Which Himalayan mountains were first climbed during the 1950s?

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During the 1950s, mountaineers achieved the first successful ascents of several major peaks in the Himalayas and the neighboring Karakoram Range. These landmark accomplishments included:

  • Annapurna I: First climbed by a French expedition on June 3, 1950.12
  • Mount Everest: First reached by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953.13
  • Nanga Parbat: Successfully ascended by a German and Austrian team in 1953.14
  • K2: First scaled by two Italian climbers in July 1954.1
  • Cho Oyu: Reached by an Austrian party in October 1954.1
  • Makalu: A French party reached the summit in May 1955.1
  • Kanchenjunga: First climbed by a British expedition in May 1955.1
  • Lhotse I: Successfully ascended by a Swiss team in 1956.1

These expeditions marked a significant era in high-altitude mountaineering, as climbers systematically conquered the world's highest peaks following the conclusion of World War II.14