Jomolhari or Chomolhari (; ) sometimes known as "the bride of
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the T ...
”, is a mountain in the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
, straddling the border between
Yadong County
Yadong County (),
also known by its Tibetan name Dromo/Tromo County ()
is a frontier county and trade-market of the Tibet region of China, part of its Shigatse Prefecture.
Yadong County is coextensive with the Chumbi valley that extends sout ...
of
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and the
Paro district of
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
. The north face rises over above the barren plains. The mountain is the source of the Paro Chu (Paro river) which flows from the south side and the Amo Chu which flows from the north side.
Religious significance
The mountain is sacred to
Tibetan Buddhists
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
who believe it is the abode of one of the
Five Tsheringma Sisters
5 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
5, five or number 5 may also refer to:
* AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era
* 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era
Literature
* 5 (visual novel), ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram
* 5 (comic ...
; ''(jo mo tshe ring mched lnga)'' — female protector goddesses (Jomo) of Tibet and Bhutan, who were bound under oath by
Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...
to protect the land, the Buddhist faith and the local people.
On the Bhutanese side is a Jomolhari Temple, toward the south side of the mountain about a half-
day's journey
A day's journey in pre-modern literature, including the Bible, ancient geographers and ethnographers such as Herodotus, is a measurement of distance.
In the Bible, it is not as precisely defined as other Biblical measurements of distance; the dis ...
from the army outpost between Thangthangkha and Jangothang at an altitude of 4150 meters. Religious practitioners and pilgrims visiting Mt. Jomolhari stay at this temple. There are several other sacred sites near Jomolhari Temple, including meditation caves of
Milarepa
Jetsun Milarepa (, 1028/40–1111/23) was a Tibetan siddha, who was famously known as a murderer when he was a young man, before turning to Buddhism and becoming a highly accomplished Buddhist disciple. He is generally considered one of Tibet's m ...
and Gyalwa Lorepa. Within an hour's walk up from the temple at an altitude of c. 4450 meters is Tseringma Lhatso, the "spirit lake" of Tsheringma.
In Tibet there is an annual pilgrimage from
Pagri
Phari or Pagri (; ) is a town in Yadong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China near the border with Bhutan. The border can be accessed through a secret road/trail connecting Tsento Gewog in Bhutan () known as Tremo La. the town had a popula ...
to a
holy lake
Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleric. ...
, Jomo Lharang, which lies at c. elevation, just north of the mountain.
Climbing history
Because Jomolhari was sacred and the home of goddesses, those living nearby believed it was impossible to climb, and that anyone who climbed too high would be thrown down.
Despite its notability and spectacular visibility from the old trade route between India and Lhasa that passes through the
Chumbi Valley
The Chumbi Valley, called Dromo or Tromo in Tibetan,
is a valley in the Himalayas that projects southwards from the Tibetan plateau, intervening between Sikkim and Bhutan. It is coextensive with the administrative unit Yadong County in the T ...
, the mountain has seen little climbing activity. It was known to climbers passing by on the way to Everest and was scouted by Odell as early as 1924. In 1937 a permission to climb the sacred mountain was granted to a British expedition headed by
Freddie Spencer Chapman
Frederick Spencer Chapman, (10 May 1907 – 8 August 1971) was a British Army officer and World War II veteran, most famous for his exploits behind enemy lines in Japanese occupied Malaya. His medals include the following: the Distinguished ...
by both "the Tibetans" and the "Maharajah of Bhutan. Although no refusals are known of earlier climbing requests, Chapman believed this was the reason it had gone unclimbed until 1937. Six porters accompanied the 5 man climbing team from Phari across Sur La into Bhutan. Chapman and
Sherpa Sherpa may refer to:
Ethnography
* Sherpa people, an ethnic group in north eastern Nepal
* Sherpa language
Organizations and companies
* Sherpa (association), a French network of jurists dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility
* ...
Pasang Dawa Lama (of the
American K2 expedition fame) reached the summit via the southeast spur on 21 May 1937. The protracted and epic descent, which they were fortunate to survive, is described in detail in Chapman’s ''Helvellyn to Himalaya'' published in 1940.
![Chomolhari from Chelela](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Chomolhari_from_Chelela.jpg)
The second ascent was only on 24 April 1970 -over the same route- by a joint Bhutanese-Indian military expedition led by Colonel
Narendra Kumar Narendra Kumar may refer to:
*Narendra Kumar (police officer) (1979–2012), Indian Police Service officer
*Narendra Kumar (mountaineer) (1933–2020), Indian soldier-mountaineer
*Narendra Kumar (politician)
*Narendra Kumar (physicist) (1940-2017), ...
