Michael Knakkergaard Jørgensen

Michael Knakkergaard Jørgensen (5 December 1967 in Copenhagen; died 30 April 1999 in Nepal) was a Danish mountaineer. In May 1995, he became the first Danish person to climb Mount Everest, via the north side in Tibet. He would then go on to be the first Dane to summit Lhotse (8501 m) and Makalu (8,462 m).

From 1990 to 1996, Jørgensen was in the military and deployed as a UN soldier.

In 1999, Jørgensen would make his second trip to Makalu, after the mountain claimed his climbing partner Per Lyhne. He arrived prepared for the summit push, leading an expedition of experienced climbers, André Gorge Marchal, who had summited eight eight-thousanders, and Ilgvars Pauls, who had climbed five previously. Despite their experience, weather made climbing conditions difficult on the mountain. On 30 April 1999, Jørgensen became the first Dane to summit Mount Makalu (8,462 m), the world's fifth highest mountain.

On the descent, a rope broke, causing Jørgensen to fall over 500 meters to his death. Jørgensen's body later came to rest nearby Makalu's camp 3, where it became a feature for other climbers in their pursuit to the summit.