Jichu Drake (pronounced drah kay) is a

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 area, and is usually highe ...

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 mountainou ...

among 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 10 ...

, and a companion peak to Mount Jomolhari. Its height is given variously as 6714m, 6789m, 6797m, 6970m or 6989m by various sources. Jitchu Drake has a double summit, with the lower summit to the south. Jitchu Drakye is the

Tutelary deity A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety an ...

of Paro and its environs. It is also known as Kungphu or Ts(h)erim Kang, Shumkang, Jichi Dak Keth (meaning ‘sparrow rock sound’), Tseringegang or Tsheringme Gang (snows of the goddess of long life. A local story is that the double peak originated because Jitch Drake teased a young girl while she was weaving, resulting in her hitting Jitchu Drake on the head with the tham (the piece of wood used to beat a new line of

weft Warp and weft are the two basic components used in weaving to turn thread or yarn into fabric. The lengthwise or longitudinal warp yarns are held stationary in tension on a frame or loom while the transverse weft (sometimes woof) is dra ...

weaved), producing the double peak. Latest edition: Bart Jordans - Trekking in Bhutan 2018 Cicerone Press

Climbing history

The south summit was first climbed by the Austrian expedition of Werner Sucher, Albert Egger, Alois Stuckler, Sepp Mayerl and Toni Ponholzer in May 1983. The first ascent of the higher North summit was in May 1988 by Sharu Prabhu from India,

Doug Scott Douglas Keith Scott (29 May 19417 December 2020) was an English mountaineer, noted for being on the team that made the first ascent of the south-west face of Mount Everest on 24 September 1975. In receiving one of mountaineering's highest hon ...

and Victor Saunders from the UK via the south face. The Italian climbers Giorgio Corradini and Tiziano Nannuzzi were killed during an attempt on the North summit in 1984.

References

{{reflist Jitchu Drake Six-thousanders of the Himalayas

Climbing history

See also

References