Noshaq (also called Noshak or Nowshak; is the second highest peak in the
Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Provinc ...
Range after
Tirich Mir
Tirich Mir (also spelled Terich Mir, Terichmir and Turch Mir) is the highest mountain of the Hindu Kush range, and the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas–Karakoram range, at above sea level. It is located in the Chitral ...
at . It lies on the border between
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. The north and west sides of the mountain are in Afghanistan whereas the south and eastern sides are in Pakistan. Noshaq is Afghanistan's highest mountain and is located in the northeastern corner of the country along the border with
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. It is the westernmost peak in the world. Easiest access to Noshaq is from Wakhan Afghanistan.
Climbing history
Noshaq main was first climbed by a Japanese expedition in 1960 led by Professor Sakato. Other members of the expedition were Goro Iwatsubo and Toshiaki Sakai. The climb followed the normal Afghanistan approach, the West ridge from the
Qadzi Deh Glacier. The normal Afghanistan approach route is by the west ridge.
Noshaq East, Noshaq Central and Noshaq West were first climbed in 1963 by Austrians Dr. Gerald Gruber and Rudolf Pischenger.
The Tiroler Hindukusch-Ski-Expedition of Akademischer Alpenklub
Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
(Austria) made the first ski descent from the summit of Noshaq in 1970. The famous meteorologist
Karl Gabl was member of the team.
The first winter ascent was 13 February 1973 by
Tadeusz Piotrowski and
Andrzej Zawada
Andrzej Zawada (born Maria Andrzej Zawada; 16 July 1928 – 21 August 2000) was a Polish mountaineer, pioneer of winter Himalayism. Zawada was an organiser and leader in numerous high-mountains expeditions. Author of movies and photographs ...
, members of a Polish expedition, via the north face. It was the world's first winter climb of any 7000 m peak. Until now it is the only winter ascent to this summit.
Zabih Afzali and Fatima Sultani, are famous Afghan climbers who climbed Noshaq in 2020.
Between the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the mountain was very difficult to access because of political turmoil in the region. In 2011,
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
noted that the trail to the summit was again accessible to climbers, with hopes of opening the area up for tourism.
19.
See also
*
Durand Line
The Durand Line ( ps, د ډیورنډ کرښه; ur, ), forms the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, a international land border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to th ...
*
Extreme points of Afghanistan
This is a list of the extreme points of Afghanistan.
Cardinal directions
Elevation
Noshaq is the highest point in Afghanistan.
Lowest point in Afghanistan (about 255 m above sea level): The area in the northern end of Khamyab District where th ...
*
List of elevation extremes by country
The following sortable table lists land surface elevation extremes by country or dependent territory.
Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential grav ...
References
* http://chitralexplorer.blogspot.com/2011/06/chitral-hidden-paradise-on-earth.html?m=1
External links
Noshaq on Summitpost
{{Highest points of Asia
Highest points of countries
International mountains of Asia
Landforms of Badakhshan Province
Mountains of Afghanistan
Mountains of Pakistan
Mountains of the Hindu Kush
Seven-thousanders of the Hindu Kush