. This ascent was notable also for the disappearance of two climbing members and a sherpa in the second summit party the following day. Dorjee Lhatoo (Nanda Devi East 1975, West 1981) led the route, partnered with Prem Chand (2nd ascent Kanchenjunga 1977) all the way to the summit via two camps.Chachu was charged with laying a "Sachu Bumter" offering on the summit by the Bhutanese King in order to "appease" mountain deities - apparently a pot containing gold, silver and precious stones. The following day, the second party of three were spotted close to the ridge when they became obscured by cloud. When the cloud lifted, they were gone. A telephoto lens and fruit cans were found on the ridge by a search party. Prem Chand went up to the ridge and reported gunshots thudding into the ice and whipping up ice chips - thus ending any further attempts in locating the missing bodies. Chachu and Prem Chand, on their way up during their successful summit attempt had reported seeing a lot of
PLA
PLA may refer to:
Organizations Politics and military
* People's Liberation Army, the armed forces of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party
* People's Liberation Army (disambiguation)
** Irish National Liberation Army, formerly called ...
activity on the Lhasa-Chumbi highway. The reason for their disappearance remains speculative - did they fall or were they shot? All three were relatively inexperienced climbers and Chachu later speculated on the exposure on the knife-edged ridge leading to the summit slope as a possible incident site. He (an ex-Gurkha himself) is quoted as believing the shooting theory to be unlikely but possible, citing his difficulty in estimating the distance between the ridge and possible Chinese positions on the Tibetan side.Chachu refuses to make the final ascend, due to religious beliefs, he was shy of 100 meters. An account of the expedition is available in the Himalayan Journal 2000. Prem Chand has not spoken publicly on the matter. Chinese displeasure with Bhutan over the expedition and sensitivities in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
led to a complete
media blackout
Media blackout is the censorship of news related to a certain topic, particularly in mass media, for any reason. A media blackout may be voluntary, or may in some countries be enforced by the government or state. The latter case is controversial in ...
of what was otherwise a notable Indian climb.
The third ascent was made in 1996 by a joint Japanese-Chinese expedition which reached the south
col from the Tibetan side and climbed the peak over the south ridge. On 7 May 2004, British climbers Julie-Ann Clyma and Roger Payne reached the summit via the c. 5800 m south col as well, in a single day's dash from the col, after attempts to climb the impressive northwest pillar were thwarted by strong winds.
In October 2006, a six-member Slovenian team climbed two new routes, registering the fifth and sixth ascents. Rok Blagus, Tine Cuder, Samo Krmelj and Matej Kladnik took the left couloir of the north face to the East ridge at c. 7100 m, from which they followed the ridge to the top, while
Marko Prezelj
Marko Prezelj (born 13 October 1965) is a Slovenian mountaineer and photographer.
Prezelj received four Piolet d'Or awards. He won the inaugural "Oscar of mountaineering" in 1992 with Andrej Štremfelj for their new route on the south ridge of K ...
and Boris Lorencic climbed the northwest ridge in a six-day round trip. This climb earned Prezelj and Lorencic the
Piolet d'Or
An ice axe is a multi-purpose hiking and climbing tool used by mountaineers in both the ascent and descent of routes that involve snow, ice, or frozen conditions. Its use depends on the terrain: in its simplest role it is used like a walking ...
in January 2007.
See also
*
Mountains of Bhutan
The mountains of Bhutan are some of the most prominent natural geographic features of the kingdom. Located on the southern end of the Eastern Himalaya, Bhutan has one of the most rugged mountain terrains in the world, whose elevations range from ...
*
Chomo Lonzo
Chomo Lonzo () is a mountain in Tibet, 5 km northeast of Makalu in the Mahalungur (Mohalingor) or Khumbu Himalayas. Alternate spellings of the same name include Chomolonzo, Chomolönzo, Chomo Lönzo, Jomolönzo, and Lhamalangcho.
Chomo-Lon ...
*
Chomo Yummo
Chomo Yummo ( zh, c=卓木玉莫峰, p=Zhuōmù yùmò fēng) is a mountain in the Himalayas on the border between Sikkim in India and Tibet in China.
The term Chomo means "goddess" or "lady" in Tibetan.
History
Chomo Yummo was first climbed i ...
*
Chomolungma
Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...
*
Chomolhari Kang
Chomolhari Kang ( zh, c=卓木拉日康峰, p=Zhuōmùlārì kāng fēng) is a 7046m mountain in the Himalayas in Gasa District, Bhutan near the border with Tibet, China. Quotes on its height vary from 7034m to 7121m, but 7046m is the most commo ...
References
Sources
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Gallery
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 135-KA-06-039, Tibetexpedition, Landschaftsaufnahme.jpg
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 135-S-01-10-18, Tibetexpedition, Landschaftsaufnahme, Gebäude.jpg
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 135-S-06-06-25, Tibetexpedition, Landschaftsaufnahme, Chomolhari.jpg
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 135-S-02-12-21, Tibetexpedition, Landschaftsaufnahme.jpg
File:Mount Jomolhari 2009-10-06 a.jpg, Mt. Jomolhari at dawn from Thangthangkha camp
File:Mount_Jomolhari_2009-10-11_a.jpg, Mt. Jomolhari at dawn from Jangothang
File:Mount_Jomolhari_from_Bhutan_2009-10-11_b.jpg, Mt. Jomolhari from Jangothang, Bhutan
File:Mount Jomolhari from below Neleyla 2009-10-10 a.jpg, Mt Jomolhari viewed from near Neleyla pass
File:Mount Jomolhari from flight.jpg, Mt Jomolhari viewed from flight Kathmandu - Paro
File:Mount Jomolhari 2016.jpg, Mount Jomolhari
External links
Chomolhari from TibetPre-1950 photos of ChomolhariPhotos of Jumolhari Mountain from Bhutan"Chomo Lhari, Bhutan/China" on Peakbagger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jomolhari
Mountains of Bhutan
Mountains of Tibet
Sacred mountains
Bhutan–China border
International mountains of Asia
Seven-thousanders of the Himalayas