Chomo-Lonzo translates to “bird goddess” and from the East the mountain indeed brings to mind a 3 km high eagle with spread wings.

On October 30, 1954 the French climbers Jean Couzy and Lionel Terray made the first ascent of the main summit via the gently sloping SW ridge from the 7200m Sakietang La that separates Chomo Lonzo from Makalu.

The second ascent was on October 24, 1993 by a Japanese expedition which found a route through the NW face that joined the SW ridge half-way.

In April 2005, a French expedition first explored the NE face but, finding it too challenging, approached the mountain from the West and Northwest instead.

One team (Yannick Graziani, Christian Trommsdorff and Patrick Wagnon) climbed the North summit over the NW ridge on May 7, while another (Stéphane Benoist and Patrice Glairon-Rappaz) reached it over the West face on May 16.