one of the world's highest mountains (27,766 feet 【8,463 m】), in the Himalayas on the Nepalese-Tibetan (Chinese) border. It lies 14 miles (23 km) east-southeast of Mount Everest. Makālu had been observed by climbers of Mount Everest, but attempts to ascend its steep, glacier-covered sides did not begin until 1954. On May 15, 1955, two members—Jean Couzy and Lionel Terray—of a French party reached the summit, and seven more arrived within two days.