Dunagiri was first climbed on 5 July 1939 by the Swiss climbers André Roch, F. Steuri and D. Zogg, via the southwest ridge. In 1975, Joe Tasker and Dick Renshaw climbed a particularly difficult route on the southeast buttress in a significant milestone for alpine-style climbing. In 1978 the first Australian Himalayan expedition by the Australian National University Mountaineering Club made the fourth ascent via the south-west ridge. Lincoln Hall and Tim Macartney-Snape made the final summit attempt with Macartney-Snape successfully summiting.