Overview

Dhaulagiri is the seventh highest mountain in the world. It forms the eastern anchor of the Dhaulagiri Himal, a sub range of the Himalaya in the Dhawalagiri Zone of north central Nepal. Its name is derived from Sanskrit "Dhavala" means "White" and giri means "Mountain". Therefore, it literally means "White Mountain". After its discovery in 1808 by the western world, Dhaulagiri was thought to be the highest mountain in the world and lasted for 30 years before Dhaulagiri's place was taken by Kanchenjunga.

Dhaulagiri was first climbed on May 13, 1960 by Kurt Diemberger, Peter Diener, Ernst Forrer, Albin Schelbert, Nyima Dorji and Nawang Dorji, members of a Swiss/Austrian expedition. They used the Northeast Ridge route which had been reconnoitred one year earlier by an Austrian expedition led by Fritz Moravec which was also the first Himalayan climb supported by a fixed-wing aircraft. The aircraft, a Pilatus PC-6, crashed during the approach and was later abandoned on the mountain. The vast majority of ascents to date have been via the first ascent route, which is the "Normal Route" on the mountain.

Dhaulagiri rises 7000 m over the Kali Gandaki gorge to the southeast in about 30 km of horizontal distance. The Kali Gandaki is especially dramatic since Dhaulagiri and Annapurna both stand near the river, giving a unique example of two Eight-thousanders facing each other over a deep valley forming the world's the deepest gorge. The South and West faces of Dhaulagiri both feature massive drops; each rises over 4000 meters from its base, and each has been the site of epic climbs. Among the subsidiary peaks in the range, Gurja Himal also boasts a large, precipitous drop on its south face.