‘eight-thousanders’ (peaks rising above 8,000 metres).

Babar summited Mount Makalu (8,485 metres), the world's fifth-highest peak, at 5:45 am Bangladesh time today, Saturday. This marks the first successful ascent of the mountain, located in the Mahalangur Himal of Nepal, by any Bangladeshi mountaineer.

The expedition, titled ‘Expedition Makalu: The Fifth Frontier,’ was organised by the mountaineering club ‘Vertical Dreamers.’ The club's president, Forhan Zaman confirmed the news of the summit, citing Mohan Lamsal, owner of the Nepalese outfitter ‘Makalu Adventure.’

Babar left the country on 7 April with the goal of conquering Makalu, also known as the ‘Great Black One.’ Following initial preparations, he flew to Tumlingtar on 9 April, travelled by vehicle to Sedua village, and trekked to the Advanced Base Camp by 18 April.

To acclimatise to the altitude, he stayed at Camp-1 on 21 April and Camp-2 the following day. After touching an altitude of nearly 7,000 metres, he descended to Base Camp. He moved back up to Camp-2 for a day on 27 April before descending again to await a favourable weather window.

As the weather cleared on 30 April, Babar resumed his ascent. He reached Camp-2 (6,600 metres) that day and Camp-3 (7,400 metres) the next. He began his final push late that night, traversing over 1,100 metres of dangerously steep terrain to reach the summit at dawn.

Expedition manager Forhan Zaman stated that Babar is expected to return to Camp-2 today and reach Base Camp tomorrow, 3 May.

Babar Ali began his mountaineering journey in 2014. He is a founding member and the current general secretary of Chittagong-based ‘Vertical Dreamers.’ In 2017, he completed his basic training at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi, India.

In 2022, he became the first Bangladeshi to summit the formidable and technical Ama Dablam. In 2024, he successfully scaled Mount Everest (the world's highest peak) and Mount Lhotse (the fourth highest) in a single expedition.

Last year, he became the first Bangladeshi to summit Annapurna-1, followed by a successful ascent of Manaslu in September without supplemental oxygen.

Babar was accompanied on the Makalu expedition by Ang Kami Sherpa. The expedition was sponsored by Visual Knitwears Ltd, Samuda Spec-Chem Ltd, My Health, Chondrobinduu Prokashon, and Rahman’s Groceries.