Kanchenjunga

Kanchenjunga (Nepali: कञ्चनजङ्घा Kanchanjaŋghā; Limbu: सेवालुन्ग्मा Sewalungma, also spelled K angchenjunga, Kangchen Dzö-nga, Khangchendzonga, Kanchenjanga, Kachendzonga, or Kangchanfanga) is the third highest mountain in the world, after Everest and K2, with an altitude of 8,586 meters above sea level. It is also the highest in India and the second highest in Nepal, located in the Taplejung district.

Name

The Kangchenjunga from Gangtok

Kanchenjunga translates as "The Five Treasures of the Snows", as the mountain has five peaks, four of which are over 8,450 meters. The treasures represent the five repositories of God, which are gold, silver, gems, grain, and sacred books. The Kanchenjunga is called Sewalungma in the local Limbu language, translated as mountain to which we make offerings. Kanchenjunga or Sewalungma is considered sacred in the Kirant religion.

Although Kangchenjunga is the official spelling adopted by Douglas Freshfield, A.M. Kellas and the Royal Geographical Society, which gives their best indication of Tibetan pronunciation, there are a number of alternative spellings including Kangchen Dzönga, Khangchendzonga, Kanchenjanga, Kachendzonga, Kanchenjunga or Kangchanfanga. The final word in the use of the name Kangchenjunga came from Tashi Namgyal, the Maharaja or Chogyal of Sikkim, who stated that "although junga has no meaning in Tibetan, it really should be Zod -nga (treasure, five) Kang-chen (snow, big) to carry the correct meaning". Following consultations with Lt. Col. J.L.R. Weir (HMG political agent in Sikkim), agreed that it was best left as Kangchenjunga, and the name remained so by acceptance and usage.

Geography

Kanchenjunga from Darjeeling.

Three of the five peaks (Main, Central and South) are on the border of the North Sikkim district of Sikkim, India and the Taplejung district of Nepal, while the other two are entirely within the Taplejung district. Nepal is home to the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Project which is run by the World Wildlife Fund in partnership with the Nepalese government. The sanctuary is home to the red panda and other high-risk animals. mountains, as well as hundreds of species of birds and plants. The Indian side of the Kanchenjunga also has a protected park area called the Khangchendzonga National Park.

Until 1852, Kanchenjunga was believed to be the highest mountain in the world. Calculations made in 1849 by the British Great Trigonometric Surveying Project concluded that Everest (known as Peak XV at the time) was highest and Kanchenjunga the third highest.

The five peaks of Kanchenjunga are as follows:

The massive Kanchenjunga massif is strengthened by large ridges that run roughly east to west and north to south, forming an "X" giant. These ridges contain a series of peaks between 6,000 and 8,000 meters in altitude. On the east ridge in Sikkim, is Siniolchu (6,888 m a.s.l.). The west ridge culminates in the magnificent Jannu (7,710 m a.s.l.) with its imposing North face. To the south, clearly visible from Darjeeling, are Kabru North (7,338 m s. n. m.), Kabru South (7,316 m a.s.n.) and Rathong Peaks (6,678 m a.s.n.). The north ridge, after passing through the lower Kanchenjunga North subpeak (7,741 m a.s.l.), contains the Twins and Tent Peak, and runs to the Tibetan border by the Jongsong La, a step of 6.120 m s. no. m..

The Kanchenjunga is known for its famous views from Darjeeling. On a clear day, it presents an image not of a mountain but a white wall hanging from the sky. The people of Sikkim revere Kanchenjunga as a sacred mountain.

Due to its remote location in Nepal and difficult access from India, the Kanchenjunga region has not been widely explored by mountaineers. Therefore, it has retained much of its primitive beauty. In Sikkim, trekking in the Kanchenjunga region is a recent activity that has recently received official approval. Goecha La col is gaining popularity among tourists, located on the right, just in front of the huge Southeast face of Kanchenjunga. Another trail to the Green Lake basin has recently been opened for trekking, running on the Northeast side of Kanchenjunga along the famous Zemu Glacier.

