Kanchenjunga
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{{Infobox Mountain
| Name = Kanchenjunga
| Photo = CRW 0878.jpg
| Caption =Kangchendzonga early in the morning, from Chouda Pheri
| Elevation = 8,586 metres (28,169 feet) †
Ranked 3rd
| Location = Nepal and India
| Range = Himalaya
| Prominence = 3,922 m
| Coordinates = Template:Coor dm
| First ascent = 1955 by George Band and Joe Brown
| Easiest route = glacier/snow/ice climb
}}
Kanchenjunga (alternative spellings Kangchenjunga, Kangchen Dzö-nga, Khangchendzonga, Kanchenjanga, Kachendzonga, or Kangchanfanga) is the third highest mountain in the world and the second highest in Nepal and the highest in India, located in the Taplejung district straddling the frontier between Nepal and India.
The rough translation of Kanchenjunga is "Five Treasures of the Snow", as it contains five peaks, four of them over 8,450 metres. Until 1852, Kanchenjunga was assumed to be the highest mountain in the world, but calculations made by the British 1849 Great Trigonometric Survey showed Mount Everest to be the highest and Kanchenjunga the third-highest.
The five peaks of Kanchenjunga are as follows:
| Kanchenjunga Main | 8,586 m | 28,169 ft † |
| Kanchenjunga West (Yalung Kang) | 8,505 m | 27,904 ft |
| Kanchenjunga Central (Middle) | 8,482 m | 27,828 ft |
| Kanchenjunga South | 8,494 m | 27,867 ft |
| Kambachen | 7,902 m | 25,925 ft |
Three of these five peaks (Main, Central and South) are on the India-Nepal border, while the other two are completely in Nepal.
Kanchenjunga was first climbed on May 25, 1955 by George Band and Joe Brown of a British expedition. The British expedition honored the beliefs of the Sikkimese, who hold the summit sacred, by stopping a few feet short of the actual summit. Most successful summit parties since then have followed this tradition. After the alteration of the Nepalese/Indian frontier in 1975, Kanchenjunga became the tallest mountain in India.
The huge massif of Kanchenjunga is buttressed by great ridges running roughly due east to west and north to south, forming a giant 'X'. These ridges contain a host of spectacular 6,000 to 7,000 meter peaks. On the east ridge in Sikkim, is Siniolchu (6,888 m / 22,600 ft), regarded as one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. The west ridge culminates in the magnificent Jannu (7,710 m / 25,294 ft) with its imposing north face. To the south, clearly visible from Darjeeling, are Kabru North (7,338 m / 24,075 ft), Kabru South (7,316 m / 24,002 ft) and Rathong peaks (6,678 m / 21,910 ft). The north ridge contains The Twins and Tent Peak, and runs up to the Tibetan border by the Jongsong La, a 6,120 m (20,080 ft) pass.
Kanchenjunga is known for its famous views from the hill station of Darjeeling. On a clear day, it presents an image not as much of a mountain but of a white wall hanging from the sky. The people of Sikkim revere Kanchenjunga as a sacred mountain. Permission to climb the mountain from the Indian side is not allowed now.
Because of its remote location in Nepal, the Kanchenjunga region is not much explored by the trekkers. It has, therefore, retained much of its pristine beauty. In Sikkim too, trekking into the Kanchenjunga region has just been permitted. The Goecha la trek is gaining popularity amongst tourists. It goes to the Goecha la Pass which is located right in front of the huge Southeast Face of Kanchenjunga. Another trek to Green Lake Basin has recently been opened for trekking. This goes to the Northeast side of Kangchenjunga along the famous Zemu glacier.
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Elevation discrepancy
† Figures regarding the exact height of Kanchenjunga seem to differ. Heights of 8,598 metres (28,208 ft) and 8,586 metres (28,169 ft) are often given.
Climbing History
- 1905 The Kanchenjunga expedition (1905) was the first attempt, headed by Aleister Crowley. Unsuccessful, it reached 6,200 metres.
