Summit 8000-The Ultimate Mountaineering Challenge

Watch a short video of Andrew Lock discussing his Summit 8000 quest...

On October 2nd, 2009 Andrew Lock achieved his dream to be the first Australian to climb all fourteen of the world’s 8000 metre mountains when he reached the summit of Tibet’s Mt Shishapangma, 8027 metres.

This was the completion of a 16 year project of unrelenting hardship and sacrifice, an Olympic style training regime, extraordinary motivation and months at a time away from family and friends but in achieving his goal, he confirmed his rank as the greatest Australian mountaineer of all time.

'As a sporting achievement, reaching all 14 peaks ranks alongside winning gold medals at consecutive Olympics' – Matt Horan, Sunday Telegraph Newspaper 14 Dec 2003.

Six of these climbs were first Australian ascents, four were solo ascents and he has twice reached the summit of Mt Everest, Shishapangma Central and Cho Oyu. See The Fourteen 8000ers for an overview of Andrew's outstanding 8000 metre achievements.

Ascending the summits of the 8000 metre peaks has brought Andrew international acclaim and already places in him in a class of his own in Australia.  His story is one of exceptional perseverance and continuity in the face of great odds. It represents a triumph of passion, discipline and imagination.

"What I have already discovered in climbing the 8000 metre peaks is that we are all capable of so much more than we might imagine. Extreme challenges garner our inner strength and if you can tap into that, your potential is unlimited."