The Kanchenjunga Conservation Area covers 2,035 km² surrounding the mountain on the Nepalese side.

Overview of Kanchenjunga massif from Tiger Hill, Darjeeling.

History of his promotions

Map of Kanchenjunga by Garwood, 1903.

Map of Kanchenjunga by Jacot-Guillarmod, 1914.

Kanchenjunga from Goechala La, 4.940 m.

East Kanchenjunga face, view from near the Zemu glacier.

First reconnaissance and ascension attempts

• 1848/49 Joseph Dalton Hooker explored parts of eastern Nepal, until then totally unknown to Europeans. He made several trips through the river valleys that reach the base of the Kanchenjunga, reaching 22 km from the peak and the hills that give access to Tibet.
• 1855 Herrmann von Schlagaintweit of Germany took over the Magnetic Survey of India (Indian magnetic exploitation), traveled the vicinity and drew a picture of Everest and Kanchenjunga, before being rejected by Nepalese soldiers.
• 1882/83 The British mountain pioneer, W.W. Graham, intended to have surrounded the mountain in March 1882, returning in July 1883 with two Swiss guides for an attempt while climbing other peaks in the area and hunting the snow leopard.
• 1899 The British explorer Douglas Freshfield and the Italian photographer Vittorio Sella were the first to surround the mountain, being the first explorers to contemplate the great West side of the Kanchenjunga.
• 1905 The expedition to the 1905 Kanchenjunga was the first attempt to climb the mountain. Directed by Aleister Crowley (who had been part of the team that tried the climb from 1902 to K2) and Dr. Jules Jacot-Guillarmod, the team reached an altitude of approximately 6,500 meters on the southwest side of the mountain before returning. The exact altitude reached is a bit confusing; Crowley claimed that on August 31 "We were safe above 21,000 and possibly over 22,000 feet" (6400–6705 meters), when the team was forced to retire to Camp 5 for the risk of alludes. On 1 September they obviously came further; some members of that team (Reymond, Pache and Salama) "Overwhelmed the bad streak"who forced them back to camp 5 the day before, and progressed."far from our sight and ears"before returning to Crowley and men with packages, they could not cross the dangerous section without assistance with their loads. It is unclear how high they could climb Reymond, Pache and Salama – but in summarizing, Crowley ventured "We had reached a height of approximately 25,000 feet"(7620m). Trying a late descent"from camp 5 to 4, the climber Alexis Pache (which had been one of three to ascend possibly higher than anyone before), and three local porters died in an alud. Despite the insistence of one of the local men that "the demon of the Kanchenjunga had been propitiated with the sacrifice", Crowley decided that it was enough and that it was inappropriate to continue.
• 1929 A German expedition led by Paul Bauer reached 7400 meters in the Northeast Spoon before returning forced by a snowstorm that he discharged for five days.
• 1930 An international expedition led by George Dyhrenfurth, German Uli Wieland, Austrian Erwin Schneider and English Frank Smythe (who published “The adventure of the Kanchenjunga” that same year) tried to climb unsuccessfully. The attempt failed because of the bad weather conditions and the bad snow conditions.
• 1931 A second German expedition, led again by Paul Bauer, tried the Northeast Spoon before turning for bad weather, disease and death. The expedition withdrew after having ascended little more than the 1929 attempt.
• 1954 A recognition of the Southwest side of the Kanchenjunga was made by John Kempe (the expedition leader), J.W. Tucker, Ron Jackson, Trevor H. Braham, G.C. Lewis and Dr. D.S. Mathews. This recognition led to the opening of the route that was successfully used at the 1955 expedition.

The first ascent

Kanchenjunga was first ascented on May 25, 1955. Britons George Band and Joe Brown were the first to do so. Out of respect for the beliefs of the Sikkim, for whom the summit is sacred, they stopped their ascent a few meters before the top, a custom that has been respected by most of the subsequent expeditions.

