Imja Tse, better known as Island Peak, 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 (topography), summit area, and ...

Sagarmatha National Park Sagarmāthā National Park is a national park in the Himalayas of eastern Nepal that is dominated by Mount Everest. It encompasses an area of in the Solukhumbu District and ranges in elevation from at the summit of Mount Everest. In the north, ...

of 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 100 ...

of eastern

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. The peak was named Island Peak in 1953 by members of the British

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 because it appears as an island in a sea of ice when viewed from

Dingboche Dingboche (दिङबोचे) is a Sherpa village in the Khumbu region of north eastern Nepal in the Chukhung Valley. Its population was estimated at approximately 200 in 2011. It is situated at an altitude of . Tourism Dingboche is a pop ...

. The peak was later renamed in 1983 to Imja Tse but Island Peak remains the popular choice. The peak is actually an extension of the ridge coming down off the south end of

Lhotse Shar Lhotse Shar is a subsidiary mountain of Lhotse, at high. It was first climbed by Sepp Mayerl and Rolf Walter on 12 May 1970. Climbing routes and dangers Lhotse Shar is located far from the main summit's standard route of ascent via the South Co ...

. The southwest summit of Imja Tse was first climbed in 1953 as part of a training exercise by a British expedition that went on to summit

. The team who climbed Imja Tse comprised

Tenzing Norgay Tenzing Norgay (; ''tendzin norgyé''; perhaps 29 May 1914 – 9 May 1986), born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepali-Indian Sherpa mountaineer. He was one of the first two people known to reach the su ...

, Charles Evans,

Alfred Gregory Alfred Gregory FBIPP, FRPS (Hon) (12 February 1913 – 9 February 2010) was a British mountaineer, explorer and professional photographer. A member of the 1953 British Mount Everest Expedition that made the first ascent of Mount Everest, he ...

, Charles Wylie and seven other Sherpas. The main summit was first climbed in 1956 by Hans-Rudolf Von Gunten and two unknown Sherpas, members of a Swiss team that went on to make the second ascent of Everest and first ascent of

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 ...

Alonzo-lyons-imja-tse-island-peak-nepal-DSCN6013

Climbing route

Alonzo-lyons-imja-tse-island-peak-sign-DSCN5840

To climb Island Peak, one has the option of starting from a base camp at called Pareshaya Gyab and starting the climb between 2 and 3 A.M. Another popular option is to ascend to High Camp at around to reduce the amount of effort and time needed for summit day. However, adequate water supply and concerns about sleeping at a higher altitude may dictate starting from base camp. Base camp to high camp is basically a hike but just above high camp, some rocky steps require moderate

scrambling Scrambling is a mountaineering term for ascending steep terrain using one's hands to assist in holds and balance.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. It is also used to describe terrain that falls between hiking and rock climbing (as a “scramb ...

and up through a broad open gully. At the top of the gully, glacier travel begins and proceeds up to a steep snow and ice slope. From here, fixed ropes may be set up by the guides for the strenuous ascent of nearly to the summit ridge. The climb to the summit is somewhat difficult due to steep climbing. On top, while

is a mere ten kilometres away to the north, the view will be blocked by the massive wall of

, towering above the summit.

Headwall crevasse

A substantial

crevasse A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pie ...

along most of the headwall leading to the summit ridge has sometimes caused teams to turn back. In April 2009, the

Nepal Mountaineering Association The Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) is the national mountaineering association of Nepal. The NMA was founded in 1973 with the goals of promoting mountaineering activities in the Himalaya, providing safety awareness and mountaineering skills t ...

tasked the Nepal Mountaineering Instructors' Association with installing stairs (ladders) at the crevasse. As of the 2016 fall climbing season, a 5-meter high fixed aluminum ladder is being used to cross the crevasse.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Mountains of the Province No. 1 Six-thousanders of the Himalayas

Climbing route

Headwall crevasse

See also

References

External links