K12 is the second highest
peak Peak or The Peak may refer to:
Basic meanings Geology
* Mountain peak
** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics
* Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion
* Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-di ...
in the
Saltoro Mountains
The Saltoro Mountains are a subrange of the Karakoram Range. They are located in the southeast Karakoram on the southwest side of the Siachen Glacier, one of the two longest glaciers outside the polar regions. The name given to this range is sha ...
, a subrange of the
Karakoram
The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...
range in the
Siachen
The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier
A glac ...
region of Ladakh. Its name comes from its designation given during the original survey of the Karakoram range. In 1984, an
Indian army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
expedition under Colonel Prem Chand took hold of this peak, from the side of Siachen glacier by traversing from the west.
K12 lies to the southwest of the
Siachen Glacier
The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Kar ...
; the K12 glacier heads on its northeast slopes and feeds the Siachen. The western slopes of K12 drain to the Bilafond Glacier system, and thence to the Dansam River, and eventually the
Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
.
K12 was used for training for the
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
expedition of the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
in 1985.
Apart from this, K12 has seen little climbing activity, partly because of the unsettled political situation and the continued military presence in the area. It was first attempted in 1960, after a reconnaissance visit by famed explorer
Eric Shipton
Eric Earle Shipton, CBE (1 August 1907 – 28 March 1977), was an English Himalayan mountaineer.
Early years
Shipton was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1907 where his father, a tea planter, died before he was three years old. When he was eigh ...
in 1957. After a further unsuccessful attempt by a Japanese party in 1971, another Japanese expedition put two climbers, Shinichi Takagi and Tsutomu Ito, on the summit. They fell and died on the descent, and their bodies were not recovered. Another Japanese expedition returned in 1975 and made the second ascent.
See also
*
List of Ultras of the Western Himalayas
This is a list of all the Ultra prominent peaks (with topographic prominence greater than 1,500 metres) in the Karakoram, Hindu Kush and neighbouring ranges. The list includes 4 of the 14 8000m summits, all in the Karakoram, including the second hi ...
*
Siachen conflict
The Siachen conflict, sometimes referred to as the Siachen Glacier conflict or the Siachen War, was a military conflict between India and Pakistan over the disputed Siachen Glacier region in Kashmir. The conflict was started in 1984 by India' ...
*
Actual Ground Position Line
The Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) divides current positions of Indian and Pakistani military posts and troops across the entire long front line in the disputed region of Siachen Glacier. AGPL generally runs along the Saltoro Mountains ra ...
*
Indira Col
, other_name = Indira Col West, Main Indira Col
, photo =
, photo_caption =
, elevation_m = 5764
, elevation_ref =
, traversed =
, location = On the border between Chinese-controlled Trans-Karakoram Tract and Indian-controlled Siachen G ...
*
Sia La
Sia La is a mountain pass situated on Saltoro Ridge, in Ladakh, India, some north-northwest of map point NJ9842 which defined the end of the 1972 Line of Control between India and Pakistan as part of the Simla Agreement. Sia La sits near t ...
*
Ghent Kangri
Ghent Kangri (or Mount Ghent, Ghaint I) is a high peak near the north end of the Saltoro Mountains, a subrange of the Karakoram range. It is located west of the Siachen Glacier near the Actual Ground Position Line between India and Pakistan.
Gh ...
*
Saltoro Kangri
Saltoro Kangri, formerly known as Peak 36, is the highest peak of the Saltoro Mountains subrange of Karakoram range, also known as the Saltoro Range, which is a part of the Karakoram. Saltoro Kangri is a name generally used for the twin peaks, S ...
*
Bilafond La
*
Chumik Glacier
Chumik Glacier is located in the Siachen Glacier, Siachen region. Located on the west of Saltoro, Saltoro ridge, it is a 4-mile-long offshoot of the Bilafond Glacier.
History
In military terminology, Chumik is a minor sub sector of Bilaf ...
*
Gyong La
Gyong La is a mountain pass situated on Saltoro Ridge southwest of the vast Siachen Glacier, some directly north of map point NJ9842 which defined the end of the 1972 Line of Control between India and Pakistan. With Pakistan controlling areas j ...
*
NJ9842
NJ9842, also called NJ 980420 (in full: NJ 38 98000, 13 42000, yard based Indian Grid Coordinates), is the northernmost demarcated point of the India-Pakistan cease fire line in Kashmir known as the Line of Control (LoC). The India–Pakistan ...
References
{{reflist
Sources
* Jerzy Wala, ''Orographical Sketch Map of the Karakoram'', Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, 1990.
* Jill Neate, ''High Asia: an illustrated history of the 7,000 metre peaks'', The Mountaineers, 1989.
Mountains of Ladakh
Seven-thousanders of the Karakoram