- 1929 A German expedition reaches 7400 m (24,300 ft) on the north-east spur before being turned back by a five-day storm.
- 1931 A second German expedition again attempts the NE Spur before being turned back by bad weather, illnesses and deaths. The expedition retreats after climbing only a little higher than the 1929 attempt.
- 1955 Joe Brown and George Band make first ascent on May 25, followed by Norman Hardie and Tony Streather on May 26. The full team complement being George Band, Joe Brown, John Clegg (team doctor), Charles Evans (team leader), Norman Hardy, John Angelo Jackson, Neil Mather, Tom Mackinnon, and Tony Streather. This proved Aleister Crowley's 1905 route was indeed accomplishable.
- 1977 The second ascent of Kanchenjunga is made in 1977 by an Indian Army team led by Col. Narinder Kumar. They complete the north-east spur, the difficult ridge that defeated the German expeditions in 1929 and 1931.
- 1978 A Polish team makes the first successful ascent of the south summit (Kangchenjunga II).
- 1983 Pierre Beghin makes the first solo ascent and without oxygen.
- 1986 On January 11, Krzysztof Wielicki and Jerzy Kukuczka, Polish climbers make the first winter ascent.
- 1991 Marija Frantor and Joze Rozman attempt the first ascent by a woman but their bodies are later found below the summit headwall. The same year, Andrej Stremfelj and Marko Prezelj complete a perfect, technically demanding, elegant alpine style climb up the south ridge of Kangchenjunga to the South Summit (8,494 m).
- 1992 Wanda Rutkiewicz died on a summit attempt after she refused to descend in an approaching storm.
- 1998 Ginette Harrison becomes the first and only woman to reach the summit.
See Kangchenjunga History for a more detailed account.
The Kanchanjunga Conservation Area (KCA) covers 2,035 km2 surrounding the mountain on the Nepalese side.
Image:Kanchenjunga summit ca. 1857.jpeg
In literature
Image:Kanchan.jpg Image:Kangch-Goechala.jpg
- In the Swallows and Amazons series of books by Arthur Ransome, a high mountain in the Lake District is given the name Kanchenjunga when it is climbed by the children in 1931. It was based on the actual mountain The Old Man of Coniston. Presumably Ransome used the name as Kanchenjunga was in the news when he wrote the book.
- In The Epic of Mount Everest, Sir Francis Younghusband writes: " For natural beauty Darjiling (Darjeeling) is surely unsurpassed in the world. From all countries travellers come there to see the famous view of Kangchenjunga, 28,150 feet in height, and only 40 miles distant. Darjiling (Darjeeling) itself is 7000 feet above sea-level and is set in a forest of oaks, magnolia, rhododendrons, laurels and sycamores. And through these forests the observer looks down the steep mountain-sides to the Rangeet River only 1000 feet above sea-level, and then up and up through tier after tier of forest-clad ranges, each bathed in a haze of deeper and deeper purple, till the line of snow is reached; and then still up to the summit of Kangchenjunga, now so pure and ethereal we can scarcely believe it is part of the solid earth on which we stand; and so high it seems part of the very sky itself."
External links
| Eight-thousander series |
|---|
| Everest | K2 | Kanchenjunga | Lhotse | Makalu | Cho Oyu | Dhaulagiri | Manaslu | Nanga Parbat | Annapurna | Gasherbrum I | Broad Peak | Gasherbrum II | Shishapangma |
Kanchenjunga is also a visual RAD tool for producing Java client applications for use with Postgres95.
ca:Kanchenjunga cs:Khangčhendzönga da:Khangchendzonga de:Kangchenjunga es:Kanchenjunga eo:Kangchenjunga fr:Kangchenjunga ko:칸첸중가 산 io:Kangchenjunga it:Kanchenjonga lt:Kančendžanga nl:Kangchenjunga ja:カンチェンジュンガ no:Kanchenjunga nn:Kantjendjunga pl:Kanczendzonga pt:Kanchenjunga ru:Канченджанга fi:Kanchenjunga sv:Kanchenjunga zh:干城章嘉峰