Kangchenjunga

Kangchenjunga

Kangchenjunga early in the morning,
viewed from Tiger Hill, Darjeeling, India
Highest point
Elevation 8,586 m (28,169 ft)[1]
Ranked 3rd
Prominence 3,922 m (12,867 ft)[2]
Ranked 29th
Isolation 124 kilometres (77 mi)
Listing
Coordinates 27°42′09″N 88°08′48″E / 27.70250°N 88.14667°E / 27.70250; 88.14667Coordinates: 27°42′09″N 88°08′48″E / 27.70250°N 88.14667°E / 27.70250; 88.14667[2]
Geography
Kangchenjunga
Location Nepal-India border
Location Taplejung District, Mechi Zone, Nepal;
Sikkim, India[2]
Parent range Himalayas
Climbing
First ascent 25 May 1955 by
Joe Brown and George Band
(First winter ascent 11 January 1986 Jerzy Kukuczka and Krzysztof Wielicki)
Easiest route glacier/snow/ice climb

Kangchenjunga (Nepali: कञ्चनजङ्घा), also spelled Kanchenjunga, is the third highest mountain in the world, and lies partly in Nepal and partly in Sikkim, India.[3] It rises with an elevation of 8,586 m (28,169 ft) in a section of the Himalayas called Kangchenjunga Himal that is limited in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak Chu and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River.[1]

Mount Kangchenjunga lies about 125 km (78 mi) east-south-east of Mount Everest.[4] It is the second highest mountain of the Himalayas. Three of the five peaks – Main, Central and South – are on the border between North Sikkim and Nepal.[5] Two peaks are in Nepal's Taplejung District.[6]

Kangchenjunga Main is the highest mountain in India, and the easternmost of the mountains higher than 8,000 m (26,000 ft). It is called Five Treasures of Snow after its five high peaks, and has always been worshipped by the people of Darjeeling and Sikkim.[7]

Until 1852, Kangchenjunga was assumed to be the highest mountain in the world, but calculations based on various readings and measurements made by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in 1849 came to the conclusion that Mount Everest, known as Peak XV at the time, was the highest. Allowing for further verification of all calculations, it was officially announced in 1856 that Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world.[8]

Kangchenjunga was first climbed on 25 May 1955 by Joe Brown and George Band, who were part of a British expedition. They stopped short of the summit as per the promise given to the Chogyal that the top of the mountain would remain inviolate. Every climber or climbing group that has reached the summit has followed this tradition.[7] Other members of this expedition included John Angelo Jackson and Tom Mackinon.[9]

Names

Kangchenjunga is the official spelling adopted by Douglas Freshfield, Alexander Mitchell Kellas, and the Royal Geographical Society that gives the best indication of the Tibetan pronunciation. Freshfield referred to the spelling used by the Indian Government since the late 19th century.[3] There are a number of alternative spellings including Kangchendzönga, Khangchendzonga, and Kanchenjunga.[10][11][12]

The brothers Hermann, Adolf and Robert Schlagintweit explained the local name Kanchinjínga (Tibetan: གངས་ཆེན་མཛོད་ལྔ་, Wylie: gangs chen mdzod lnga , Sikkimese IPA: [k̀ʱɐŋt͡ɕʰẽd͡zø̃ŋɐ]) meaning "The five treasures of the high snow" as originating from the Tibetan word (following IPA given in Sikkimese) gangs /k̀ʱɐŋ/ meaning "snow, ice"; chen /t͡ɕʰẽ/ meaning "great"; mdzod /d͡zø/ meaning "treasure"; lnga /̃ŋɐ/ meaning "five". It means "The Five repositories or ledges of great snow" and is physically descriptive of its five peaks.[13] Local Lhopo people believe that the treasures are hidden but reveal to the devout when the world is in peril; the treasures comprise salt, gold, turquoise and precious stones, sacred scriptures, invincible armor or ammunition, grain and medicine.[14]

Kangchenjunga's name in the Limbu language is Senjelungma or Seseylungma, and is believed to be an abode of the omnipotent goddess Yuma Sammang.[15]

Protected areas

The Kangchenjunga landscape is a complex of three distinct ecoregions: the eastern Himalayan broad-leaved and coniferous forests, the Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows and the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands.[16] The Kangchenjunga transboundary landscape is shared by Bhutan, China, India and Nepal, and comprises 14 protected areas with a total of 6,032 km2 (2,329 sq mi):[17]

