Kamet

For Kemet, see Ancient Egypt.
Kamet
कामेत

Kamet and neighboring peaks in 1908, by British mountaineer Charles Granville Bruce.
Elevation 7,756 m (25,446 ft)[1]
Ranked 29th
Prominence 2,825 m (9,268 ft)[1]
Ranked 121st
Listing Ultra
Location
Kamet

Location in northern India

Location Uttarakhand, India
Range Zaskar Range, Himalayas
Coordinates 30°55′12″N 79°35′30″E / 30.92000°N 79.59167°ECoordinates: 30°55′12″N 79°35′30″E / 30.92000°N 79.59167°E[1]
Climbing
First ascent June 21, 1931 by Frank Smythe, Eric Shipton, R.L. Holdsworth and Lewa Sherpa
Easiest route glacier/snow/ice climb

Kamet (Hindi: कामेत) is the second highest mountain in the Garhwal region of India, after Nanda Devi. It lies in the Chamoli District of Uttarakhand, close to the border with Tibet. It is the third highest mountain in Indian-controlled territory, although it ranks lower if counting mountains inside Indian-claimed territory in Pakistan, and it is the 29th highest in the world. In appearance it resembles a giant pyramid topped by a flat summit area with two peaks.

Climbing

Due to its position near the Tibetan Plateau, Kamet is remote and not as accessible as some Himalayan peaks. It also receives a great deal of wind from the Plateau. However, by modern standards, it is a relatively straightforward ascent for such a high mountain. Early explorers of the region faced long approach marches of around 200 miles (321.9 km) from Ranikhet through dense mountain forest; access is easier today.

While attempts to climb Kamet began in 1855, the first ascent was not made until 1931 by Frank Smythe, Eric Shipton, R.L. Holdsworth and Lewa Sherpa, members of a British expedition. Kamet was the first summit over 25,000 ft (7,620 m) to be climbed, and was the highest summit reached until the first ascent of Nanda Devi five years later. (However, far higher non-summit altitudes had been reached on the north side of Mount Everest in the 1920s.)

The standard route begins from the East Kamet (or Purbi Kamet) Glacier, ascending via Meade's Col (c. 7,100m/23,300 ft), the saddle between Kamet and its northern outlier Abi Gamin. From Meade's Col the route ascends the northeast edge of the north face. The ascent to Meade's col involves steep gullies, a rock wall, and several glacier climbs. Five camps are usually placed en route. The final ascent to the summit involves steep snow, possibly icy.

Neighboring and subsidiary peaks

Kamet is surrounded by three principal neighboring or subsidiary peaks:

Several adjoining peaks, such as Mana NW, 7,092 m, Point 6,977 m, Deoban, 6,855 m, and Bidhan Parbat, 6,519 m, also lie close to Kamet.[2]

Nomenclature

There are varying explanations of the name “Kamet.” C. F. Meade gives the pronunciation as /ˈkʌmeɪt/, and claims that it is known to Tibetans as Kangmen, signifying “huge grandmother of a sacred snow chain”. However, Frank Smythe writes in his book Kamet Conquered that the genesis of the name is from the Tibetan word Kangmed ("the lower snows", from kang, “snow”, and med, “little”), as distinct from the “higher snows” of the Kailash range, 110 miles east of Kamet. (This range is slightly lower than Kamet, its highest peak being Gurla Mandhata, 7,728 m/25,355 ft; however it stands more fully on the high Tibetan Plateau). At dawn and dusk, “the copper colored rock of Mount Kamet reflecting the oblique rays of the sun on its hanging glaciers appears to set these glaciers aglow with crackling flames and bathes the mountain in a red burning glow”. Hence the term “glacier fire” is also used as an allusion to the name Kamet.

Partial timeline

Glaciers and rivers

The West (Pachmi or Paschimi) Kamet Glacier, the East (Purbi or Purva) Kamet Glacier and the Raikana Glacier systems surround Kamet. The branches of the West Kamet Glacier head on the western slopes of Kamet, Abi Gamin, and Mukut Parbat. The East Kamet Glacier flows from the eastern side of Kamet and Mana. The Raikhana glacier originates on the east side of Meade’s Col saddle, flows east of Abi Gamin, and unites with the East Kamet Glacier. The West Kamet Glacier drains into the Saraswati River while the East Kamet Glacier feeds the Dhauliganga River; both rivers are tributaries of the Alaknanda River, the major river of the Chamoli district.

High altitude research

A. M. Kellas and his companion H. T. Morshead conducted scientific studies during their 1920 Kamet expedition focusing on the physiology of high altitude travel and acclimatization, and on the possibility of using supplemental oxygen. These studies eventually proved useful on expeditions to Mount Everest.

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "High Asia I: The Karakoram, Pakistan Himalaya and India Himalaya (north of Nepal)". Peaklist.org. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Joydeep Sircar, Himalayan handbook,Calcutta 1979
  3. ↑ Frank Smythe,Valley of Flowers, Hodder & Stoughton 1938
  4. ↑ Himalayan Journal Vol.17, p.42
  5. ↑ MOUNTAIN WORLD 1956/57, p.143
  6. ↑ American Alpine Journal, 1956, p. 142.
  7. ↑ Much-Eyed Face on Kamet Finally Climbed - Climbing magazine
  8. ↑ Kamet, Spicy Game, 2012 - Himalaya Masala
Sources

External links