Himalchuli (also sometimes written as two words, Himal Chuli) is the second-highest
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
in the
Mansiri Himal
Mansiri Himal is a small, high subrange of the Himalayas in north-central Nepal, about northwest of Kathmandu. The Marsyangdi River separates the Mansiri from the Annapurnas to the southwest, then an upper tributary ''Dudh Khola'' separates ''Per ...
, part of the
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
ese
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 ...
, and the
18th-highest mountain in the world (using a cutoff of 500 meters
prominence
In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
, or re-ascent). It lies south of
Manaslu
Manaslu ( ne, मनास्लु, also known as Kutang; muh-NAA-slu) is the eighth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. The name Mana ...
, one of the
eight-thousander
The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) recognises eight-thousanders as the 14 mountains that are more than in height above sea level, and are considered to be sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no ...
s. Himalchuli has three main peaks: East (7893 m), West (7540 m) and North (7371 m).
Himalchuli is also notable for its large vertical relief over local terrain. For example, it rises 7,000 meters over the
Marsyangdi River to the southwest in about horizontal distance.
Climbing history
Exploratory visits to the peak were made in 1950 and 1954, and a first attempt in 1955 failed early on. Further reconnaissance and attempts followed in 1958 and 1959.
The first ascent was made on May 24, 1960, by
Hisashi Tanabe
Hisashi is a masculine Japanese given name. Its meaning differs depending on the kanji used to write it.
Kanji
Single kanji used to write the name Hisashi include:
*: "long time"
*: "eternal"
*: "still"
*: "standard"
*: "complete"
*: "long"
*: "li ...
and
Masahiro Harada
Masahiro is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
*, Japanese councillor (''Rōjū'')
*, Japanese baseball player
*, Japanese footballer
*, Japanese ski jumper
*, Japanese artist
*, Japanese footballer
*, Japanese ...
, of Japan. The route followed the "Sickle Ridge" from the southwest. They first climbed to the saddle between the West and Main peaks, where they placed the last of six camps. This ascent was somewhat unusual for a sub-8000m peak in using bottled
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
.
Th
Himalayan Indexlists five other ascents of this peak, and 10 additional unsuccessful attempts. The ascents were by various routes on the south, southwest, and southeast sides of the mountain.
The West Peak was first climbed in 1978 by two members of a Japanese expedition to the main peak of Himalchuli. They climbed from the south (the Dordi Khola) and approached the summit of the West Peak from the east.
The North Peak was first climbed in 1985 by a
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
n expedition, via the North Face.
References
Sources
*
* {{cite web , url = http://www.alpine-club.org.uk/hi/ , title = Himalayan Index
, publisher = The Alpine Club , accessdate = 2014-01-11
DEM files for the Himalaya(Corrected versions of SRTM data)
Other references
American Alpine Journal
Mountains of the Gandaki Province
Seven-thousanders of the Himalayas