Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain in the Himalayas. 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 8,000m.

Sometimes mistakenly Lhotse has been identified as the south peak of the Everest massif. No serious attention was turned to climbing Lhotse until Everest had finally been ascended. Lhotse first climbed in 1956 as an alternative route towards 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.