|Range/Region:||Central Nepal Himalaya|
|Difficulty:||Major Mountain Expedition|
|Best months for climbing:||Apr, May, Sep, Oct|
|Year first climbed:||1956|
|First successful climber(s):||Ernst Reiss, Fritz Luchsinger, (Swiss team)|
|Nearest major airport:||Kathmandu, Nepal|
|Convenient Center:||Namche Bazar, Nepal|
Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain in the world. Its long east-west crest is located immediately south of Mount Everest, and the summits of the two mountains are connected by the South Col, a vertical ridge that never drops below 8,000 meters. Lhotse is sometimes mistakenly identified as the south peak of the Everest massif. No serious attention was turned to climbing Lhotse until after Everest had finally been ascended. Lhotse was first climbed in 1956 as an alternative route to the summit of Everest. In addition to the main summit, there are two subsidiary peaks, Lhotse Shar, which is immediately east of the main summit, and Nuptse, a high peak on the mountain's west ridge.