Kumbhakarna | |
---|---|
Jannu | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 7,710 m (25,300 ft) [1] Ranked 32nd |
Prominence | 1,035 m (3,396 ft) |
Listing | List of mountains in Nepal |
Coordinates | 27°40′57″N88°02′15″E / 27.68250°N 88.03750°E |
Geography | |
Location | Eastern Nepal |
Parent range | Himalayas |
Climbing | |
First ascent | April 27–28, 1962 by René Desmaison, Paul Keller, Robert Paragot, Gyalzen Mitchung Sherpa, Lionel Terray, André Bertraud, Jean Bouvier, Pierre Leroux, Yves Pollet-Villard, Jean Ravier and Wangdi Sherpa |
Easiest route | rock/snow/ice climb |
Mount Kumbhakarna or Jannu (Limbu: Phoktanglungma) is the 32nd-highest mountain in the world. It is an important western outlier of Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest peak. Kumbhakarna is a large and steep peak in its own right, and has numerous challenging climbing routes.
The official name of this peak is Kumbhakarna, but the designation Jannu is still better known. It is called Phoktanglungma, literally "mountain with shoulders" (phoktang means "shoulder" and lungma means "mountain"), in the Limbu language, and is sacred in the Kirant religion.
Kumbhakarna is the highest peak of the Kumbhakarna Section of the Kangchenjunga Himal (using H. Adams Carter's classification [3] ), which straddles the border between Nepal and Sikkim, and lies entirely within Nepal. A long ridge connects it with Kangchenjunga to the east.
Kumbhakarna is the 32nd highest mountain in the world (using a cutoff of 500m prominence, or re-ascent). It is more notable for its climbing challenge, and is one of the hardest peaks in the world in terms of technical difficulty because of its complex structure, its vertical relief, and the particularly steep climbing near the summit. The north face, in particular, has been the scene of some of the most technical (and controversial) climbing achieved at altitudes over 7000m.
Kumbhakarna Jannu was first reconnoitered in 1957 by Guido Magnone, and first attempted in 1959 by a French team led by Jean Franco. It was first climbed in 1962 by a team led by the French alpinist Lionel Terray. Those reaching the summit were René Desmaison, Paul Keller, Robert Paragot and Gyalzen Mitchung Sherpa (April 27) and Lionel Terray, André Bertraud, Jean Bouvier, Pierre Leroux, Yves Pollet-Villard, Jean Ravier and Wangdi Sherpa (April 28). [4] [5] [6]
Their route started from the Yamatari Glacier south of the peak and followed a circuitous route to the large plateau known as the Throne (a hanging glacier south of the summit), continuing to the summit via the southeast ridge.
The Huge, steep north face (the so-called "Wall of Shadows") was first climbed in 1976 by a Japanese team led by Masatsugu Konishi (ja:小西政継, by a route that starts on the left side of the face and then meets the east ridge, avoiding the steep headwall at the top of the face (though a New Zealand team had climbed the north face the previous year without proceeding to the summit). A Dutch team ascended the north face in 1987, three men reached the summit but only one made it down. A Slovenian climber, Tomo Česen, claimed a solo ascent of a more direct route on the face in 1989, but this claim is considered suspect by many in the climbing community. [5]
In 2004, after a failed attempt the previous year, a Russian team led by Alexander Odintsov succeeded in climbing the direct north face route through the headwall. This required big-wall aid techniques in a sustained, committing setting at over 7500m, a major achievement. However some in the climbing community were upset to learn that the Russians left a good deal of equipment on the wall, provoking a debate over what constitutes appropriate modern style on such a route. [7] Despite the controversy, the team won the Piolet d'Or for the ascent.
On October 12th 2023, three American climbers, Alan Rousseau, Matt Cornell and Jackson Marvell reached the summit. Their climb was done with no supplemental oxygen, no ropes fixed in advance, and no porters beyond base camp, using only what they could carry on their backs. [8]
The Himalayan Index lists over a dozen ascents of Jannu; there may be others that have not been written up in climbing literature.
Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā and Khangchendzonga, is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at 8,586 m (28,169 ft) in a section of the Himalayas, the Kangchenjunga Himal, which is bounded in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak River and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River. It lies in the border region between Koshi Province of Nepal and Sikkim state of India, with the two peaks West and Kangbachen in Nepal's Taplejung District and the other three peaks Main, Central and South directly on the border.
Annapurna is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the 10th highest mountain in the world at 8,091 metres (26,545 ft) above sea level and is well known for the difficulty and danger involved in its ascent.
Lhotse is the fourth-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. At an elevation of 8,516 metres (27,940 ft) above sea level, the main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of China and the Khumbu region of Nepal.
Makalu is the fifth-highest mountain on Earth, with a summit at an elevation of 8,485 metres (27,838 ft) AMSL. It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas 19 km (12 mi) southeast of Mount Everest, on the China–Nepal border. One of the eight-thousanders, Makalu is an isolated peak shaped like a four-sided pyramid.
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Shishapangma, or Shishasbangma or Xixiabangma, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at 8,027 metres (26,335 ft) above sea level. It is located entirely within Tibet. In 1964, it became the final eight-thousander to be climbed.
Nuptse or Nubtse is a mountain in the Khumbu region of the Mahalangur Himal, in the Nepalese Himalayas. It lies 2 km (1.2 mi) WSW of Mount Everest. The main peak, Nuptse I at an elevation of 7,861 m (25,791 ft), was first climbed on May 16, 1961, by Dennis Davis and Sherpa Tashi. After a hiatus of almost 20 years, Nuptse again became the objective of mountaineers, with important routes being put up on its west, south, and north faces.
Gaurishankar, a mountain in the Nepal Himalayas, is the second highest peak of the Rolwaling Himal, behind Melungtse (7,181 m). The name comes from the Hindu goddess Gauri, a manifestation of Parvati, and her consort Shankar, denoting the sacred regard it is afforded by the people of Nepal. The Sherpas name the mountain as Jomo Tseringma. The Nepal Standard Time (GMT+05:45) is based on the meridian of this mountain peak.
Nanda Devi is the second-highest mountain in India, after Kangchenjunga, and the highest located entirely within the country. Nanda Devi is the 23rd-highest peak in the world.
Kamet is the second-highest mountain in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India, after Nanda Devi. It is the 29th highest mountain in the world. It lies in the Chamoli District of Uttarakhand. Its appearance resembles a giant pyramid topped by a flat summit area with two peaks.
Lionel Terray was a French climber who made many first ascents, including on the 1955 French Makalu expedition in the Himalaya and Cerro Fitz Roy in the Patagonian Andes.
Annapurna II is the second-highest mountain of the Annapurna range located in Nepal, and the eastern anchor of the range.
Ngadi Chuli is a mountain in the Mansiri Himal, also known as the Gurkha Massif, in Nepal. With an elevation of 7,871 metres (25,823 ft) above sea level, it is the 20th-highest mountain on Earth.
Zemu Gap Peak or Zemu Peak is a peak on a high ridge running east of the south summit of Kangchenjunga in the Himalayas. It is located in Sikkim, India
Langtang Lirung is the highest peak of the Langtang Himal, which is a subrange of the Nepalese Himalayas, southwest of the Eight-thousander Shishapangma. It is listed as the 99th highest mountain in the world.
Thalay Sagar is a mountain in the Gangotri Group of peaks in the western Garhwal Himalayas, on the main ridge that lies south of the Gangotri Glacier. It lies in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, 10 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of the Hindu holy site of Gaumukh. It is the second highest peak on the south side of the Gangotri Glacier, but it is more notable for being a dramatic rock peak, steep on all sides, and a famed prize for mountaineers. It is adjacent to the Jogin group of peaks, and has the lake Kedartal at its base.
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Kanchenjunga South Peak is a 8,476 m high subsidiary peak of Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world.