Skyang Kangri ( ur, ), or Staircase Peak, is a high mountain peak of the

Baltoro Muztagh Baltoro may refer to: *Baltoro Glacier, a glacier in the Karakoram mountain range northern Pakistan. ''Baltoro'' as single expression without adjunct usually refers to this glacier. * Baltoro Muztagh, a mountain range in the Karakoram mountain rang ...

, 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. It lies on the

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 ...

–

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

border, about northeast of K2, the world's second-highest mountain. The name "Staircase Peak" refers to the East Ridge, which resembles a giant staircase with five steps.

Geology

As can be determined from limited exposures, the summit, northern, and northeast slopes of Skyang Kangri consist predominately of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

s of the Shaksgam formation that are largely covered by ice. Further south and west, exposures of K2

Gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...

occur between it and Skyang Luungpa Glacier where the K2 Gneiss is in fault contact with highly folded and faulted

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as e ...

of the Shaksgam and Baltoro formations. The lower southeast flank of Skyang Kangri consists of a strip of black

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

of the Baltoro formation that underlies the Shaksgam Formation and is in fault contact with main body of K2 Gneiss that comprises K2.Searle, M.P. (1991a) ''Geology and Tectonics of the Karakoram Mountains.'' John Wiley & Sons, New York, New York. 358 pp. Searle, M.P. (1991b) ''Geological Map of the Central Karakoram Mountains.'' scale 1: 250,000. John Wiley & Sons, New York, New York. The Shaksgam Formation consists of massive, brown-grey, shallow-marine, shelf limestones. These limestones contain occasional interbeds of brown and yellowish

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...

and light-colored marl. They are weakly

metamorphosed Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

and highly

fossiliferous A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

. They contain an abundance of

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleo ...

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s that include

brachiopod Brachiopods (), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of trochozoan animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, w ...

s (''Productus sp.'')

lamellibranch Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

s, bryozoans,

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and se ...

crinoid Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea. Crinoids that are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk in their adult form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms are called feather stars or comatulids, which are ...

s and

foraminifera Foraminifera (; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm for catching food and other uses; and commonly ...

(''

Parafusulina ''Parafusulina'' is a genus of foraminifera included in the fusulinacean family Schwagerinidae that were extant during the Permian. The shell, or test, of ''Parafusulina'' is elongate, up to 65 mm in length, fusiform to subcylindrical in sh ...

sp.''). The thickness of the Shaksgam Formation is not less than .Desio, A. (1980) ''Geology of the Upper Shaksgam Valley, North-East Karakorum, Xinjiang (Sinkiang) Italian expeditions to the Karakorum (K²) and Hindu Kush.'' Scientific reports, III., Geology. vol. 4. Leiden, Brill, 196 pp. The Baltoro Formation consists of thin-bedded black, foliated

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especiall ...

s often grading into black slates. The slates are highly cleaved and metamorphosed as high as lower

greenschist Greenschists are metamorphic rocks that formed under the lowest temperatures and pressures usually produced by regional metamorphism, typically and 2–10 kilobars (). Greenschists commonly have an abundance of green minerals such as chlorite ...

facies. Interlayered with the slates are thin beds of dark coloured limestone and sandstone. These strata are unfossiliferous and presumed on the basis of their stratigraphic position to date to the

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carboniferou ...

Period. The slates of the Baltoro Formation is part of a thick sequence of well-cleaved black shales and slates that are exposed along almost the entire length of the Karakoram. These black shales and slates include the Singhie shales, Sarpo Laggo slate, and Pasu slates.

Climbing history

Skyang Kangri was first attempted by the party of renowned climber and explorer Luigi Amadeo di Savoia, the

Duke of the Abruzzi Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

, in 1909, during an expedition to K2. They attempted the East Ridge, as did a subsequent failed attempt in 1975, in which one climber died and one had to be evacuated by helicopter. The first ascent was made in 1976 by a Japanese expedition, climbing the East Ridge without major incident. In 1980, well-known American climbers

Jeff Lowe Jeff Lowe (September 13, 1950 - August 24, 2018) was a famed American alpinist from Ogden, Utah who was known for his visionary climbs and first ascents established in the US and Canadian Rockies, Alps and Himalayas. He was a proponent of the ...

and Michael Kennedy attempted the West Face of Skyang Kangri, but reached only about 7,070 metres. According to the
Himalayan Index
there have been no subsequent attempts on the mountain. Skyang_Kangri_from_K2_by_Elia_Saikaly

Passes

Windy Gap is a -high

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migr ...

at east of K2, north of

Broad Peak Broad Peak ( ur, ) is a mountain in the Karakoram on the border of Pakistan and China, the twelfth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It was first ascended in June 1957 by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, ...

, and south of Skyang Kangri.

Sources

* Jill Neate, ''High Asia: an illustrated history of the 7,000 metre peaks'', The Mountaineers, 1989. * Jerzy Wala, ''Orographical Sketch Map of the Karakoram'', Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, 1990.

References

{{reflist

External links