These protected areas are habitats for many globally significant plant species such as rhododendrons and orchids and many endangered flagship species such as snow leopard, Asian black bear, red panda, white-bellied musk deer, blood pheasant and chestnut-breasted partridge.[17]

Geography

Panorama of the Kangchenjunga massif from Tiger Hill, Darjeeling

The Kangchenjunga Himal section of the Himalayas lies both in Nepal and India, and encompasses 16 peaks over 7,000 m (23,000 ft). In the north, it is limited by the Lhonak Chu, Goma Chu and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River. The western limit runs from the Jongsang La down the Gingsang and Kangchenjunga glaciers and the rivers of Ghunsa and Tamur.[1] Kanchenjunga rises about 20 km (12 mi) south of the general alignment of the Great Himalayan range about 125 km (78 mi) east-south-east of Mount Everest as the crow flies. South of the southern face of Kanchenjunga runs the 3,000–3,500 m (9,800–11,500 ft) high Singalila Ridge that separates Sikkim from Nepal and northern West Bengal.[4]

Kangchenjunga and its satellite peaks form a huge mountain massif.[18] The massif's five highest peaks are listed in the following table.

Name of peak Height (m) Height (ft) Location Prominence (m) Prominence (ft) Nearest Higher Neighbor Location (political)
Kangchenjunga Main[2] 8,586 28,169 27°42′11″N 88°08′52″E / 27.70306°N 88.14778°E / 27.70306; 88.14778 3,922 12,867 Mount Everest – South Summit North Sikkim, Sikkim, India / Taplejung, Province No. 1, Nepal
Kangchenjunga West (Yalung Kang)[19] 8,505 27,904 27°42′18″N 88°08′12″E / 27.70500°N 88.13667°E / 27.70500; 88.13667 135 443 Kangchenjunga Taplejung, Province No. 1, Nepal
Kangchenjunga Central[20] 8,482 27,828 27°41′46″N 88°09′04″E / 27.69611°N 88.15111°E / 27.69611; 88.15111 32 105 Kangchenjunga South North Sikkim, Sikkim, India / Taplejung, Province No. 1, Nepal
Kangchenjunga South[21] 8,494 27,867 27°41′30″N 88°09′15″E / 27.69167°N 88.15417°E / 27.69167; 88.15417 119 390 Kangchenjunga North Sikkim, Sikkim, India / Taplejung, Province No. 1, Nepal
Kangbachen[22] 7,903 25,928 27°42′42″N 88°06′30″E / 27.71167°N 88.10833°E / 27.71167; 88.10833 103 337 Kangchenjunga West Taplejung, Province No. 1, Nepal
Kangchenjunga map by Garwood, 1903[3]
South-west (Yalung) face of Kangchenjunga seen from Nepal

The main ridge of the massif runs from north-north-east to south-south-west and forms a watershed to several rivers.[18] Together with ridges running roughly from east to west they form a giant cross.[3] These ridges contain a host of peaks between 6,000 and 8,586 m (19,685 and 28,169 ft). The northern section includes Yalung Kang, Kangchenjunga Central and South, Kangbachen, Kirat Chuli and Gimmigela Chuli, and runs up to the Jongsang La. The eastern ridge in Sikkim includes Siniolchu. The southern section runs along the Nepal-Sikkim border and includes Kabru I to III.[1] This ridge extends southwards to the Singalila Ridge.[23] The western ridge culminates in the Kumbhakarna, also known as Jannu.[1]

Four main glaciers radiate from the peak, pointing roughly to the north-east, south-east, north-west and south-west. The Zemu glacier in the north-east and the Talung glacier in the south-east drain to the Teesta River; the Yalung glacier in the south-west and the Kangchen glacier in the north-west drain to the Arun and Kosi rivers.[24] The glaciers spread over the area above approximately 5,000 m (16,000 ft), and the glacialized area covers about 314 km2 (121 sq mi) in total.[25] There are 120 glaciers in the Kanchenjunga Himal, of which 17 are debris-covered. Between 1958 and 1992, more than half of 57 examined glaciers had retreated, possibly due to rising of air temperature.[26]

Kangchenjunga Main is the highest elevation of the Brahmaputra River basin, which forms part of the southeast Asian monsoon regime and is among the globally largest river basins.[27] Kangchenjunga is one of six peaks above 8,000 m (26,000 ft) located in the basin of the Koshi river, which is among the largest tributaries of the Ganges.[28] The Kangchenjunga massif forms also part of the Ganges Basin.[29]

