The Western Cwm () is a broad, flat, gently undulating glacial valley basin terminating at the foot of the
Lhotse
Lhotse ( ne, ल्होत्से ; , ''lho tse'', ) is the fourth highest mountain in the world at , after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. The main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of China and the Khumbu ...
Face of
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 hei ...
. It was named by
George Mallory
George Herbert Leigh Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s.
Born in Cheshire, Mallory became a student at Winche ...
when he saw it in 1921 as part of the
British Reconnaissance Expedition that was the first to explore the upper sections of Everest, searching for routes for future summit attempts;
[ p. 7] Cwm is
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
for "valley".
The Western Cwm is traversed by climbers using the
southeast route to the summit of Everest and is typically accessed by climbing through the
Khumbu Icefall. The central section is cut by massive lateral crevasses which bar entrance into the upper Western Cwm. In this section, climbers must cross to the far right, over to the base of
Nuptse, to a narrow passageway known as the Nuptse corner. From there, climbers can see the upper of Everest—the first glimpse of Everest's upper slopes since arriving at
Base Camp.
The snow-covered, bowl-shaped slopes surrounding the Western Cwm reflect and amplify
solar radiation
Solar irradiance is the power per unit area ( surface power density) received from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of the measuring instrument.
Solar irradiance is measured in watts per square metre ...
, warming the valley basin despite its high elevation of through .
[Krakauer 186–187]
See also
*
Geneva Spur
The Geneva Spur, named Eperon des Genevois and has also been called the Saddle Rib "Chapter Two ..Saddle Rib" is a geological feature on Mount Everestit is a large rock buttress near the summits of Everest and Lhotse. The Geneva spur is above ...
(''Eperon des Genevois'')
*
South Col
References
Mount Everest
Cirques
{{Solukhumbu-geo-stub