The 1955 French Makalu expedition was the first to successfully climb Makalu, the Himalayan mountain 12 miles (19 km) to the southeast of Mount Everest, on the border between Nepal and Tibet. At 8,485 metres (27,838 ft) Makalu is the fifth-highest mountain in the world and an eight-thousander.
The expedition, led by Jean Franco, approached the mountain from the south through Nepal and then wound around into Tibet, to reach the summit from the north face. Thanks to good snow conditions and weather, as well as good leadership, the entire team of mountaineers and one of the Sherpas reached the summit – Jean Couzy and Lionel Terray on 15 May 1955, followed next day by Jean Franco, Guido Magnone and Gyalzen Norbu; and then Jean Bouvier, Serge Coupé, Pierre Leroux and André Vialatte on 17 May.