Pakistani mountaineer Sirbaz Khan achieved a significant milestone on Tuesday by successfully climbing Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen.
Sirbaz, who had previously ascended the 8849-meter peak with bottled oxygen, reached the summit at around 12:30 PST, becoming only the second Pakistani to do so without oxygen support. The Hunza-based climber is also the first Pakistani to scale 11 peaks over 8,000 meters without using supplemental oxygen, having climbed a total of 13 eight-thousanders.
Of the 13 eight-thousanders he has conquered, only Annapurna and Kangchenjunga were summitted with oxygen support.
Earlier this year, Sirbaz postponed his plan to summit Shishapangma, his 14th and final eight-thousander, after Chinese authorities decided not to open the mountain for climbing this season.