Although it is the third highest peak in the world, Kangchenjunga is only ranked 29th by topographic prominence, a measure of a mountain's independent stature. The key col for Kangchenjunga lies at a height of 4,664 metres (15,302 ft), along the watershed boundary between Arun and Brahmaputra rivers in Tibet.[30] It is however, the 4th most prominent peak in the Himalaya, after Everest, and the western and eastern anchors of the Himalaya, Nanga Parbat and Namcha Barwa, respectively.[31]

Climbing routes

There are four climbing routes to reach the summit of Kangchenjunga, three of which are in Nepal from the southwest, northwest and northeast, and one from northeastern Sikkim in India. To date, the northeastern route from Sikkim has been successfully used only three times. The Indian government has banned expeditions to Kanchenjunga and therefore this route has been closed since 2000.

Climbing history

Painting of Kanchinjínga as seen from the Singalila Ridge by Hermann Schlagintweit, 1855[32]
Sunset on Kangchenjunga, 1905[33]
South face of Kangchenjunga seen from Goecha La, Sikkim at 4,940 m (16,210 ft)
Kangchenjunga seen from Darjeeling War Memorial

Early reconnaissances and attempts

First ascent

A sign board on the last traversable road to Kangchenjunga

In 1955, Joe Brown and George Band made the first ascent on 25 May, followed by Norman Hardie and Tony Streather on 26 May. The full team also included John Clegg (team doctor), Charles Evans (team leader), John Angelo Jackson, Neil Mather, and Tom Mackinnon.

The ascent proved that Aleister Crowley's 1905 route (also investigated by the 1954 reconnaissance) was viable. The route starts on the Yalung Glacier to the southwest of the peak, and climbs the Yalung Face, which is 3,000 metres (10,000 ft) high. The main feature of this face is the "Great Shelf", a large sloping plateau at around 7,500 metres (24,600 ft), covered by a hanging glacier. The route is almost entirely on snow, glacier, and one icefall; the summit ridge itself can involve a small amount of travel on rock. The first ascent expedition made six camps above their base camp, two below the Shelf, two on it, and two above it. They started on 18 April, and everyone was back to base camp by 28 May.[41]

Other notable ascents

Kangchenjunga 3D

Despite improved climbing gear the fatality rate of climbers attempting to summit Kanchenjunga is high. Since the 1990s, more than 20% of people died while climbing Kanchenjunga's main peak.[54]

Tourism

Kanchenjunga as seen from Gangtok, Sikkim

Some of the most famous views of Kangchenjunga are from the hill station of Darjeeling and Antu Dada of Ilam, Nepal. The Darjeeling War Memorial is among the most visited places from which Kangchenjunga is observed. On a clear day it presents an image not so much of a mountain but of a white wall hanging from the sky. The people of Sikkim revere Kangchenjunga as a sacred mountain. Permission to climb the mountain from the Indian side is rarely given.

Due to its remote location in Nepal and the difficulty involved in accessing it from India, the Kangchenjunga region is not much explored by trekkers. It has, therefore, retained much of its pristine beauty. In Sikkim too, trekking into the Kangchenjunga region has just recently been permitted. The Goecha La trek is gaining popularity amongst tourists. It goes to the Goecha La Pass, located right in front of the huge southeast face of Kangchenjunga. Another trek to Green Lake Basin has recently been opened for trekking. This trek goes to the Northeast side of Kangchenjunga along the famous Zemu Glacier. The film Singalila in the Himalaya is journey around Kangchenjunga.

In myth

Five Treasures of Snow

The area around Kangchenjunga is said to be home to a mountain deity, called Dzö-nga[55] or "Kangchenjunga Demon", a type of yeti or rakshasa. A British geological expedition in 1925 spotted a bipedal creature which they asked the locals about, who referred to it as the "Kangchenjunga Demon".[56]

For generations, there have been legends recounted by the inhabitants of the areas surrounding Mount Kanchenjunga, both in Sikkim and in Nepal, that there is a valley of immortality hidden on its slopes. These stories are well known to both the original inhabitants of the area, the Lepcha people, and those of the Tibetan Buddhist cultural tradition. In Tibetan, this valley is known as Beyul Demoshong. In 1962 a Tibetan Lama by the name of Tulshuk Lingpa led over 300 followers into the high snow slopes of Kanchenjunga to ‘open the way’ to Beyul Demoshong. The story of this expedition is recounted in the 2011 book A Step Away from Paradise.[57]

