Full board Dhaulagiri 8167m. Expedition Autumn 2025

The name White Mountain is derived from the Sanskrit words "Dhavala" meaning white and "Giri" meaning mountain. The pundits, one of the Indian surveyors, mapped this mountain in 1873 after it was sighted by British surveyors in the early 1800s. An aerial survey made by the Swiss in 1949, however, led to the mountain becoming popular. Following a reconnaissance of Dhaulagiri in 1950, the French decided to climb Annapurna instead of Dhaulagiri. One year later, an Argentine group tried but failed, followed by a Swiss party in 1953. Following a circuitous route around the mountain from Tukuche, over the Dhampus pass, a Swiss expedition reached the summit in 1960.

They were assisted by a Swiss Pilatus Porter aircraft, the "Yeti," which landed at the North-East Col at 5977m after the French failed to summit from the North-East Col. Just before the end of the expedition, the plane crashed near Dhampus Pass. Tukuche was reached by walking down the mountain, including the famous Emil Wick. An avalanche on the eastern Dhaulagiri Glacier killed seven members of a US expedition team in 1969. In 1970, Japanese climbers reached the summit of this mountain. It was 1973 when the Americans climbed, and 1976 when the Italians climbed. A Pilatus Porter aircraft carrying Captain Emil Wick airdropped two bottles of wine and a live chicken to the US expedition team. In the end, the chicken was killed in the cooking pot rather than being killed on the mountain by Sherpa, who would not allow the chicken to be killed on the mountain. The chicken was snow-blind and crippled with frostbitten feet, and was carried to Marpha where it was eaten in the cooking pot.