Melungtse
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| Melungtse | |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 7,181 metres (23,555 feet) |
| Location | China (Tibet) |
| Range | Rolwaling Himal, Himalaya |
| Prominence | 1,570 m (5,151 ft) |
| Coordinates | |
| First ascent | October 23, 1992 by Marko Prezelj and Andrej Stremfelj |
| Easiest route | snow/ice climb |
Melungtse (Tibetan: Jobo Garu; Chinese: 乔格茹峰, Pinyin: Qiáogérú Fēng; other English spelling: Menlungtse) is the highest mountain of the Rolwaling Himal in the Himalaya.
The peak has a long summit ridge capped by the east (main) summit and the west summit, also known as Melungtse II, 7,023m. The mountain's steep faces make it more difficult than its elevation would suggest.
[edit] Location
Melungtse lies just north of the Nepal/China border, on a western spur ridge coming out of the main north-south trending ridge of the Rolwaling Himal, in Tingri county, Xigazê Prefecture of Tibet. To the southwest, across the Menlung Chu, lies Gauri Sankar, which, though a bit lower (7134 m), is much more visible from Nepal, hence better-known. Melungtse lies about 40 km west of Mount Everest.
[edit] Climbing History
Melungtse was off limits to climbing until quite recently. The first attempt was in 1987, by an expedition led by Chris Bonington. In 1988, another Bonington-led British expedition succeeded in putting Andy Fanshawe and Alan Hinkes on the west summit, but did not climb the main summit. Another attempt in 1990, this time on the East Ridge of the main summit, failed well below the top.
The first ascent of the main peak came in 1992, and was an alpine style tour de force. Slovenians Marko Prezelj and Andrej Stremfelj ascended the dangerous, 2000m Southeast Face in under two and a half days up and down.
The Himalayan Index lists only one other attempt on Melungtse, a failed attempt via the North Face in 1999.
[edit] Sources
- Jill Neate, High Asia: An Illustrated History of the 7000 Metre Peaks, ISBN 0-89886-238-8
- Andy Fanshawe and Stephen Venables, Himalaya Alpine-Style, Hodder and Stoughton, 1995.
- Koichiro Ohmori, Over the Himalaya. Cloudcap/The Mountaineers, 1994.
- American Alpine Journal
- Himalayan Index
- DEM files for the Himalaya (Corrected versions of SRTM data)
- Tibet Ultra-Prominences on peaklist.org