In literature

East face of Kangchenjunga, from near the Zemu glacier, Sikkim

Further reading

View of Kangchenjunga as seen from Darjeeling

The above Himalayan Journal References were all also reproduced in the "50th Anniversary of the First Ascent of Kangchenjunga" The Himalayan Club, Kolkata Section 2005.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Carter, H. A. (1985). "Classification of the Himalaya" (PDF). American Alpine Journal. American Alpine Club. 27 (59): 109–141.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Jurgalski, E.; de Ferranti, J.; Maizlish, A. (2000–2005). "High Asia II – Himalaya of Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and adjoining region of Tibet". Peaklist.org.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Freshfield, D. W. (1903). Round Kangchenjunga: a narrative of mountain travel and exploration. London: Edward Arnold.
  4. 1 2 Dhar, O. N. and S. Nandargi (2000). An appraisal of precipitation distribution around the Everest and Kanchenjunga peaks in the Himalayas Weather 55 (7): 223–234.
  5. Gurung, H. and R. K. Shrestha (1994). Nepal Himalaya Inventory. Kathmandu: Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.
  6. Bhuju, U. R., Shakya, P. R., Basnet, T. B., Shrestha, S. (2007). Nepal Biodiversity Resource Book. Protected Areas, Ramsar Sites, and World Heritage Sites. Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, in cooperation with United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Kathmandu, Nepal. ISBN 978-92-9115-033-5
  7. 1 2 Kapadia, H. (2001). Across Peaks and Passes in Darjeeling and Sikkim. New Delhi: Indus Publishing Company. ISBN 8173871264.
  8. Gillman, P. (1993). Everest: The Best Writing and Pictures from Seventy Years of Human Endeavour. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 208. ISBN 0316904899.
  9. Perrin, J. (2005). "Obituary: John Jackson. Key climber and trainer of British mountaineers". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  10. Denjongpa, A. B. (2002). Kangchendzönga: Secular and Buddhist perceptions of the mountain deity of Sikkim among the Lhopos. Bulletin of Tibetology 38 (2002): 11.
  11. Nirash, N. (1982). The Lepchas of Sikkim. Bulletin of Tibetology 18 (2): 18–23.
  12. Herrligkoffer, K. M. (1983). Sieg am Kanchenjunga: die deutsche Erstbesteigung. Droemer Knaur, München.
  13. "Introduction: Seeing Kangchenjunga" (PDF). Aberystwyth University. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  14. Scheid, C. S. (2014). Hidden land and changing landscape: Narratives about Mount Khangchendzonga among the Lepcha and the Lhopo. Journal of the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions 1(1): 66–89.
  15. Subba, J. R. (2009). Mythology of the People of Sikkim. Gyan Publishing House, New Delhi.
  16. Wikramanayake, E. D. (ed.) (2001). Ecoregion-based Conservation in the Eastern Himalaya: Identifying Important Areas for Biodiversity Conservation. Kathmandu: World Wildlife Fund and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. ISBN 9993394009.
  17. 1 2 Chettri, N., Bajracharya, B., Thapa, R. (2008). Feasibility Assessment for Developing Conservation Corridors in the Kangchenjunga Landscape. Pages 21–30 in: Chettri, N., Shakya, B., Sharma, E. (eds.) Biodiversity Conservation in the Kangchenjunga Landscape. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Smythe, F. S. (1930). The Kangchenjunga adventure. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London
  19. Peakbagger.com (1987–2012). Yalung Kang
  20. Peakbagger.com (1987–2012). Kanchenjunga Central
  21. Peakbagger.com (1987–2012). Kanchenjunga South
  22. Peakbagger.com (1987–2012). Kangbachen
  23. Mason, K. (1932). The Recent Assaults on Kangchenjunga: Review. The Geographical Journal 80 (5): 439–445.
  24. Freshfield, D. W. (1902). The Glaciers of Kangchenjunga. The Geographical Journal 19: 453–475.
  25. Asahi, K. (1999). Data on inventoried glaciers and its distribution in eastern part of Nepal Himalaya. Data Report 2, Basic studies for assessing the impacts of the global warming on the Himalayan cryosphere, 1994–1998. Institute for Hydrospheric-Atmospheric Sciences, Nagoya University and Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, HMG/Nepal.
