HIGHLIGHTS
- Shishapangma has a subsidiary peak higher than 8,000m: Central-Peak at 8,008m (26,273ft).
- It has less dramatic vertical relief than most major Himalayan peaks.
- Shishapangma is regarded as one of the easiest eight-thousanders to climb.
At a glance
Overview
Mount Shishapangma, also called Gosainthan, is the 14th highest mountain in the world at 8,027 meters (26,335ft) above sea level. It is the last 8,000-metre peak to be climbed, due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions on visits by foreign travelers to the region imposed by authorities of the Government of China and of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Geologist Toni Hagen explained the name as meaning a “grassy plain” or “meadow” (pangma) above a “comb” or a “range” (shisha or chisa) in the local Tibetan dialect, thereby signifying the “crest above the grassy plains”.
On the other hand, Tibetologist Guntram Hazod records a local story that explains the mountain’s name in terms of its literal meaning in the Standard Tibetan language: shisha, which means “meat of an animal that died of natural causes” and sbangma which means “malt dregs left over from brewing beer”. According to the story, one year a heavy snowfall killed most of the animals at pasture. All that the people living near the mountain had to eat was the meat of the dead animals and the malt dregs left over from brewing beer, and so the mountain was named Shisha Pangma (shisha sbangma), signifiying “meat of dead animals and malty dregs”.
Shisha Pangma was the last of the 8000m peaks to be climbed. The first ascent is credited to Hsu Ching and his ten-man Chinese climbing team in 1964. The team was composed of Chang Chun-yen, Wang Fu-zhou, Chen San, Cheng Tien-liang, Wu Tsung-yue, Sodnam Doji, Migmar Trashi, Doji, Yonten. Shisha Pangma was finally opened to foreign teams in 1980. The first U.S. ascent took place in September 1983, via the mountain’s Northeast Face, by Mike Browning, Chris Pizzo and Glenn Porzak. By 2003, Shisha Pangma had only recorded 201 successful ascents (to the main summit) and 19 fatalities. As of January of 2000, over 434 people have successfully made the climb to the Central Summit, but only 165 people have continued to the Main Summit, just over an hours climb away, separated by a knife edge ridge of sometimes very unstable snow.
Itinerary
Day 01: Arrival in Kathmandu
Day 02: Go to Chinese embassy for visa
Day 03: Early morning pressure to Rusuwaghadi
Day 04: Enter Tibet and power to Gyirong
Day 05: Rest & acclimatization in Gyirong
Day 06: Drive to Tingri (4,300 meters)
Day 07: Acclimatization in Tingri
Day 08: Drive to Chinese Base Camp(5,000 metres).
Day 09: Walk midway to superior base camp
Day 10: Rest day at "interim-camp"
Day 11: Walk to superior base camp at 5,400 metres
Day 12: Trek to superior base camp at 5,400 metres
Day 13: Rest and training at advanced base camp
Day 14: Trek to camp 1, 6,200 metres and return to advanced base camp.
Day 15: Rest in advanced base camp
Day 16: Walk to camp 1
Day 17: Trek to Camp at 2, 6,700 metres
Day 18: Rest in Advanced base camp
Day 19: Walk to Camp 1
Day 20: Trek to Camp 2
Day 21: Trek to camp at 37,400 metres
Day 22 - Day 23: Rest in Advanced base camp
Day 24: Trek to camp 1
Day 25: Trek to camp 2
Day 26: Trek to camp 3
Day 27 - Day 31: Summit attempt
Day 32: Descend to advanced base camp, pack, and be ready to depart
Day 33: Trek down to Chinese base camp
Day 34: Early morning pressure to Gyirong
Day 35: Final departure
Gallery
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