Lhotse

Lhotse

The South Face of Lhotse as seen from the climb up to Chukhung Ri.
Highest point
Elevation 8,516 m (27,940 ft)[1]
Ranked 4th
Prominence 610 m (2,000 ft)[2]
Listing Eight-thousander
Coordinates 27°57′42″N 86°56′00″E / 27.96167°N 86.93333°E / 27.96167; 86.93333Coordinates: 27°57′42″N 86°56′00″E / 27.96167°N 86.93333°E / 27.96167; 86.93333[2]
Geography
Lhotse

Location in China and Nepal border

Location China (Tibet Autonomous Region)
Nepal (Khumbu)
Parent range Mahalangur Himal
Climbing
First ascent May 18, 1956
Fritz Luchsinger, Ernst Reiss
(First winter ascent 31 December 1988 Krzysztof Wielicki)
Easiest route glacier/snow/ice climb
Kangshung Face as seen from orbit

Lhotse (Nepali: ल्होत्से; Tibetan: ལྷོ་རྩེ ) is the fourth highest mountain in the world at 8,516 metres (27,940 ft), after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. Part of the Everest massif, Lhotse is connected to the latter peak via the South Col. Lhotse means “South Peak” in Tibetan. In addition to the main summit at 8,516 metres (27,940 ft) above sea level, the mountain comprises the smaller peaks Lhotse Middle (East) at 8,414 m (27,605 ft), and Lhotse Shar at 8,383 m (27,503 ft). The summit is on the border between China Tibet and the Khumbu region of Nepal.

Climbing

An early attempt on Lhotse was by the 1955 International Himalayan Expedition, headed by Norman Dyhrenfurth. It also included two Austrians (cartographer Erwin Schneider and Ernst Senn) and two Swiss (Bruno Spirig and Arthur Spöhel), and was the first expedition in the Everest area to include Americans (Fred Beckey, George Bell, and Richard McGowan). The Nepalese liaison officer was Gaya Nanda Vaidya. They were accompanied by 200 local porters and several climbing Sherpas. After a brief look at the dangerous southern approaches of Lhotse Shar, they turned their attention, during September and October, to the Western Cwm and the northwest face of Lhotse, on which they achieved an altitude of about 8,100 metres (26,600 ft). They were beaten back by unexpectedly strong wind and cold temperatures. Under Schneider's direction they completed the first map of the Everest area (1:50,000 photogrammetric). The expedition also made several short films covering local cultural topics, and made a number of first ascents of smaller peaks in the Khumbu region. [3]

The main summit of Lhotse was first climbed on May 18, 1956 by the Swiss team of Ernst Reiss and Fritz Luchsinger from the Swiss Mount Everest/Lhotse Expedition.[4][5] On May 12, 1970, Sepp Mayerl and Rolf Walter of Austria made the first ascent of Lhotse Shar.[6] Lhotse Middle remained, for a long time, the highest unclimbed named point on Earth; on May 23, 2001, its first ascent was made by Eugeny Vinogradsky, Sergei Timofeev, Alexei Bolotov and Petr Kuznetsov of a Russian expedition.[7]

The Lhotse standard climbing route follows the same path as Everest's South Col route up to the Yellow Band beyond Camp 3. After the Yellow Band the routes diverge with climbers bound for Everest taking a left over the Geneva Spur up to the South Col, while Lhotse climbers take a right further up the Lhotse face. The last part to the summit leads through a narrow couloir until the Lhotse main peak is reached.

As of December 2008, 371 climbers have summitted Lhotse and 20 have died.[8]

Nuptse Ridge, Everest,Lhotse and Lhotse Shar peaks

Timeline

The Western Cwm. The Lhotse Face (centre right) is connected to Mount Everest (centre left) by the South Col (centre, lowest point on horizon).

Lhotse Face

Lhotse from gorakshep

The western flank of Lhotse is known as the Lhotse Face. Any climber bound for the South Col on Everest must climb this 1,125 m (3,690 ft) wall of glacial blue ice. This face rises at 40 and 50 degree pitches with the occasional 80 degree bulges. High-altitude climbing Sherpas and the lead climbers will set fixed ropes up this wall of ice. Climbers and porters need to establish a good rhythm of foot placement and pulling themselves up the ropes using their jumars. Two rocky sections called the Yellow Band and the Geneva Spur interrupt the icy ascent on the upper part of the face.

From Gokyo Ri

Annotated image of Lhotse and surroundings as seen from Gokyo Ri

See also

References

  1. A height of 8,501 m is sometimes given but official Nepalese and Chinese mapping agree on 8,516 m.
  2. 1 2 "General Info". 8000ers.com. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  3. Dyhrenfurth, Norman G. (1956). "Lhotse, 1955". American Alpine Journal 10 (1): 7. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  4. "The Swiss Mount Everest/Lhotse Expedition 1956". Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  5. Marmet, JÜRG (1957). Translated from the German by H. Adams Carter. "Everest Lhotse, 1956". American Alpine Journal 10 (2): 121. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  6. "Lhotse Shar". old.risk.ru. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  7. 1 2 Koshelenko, Yuri (2002). "Unraveling the Mystery of Lhotse Middle". American Alpine Journal (American Alpine Club) 44 (76): 166. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  8. "Lhotse statistics". 8000ers.com. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  9. Aargauer Zeitung, 25 April 2006
  10. "Asia, Nepal, Lhotse Shar: Climbs and Expeditions". American Alpine Journal (American Alpine Club) 17 (2): 434. 1971. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  11. "Jerzy "Jurek" Kukuczka". everesthistory.com. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  12. 1 2 Morgan, Ed (2016). Lhotse South Face- The Wall of Legends. Bee Different Books. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-9935148-0-7.
  13. "Christo Prodanov". everesthistory.com. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  14. "Krzysztof Wielicki sounds off on Shisha winter climb!". mounteverest.net. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  15. "Jerzy "Jurek" Kukuczka". everesthistory.com. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  16. Cesen, Tomo (1991). "South Face of Lhotse, 1990" 47. The Himalayan Journal. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  17. Cesen, Tomo (1991). Translated by Maja Košak. "A Look into the Future, Lhotse's South Face". American Alpine Journal (American Alpine Club) 33 (65): 1. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  18. "Famous female Nepal climber dead". BBC News. May 23, 2007. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
  19. "Everest and Lhotse in Less Than 21 Hours". Climbing.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-20. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  20. "Young Indian mountaineer scales Mt Lhotse". The Times of India. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2013.

Further reading

External links

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