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Nepal is known as land of Himalayas world over.
There are 1,310 peaks above 6000 meters of which 238 are already
opened for climbing. Likewise, out of fourteen 8000 meters above
peaks eight of them, including the highest peak in the world, Mount
Everest lie in Nepal. Other seven are namely Kanchenjunga, Lhotse,
Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu and Annapurna.
Mt. Everest
Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the
world measuring 8,848m (29,028 feet) in height. It was first climbed
on May 29, 1953 by a New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing
Norgay of Nepal. Mount Everest is also known by the Tibetan name
Chomolangma (goddess mother of the snows), and by the Nepali name
Sagarmatha (Mother of the Universe).
Everest had been attempted many times before the
important expeditions being that of 1922, 1923 and 1924.The body of
George H.L. Mallory who died in an earlier attempt (1924), was
discovered on the mountain in 1999. More than 600 climbers from 20
countries have climbed the summit by various routes from both north
and south. Climbers' ages have ranged from nineteen years to sixty.
Climbing on Everest is very strictly regulated by both the Nepalese
and Chinese governments. Climbing Everest and
Treks to Everest Base Camp are becoming increasingly popular on
both the north and south sides of the mountain. On the north side, a
Buddhist monastery is one of two whose locations were selected
specifically to allow religious contemplation of the great peak. The
other side is the Thyangboche Monastery in Nepal. The once active
Rongbuk monastery in Tibet has required much rejuvenation from the
destruction it experienced following China's invasion of Tibet.
Kanchenjunga
Kanchenjunga (8,586) is the third highest
mountain in the world. From 1838 until 1839 was believed to be the
highest. It is an enormous mountain-mass and many satellite peaks
rise from its narrow icy ridges. It is located on the border of
Nepal and Sikkim, just 46 miles northwest of Darjeeling. It is the
most easterly of the great 8,000-meter peaks of the Himalaya.
Though not successfully climbed until 1955, it
was first attempted in 1905, but four members of that international
party were killed in an avalanche. As inspiring as Kanchenjunga's
beauty is at least the first three parties to ascend the mountain
never attempted the final few feet to the summit out of voluntary
respect or those who considered the summit sacred. The successful
British expedition of 1955 set the standard by stopping a few feet
short of the actual summit, in honor of the local religion.
Lhotse
Lhotse (8,516) is the fourth highest mountain in
the world. Its long east-west crest is located immediately south of
Mount Everest and the summits of the two mountains are connected by
the South Col, a vertical ridge that never drops below 8,000 meters.
Lhotse is sometimes mistakenly identified as the south peak of the
Everest massif. No serious attention was turned to climbing Lhotse
until after Everest had finally been ascended. Lhotse was first
climbed in 1956 by two Swiss, fritz Luchsinger and Ernest Reiss.
In addition to the main summit, there are two
subsidiary peaks, Lhotse Shar, which is immediately east of the main
summit, and Nuptse, a high peak on the mountain's west ridge.
Makalu
Makalu (8,463) is the fifth highest mountain in
the world. It is an isolated peak, located just 14 miles east of
Mount Everest. Its size alone is impressive, but its structure, that
of a perfect pyramid with four sharp ridges, make this mountain all
the more spectacular.
It has proved to be a challenging climb, as only
five of its first sixteen attempts were successful. Previously, it
had been admired and studied by several Everest parties, but like so
many other giants in Khumbu region, it was not attempted until the
summit of Everest had been attained in 1954. A French group first
climbed Makalu in year 1955.
Chomo Lonzo (25,650 ft.) is a subsidiary peak of
Makalu, rising just north of the higher summit, separated by a
narrow saddle.
Cho oyu
Cho Oyu (8,201) is the sixth highest mountain in
the world, located a short distance to the west from Everest and
Lhotse (the fourth highest) in the Khumbu region of Eastern Nepal
along the Tibetan border. Its towering peak stands with Everest well
above the surrounding mountains. It became a familiar landmark to
climbers ascending Everest's north face. Just west of Cho Oyu is the
Nangpa La, a 19,000-foot glacier pass, and the main trade route
between the khumbu Sherpas and Tibet. Cho Oyu's proximity to the
Nangpa la has earned it the distinction among some climbers as being
the easiest 8,000 meter peak. It was the third such peak climbed,
and the first climbed in autumn by two Australian.
Dhaulagiri
Dhaulagiri (8,167), whose name means White
Mountain, is the seventh highest mountain in the world. It is an
enormous Himalayan massif, located in north central Nepal. After its
discovery by the western world in 1808, it replaced Ecuador's
Chimborazo (20,561 ft.) as the postulated highest mountain in the
world. It maintained this standing for nearly 30 years, until the
discovery of Kanchenjunga, which was then falsely believed to be the
world's highest mountain.
Dhaulagiri's crest stretches for thirty miles,
lending structure to an otherwise tangled topography of twisting
ridges, glaciers, and ice falls. Along the main crest, several
pyramid-shaped peaks rise. Four of these summits, numbered form east
to west, rise above 25,000 feet.
In 1960, the Swiss/Australian expedition who
first reached the summit did so despite their airplane having
crashed during the approach. This was the first Himalayan climb
supported by an airplane, although the plane was subsequently
abandoned on the mountain.
Manaslu
Manaslu (8, 163) is the high peak of the Gorkha
massif, and is the eight highest mountains in the world. It is
located about 40 miles east of Annapurna, the tenth highest
mountain. The mountains long ridges and valley glaciers offer
feasible approaches from all directions, and it culminates in a peak
that towers steeply above its surroundings landscape, and is
dominant features when seen from afar. The name Manaslu is derived
from the Sanskrit word Manasa and can be roughly translated as
mountain of the spirit. An all-female Japanese expedition
successfully ascended to the summit, thereby becoming the first
women to climb an 8,000-meter peak.
Annapurna
Annapurna (8,091) is an enormous Himalayan
massif, the tenth highest mountain in the world. In 1950, it became
the first 8,000 meter mountain to be successfully climbed. It is
located east of great gorge cut through the Himalaya by the Kali Gandaki River. The mountain has the glaciers on its western and
north western slopes, which drain into this gorge.
Annapurna is a Sanskrit name that can be
translated as goddess of harvests or more simply the provider. Of
Annapurna's many highs peaks, five are labeled using some variations
of the name Annapurna. Of these, the two highest (Annapurna I and
II), stand like bookends at the western and eastern ends of the
massif.
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