  26. Ashahi, K., Watanabe, T. (2000). Past and recent glacier fluctuations in Kanchenjunga Himal, Nepal. Journal of Nepal Geological Society (22): 481–490.
  27. Bajracharya, S. R., Palash, W., Shrestha, M. S., Khadgi, V. R., Duo, C., Das, P. J., & Dorji, C. (2015). Systematic Evaluation of Satellite-Based Rainfall Products over the Brahmaputra Basin for Hydrological Applications. Advances in Meteorology: 398687.
  28. Shijin, W., & Tao, Z. (2014). Spatial change detection of glacial lakes in the Koshi River Basin, the Central Himalayas. Environmental Earth Sciences 72(11): 4381–4391.
  29. Peakbagger.com (1987–2015). "Kangchenjunga, India/Nepal". Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  30. "Key Col for Kangchenjunga". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  31. "World Top 100 by Prominence". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  32. 1 2 Schlagintweit, H. v. (1871). "Die Singhalila Kette zwischen Sikkim und Nepal". Reisen in Indien und Hochasien. Eine Darstellung der Landschaft, der Kultur und Sitten der Bewohner, in Verbindung mit klimatischen und geologischen Verhältnissen. Zweiter Band. Hermann Costenoble, Jena.
  33. 1 2 Crowley, A.; Symonds, J.; Grant, K. (1989). The confessions of Aleister Crowley: an autobiography Chapter 52 Arkana, London
  34. Hooker, J. D. (1854). Himalayan journals; or, Notes of a naturalist in Bengal, the Sikkim and Nepal Himalayas, the Khasia Mountains, &c. John Murray, London.
  35. Das, S. C. (1902). A Journey to Lhasa and central Tibet. E. P. Dutton & Company, New York, John Murray, London.
  36. 1 2 Blaser, W. and G. Hughes (2009). Kabru 1883. A Reassessment. The Alpine Journal 114: 219–228.
  37. Ward, M. (2001). Early Exploration of Kangchenjunga and South Tibet by the pundits Rinzin Namgyal, Sarat Chandra Das and Lama Ugyen Gyatso. The Alpine Journal 106: 191–196.
  38. 1 2 Bauer, P. (1955). Kangchenjunga Challenge. William Kimber, London.
  39. Braham, T. H. (1955–56). Kangchenjunga Reconnaissance, 1954. The Himalayan Journal Volume 19.
  40. Braham, T. H. (1996). Kangchenjunga: The 1954 Reconnaissance. The Alpine Journal 101: 33–35.
  41. Evans, C.; Band, G. (1956). "Kangchenjunga Climbed". The Geographical Journal. 122 (1): 1–12. doi:10.2307/1791469.
  42. Wojciech Wróż: Święta góra Sikkimu. Warszawa: "Sport i Turystyka", 1982. ISBN 83-217-2377-2. (in Polish)
  43. Scott, D. (1980). "Kangchenjunga from the North". American Alpine Journal. 22 (53): 437–444. ISBN 978-0-930410-76-6.
  44. "by Explorersweb". AdventureStats. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  45. "EverestHistory.com: Ginette Harrison". EverestHistory.com.
  46. "List of Kangchenjunga ascents". 8000ers.com. 13 February 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  47. Mysza (2009). Kinga Baranowska zdobyła Kangchenjungę. wspinanie.pl, 18 May 2009.
  48. "Tunç Fındık zirvede". Cnnturk.com. 2011.
  49. UIAA (2014). "Member spotlight: Freedom lies in the mountains for Turkish climber Tunc Findik". International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation.
  50. http://www.mak.org.in/expeditions.php#22
  51. "5 climbers feared dead on world's 3rd highest peak". NBC News. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  52. Тайнствен глас водил Боян Петров към върха Archived 13 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine., Монитор
  53. Bulgarian Mountaineer Boyan Petrov Climbs Kangchenjunga Summit
  54. Hansen, L. (2012). "5 Mountains Deadlier Than Everest".
  55. Anna Belikci Denjongpa, Kangchendzönga: Secular and Buddhist perceptions of the mountain deity of Sikkim among the Lhopos
  56. "The Abominable Snowman: Bear, Cat or Creature?". myfoxdfw.com. 3 August 2010. Archived from the original on 6 August 2010.
  57. Shor, Thomas (2017). A Step Away from Paradise. USA: City Lion Press. ASIN B006TR0Y7W. ISBN 9780999291894.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.