KATHMANDU: Legendary Nepali mountaineer Sanu Sherpa has added another chapter to his extraordinary record, reaching the summit of Mount Dhaulagiri (8,167m) as part of Pioneer Adventures' 17-member team on April 18 — bringing him to 12 of the 14 eight-thousanders climbed three times.

Only Cho Oyu and Shishapangma now stand between him and what would be an unprecedented feat in mountaineering history: becoming the first climber ever to summit all 14 of the world's highest peaks three times.

The Dhaulagiri summit marks a significant milestone in a record pursuit that has been building steadily through gruelling seasons and, at times, personal tragedy. In January this year, Sanu completed a rare winter ascent of Makalu (8,485m) alongside Iranian climber Abolfazl Gozali — one of the most technically demanding ascents in high-altitude mountaineering. That expedition, however, ended in tragedy when fellow climber Phurba Ongel Sherpa died during descent and Gozali went missing, with subsequent search and recovery operations on the mountain ultimately called off due to extreme weather.

Sanu has climbed 8,000-metre peaks more than 40 times and completed all 14 eight-thousanders twice before embarking on his current third-round pursuit. With Dhaulagiri now behind him, the remaining two peaks — Cho Oyu (8,188m) on the Nepal-Tibet border and Shishapangma (8,027m) in Tibet — are both accessible in future seasons.