Gasherbrum IV

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Gasherbrum IV
Gasherbrum IV from Baltoro Glacier
Elevation	7,925 metres (26,001 feet) Ranked 17th (7th in Pakistan)
Location	Baltistan; Xinjiang, China; Northern Areas, Pakistan[1]
Range	Baltoro Muztagh, Karakoram
Prominence	715 m (2,346 ft)
Coordinates	35°44′N, 76°35′E
First ascent	August 6, 1958 by Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri
Easiest route	snow/ice climb

Gasherbrum IV is the 17th highest mountain on Earth and the 6th highest in Pakistan. It is one of the peaks in the Gasherbrum massif.

The Gasherbrums are a remote group of peaks located at the northeastern end of the Baltoro Glacier in the Karakoram range of the Himalaya. The massif contains three of the world's 8,000 metre peaks (if one includes Broad Peak). Gasherbrum is often claimed to mean "Shining Wall", presumably a reference to the highly visible west face of Gasherbrum IV; but in fact it comes from "rgasha" (beautiful) + "brum" (mountain) in Balti, hence it actually means "beautiful mountain."^[2]

[edit] Time Line

• 1958 First ascent by Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri by the North East Ridge.
• 1985 First ascent of the 10000 ft high West face by Robert Schauer and Wojciech Kurtyka. However, bad weather and extreme exhaustion forced them to reach the north summit missing the true summit.
• 1986 First ascent of the North West ridge by Greg Child, Tim Macartney-Snape and Tom Hargis. This is also the second ascent of Gasherbrum IV itself.
• 1997 Second ascent of the West Face by a Korean team (using a different line).

[edit] References

1. ^ This region is also claimed by India.
2. ^ H. Adams Carter, "Balti Place Names in the Karakoram", American Alpine Journal 49 (1975), p. 53.
3. ^ Jerzy Wala, The Eight-Thousand Metre Peaks of the Karakoram (orographical sketch map, revised), Kraków, Poland, 1994