J. Brown and the G. Band were followed by Norman Hardie and Tony Streather the next day, May 26. 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 in the 1954 survey) was viable. The route starts at the Yalung Glacier, southwest of the peak, and climbs the Yalung Face, which is around 3,000 meters high. The main feature of this face is a "Great Ledge", a large plateau that drops slightly around 7,500 m, covered by a hanging glacier. The route runs almost entirely on snow, a glacier and an icefall. Finally, the final ridge of the summit is a short journey that runs essentially on rock.

The first ascent expedition established six camps above base camp, two below the ledge, two above it, and two above it. They started on April 18 and everyone was back at base camp on May 28.

Other notable climbs

North face of Kanchenjunga seen from Pang Pema

• 1973 The Yutaka Ageta and Takeo Matsuda climbers of the Japanese expedition arrived in Kanchenjunga West (Yalung Kang), going up the southwest edge.
• 1977 The second rise of the Kanchenjunga by an Indian army team was led by Colonel Narinder Kumar. They completed the Northeast Spur, the difficult edge that prevented progress to the summit at the 1929 and 1931 German expeditions.
• 1978 Polish teams successfully promoted the Kanchenjunga South (Wojciech Wróż and Eugeniusz Chrobak on 19 May) and Kangchenjunga Central (Wojciech Brański, Zygmunt Andrzej Heinrich and Kazimierz Olech on 22 May).
• 1979 The third climb, on May 15, and the first one without oxygen, by Doug Scott, Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker established a new route in the North Arista.
• 1983 Pierre Beghin made the first solo promotion and the first promotion without the supplemental use of oxygen.
• 1986, 11 January: Krzysztof Wielicki and the extraordinary Jerzy Kukuczka, Polish climbers, made the first successful promotion in winter.
• 1986, October 24: first Spanish promotion, Josep Permañé, on the southwest side.
• 1991 Marija Frantar and Joze Rozman tried the first ascent of a woman, but their bodies were then found dead below the wall of the summit.
• 1991 Andrej Stremfelj and Marko Prezelj completed a promotion using alpine style by the South Kanchenjunga edge to the South Summit (8,494 m. n. m.).
• 1992 Carlos Carsolio is the only one who made a summit that year. It was a solo promotion without extra oxygen.
• 1992 Wanda Rutkiewicz, the first woman who went up and down K2, and respected Polish climber, died in the Kanchenjunga between 12 and 13 May 1992. Rutkiewicz and Carsolio had begun the climb at 3:30 in the early morning of May 12 from field IV at 7,950 meters. After about twelve hours of climbing, under a strong snowfall, Carlos reached the summit alone, abandoning his companion during the ascent. The Mexican came down with the polaca around 8,200-8,300 meters. She decided to make a vivac and retake the next day. I had nothing to cook. A exhausted Carsolio continued the descent alone and never heard of it again. If he had, it would have been his ninth eight thousand, for Carsolio was his fifth.
• 1995, 6 October: Benoît Chamoux, Pierre Royer and a sherpa guide disappeared near the summit.
• 1996, May 6: First ascension of Juanito Oiarzabal, on the Northwest face to the North Arist. Then he would repeat on May 18, 2009 on the south side, with Edurne Pasaban. Oiarzabal was the first Spanish - and sixth in the world - to make the 14 eight thousand.
• 1998 Ginette Harrison becomes the first woman to reach the summit. Until then the Kanchenjunga was the only eight thousand who had not seen a female promotion.
• 2005 Alan Hinkes, a British climber, was the only person who made a summit in the year of the 50th anniversary of the first promotion.
• 2006 Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, an Austrian alpineist, was the second woman to reach the top.
• 2009 Jon Gangdal and Mattias Karlsson reached the summit, becoming, respectively, the first Norwegian and the first Swede to conquer the mountain.
• 2009, 6 May: date of the alleged ascension to the South Korean summit Oh Eun-sun, not recognized either by the South Korean Alpinism Federation or by the specialized site ExplorersWeb.
• 2009, May 18: Edurne Pasaban, a Spanish alpinist, reached the summit, becoming the first woman to get 12 eight thousand;
• 2009 Kinga Baranowska became the first Polish woman to reach the Kanchenjunga summit.
• 2014, May 18: Carlos Soria Fontán, became the oldest person to reach the Kanchenjunga summit.