This article will be permanently flagged as inappropriate and made unaccessible to everyone. Are you certain this article is inappropriate? Excessive Violence Sexual Content Political / Social
Email Address:
Article Id: WHEBN0000017073 Reproduction Date:
Kangchenjunga (Nepali: कञ्चनजङ्घा, Sikkimese and Tibetan: གངས་ཆེན་མཛོད་ལྔ་, Hindi: कंचनजंघा) is the third highest mountain in the world.[3] It rises with an elevation of 8,586 m (28,169 ft) in a section of the Himalayas called Kangchenjunga Himal that is limited in the west by the Tamur River and in the east by the Teesta River.[1] The Kangchenjunga Himal is located in eastern Nepal and Sikkim, India.[4]
The main peak of Kangchenjunga is the second highest mountain in Nepal after Mount Everest. Three of the five peaks – Main, Central and South – are on the border between North Sikkim and Nepal.[5] Two peaks are in the Taplejung District, Nepal.[6]
Kangchenjunga Main is the highest mountain in India, and the easternmost of the mountains higher than 8,000 m (26,000 ft). It is called Five Treasures of Snow after its five high peaks, and has always been worshipped by the people of Darjeeling and Sikkim.[7]
Until 1852, Kangchenjunga was assumed to be the highest mountain in the world, but calculations based on various readings and measurements made by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in 1849 came to the conclusion that Mount Everest, known as Peak XV at the time, was the highest. Allowing for further verification of all calculations, it was officially announced in 1856 that Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain.[8]
Kangchenjunga was first climbed on 25 May 1955 by expedition. They stopped short of the summit as per the promise given to the Chogyal that the top of the mountain would remain inviolate. Every climber or climbing group that has reached the summit has followed this tradition.[7] Other members of this expedition included John Angelo Jackson and Tom Mackinon.[9]
Kangchenjunga is the official spelling adopted by Douglas Freshfield, A. M. Kellas, and the Royal Geographical Society that gives the best indication of the Tibetan pronunciation.[3]
The brothers Hermann, Adolf and Robert Schlagintweit explained the local name Kanchinjínga (Tibetan: གངས་ཆེན་མཛོད་ལྔ་, Wylie: gangs chen mdzod lnga, Sikkimese IPA: [k̀ʱɐŋt͡ɕʰẽd͡zø̃ŋɐ]) meaning “The five treasures of the high snow” as originating from the Tibetan word (following IPA given in Sikkimese) gangs /k̀ʱɐŋ/) meaning "snow, ice"; chen /t͡ɕʰẽ/ meaning "great"; mdzod /d͡zø/ meaning "treasure"; lnga /̃ŋɐ/ meaning "five".[10] The treasures represent the five repositories of God, which are gold, silver, gems, food grain, and religious texts.
There are a number of alternative spellings which include Kangchen Dzö-nga, Khangchendzonga, Kanchenjanga, Kachendzonga, Kanchenjunga or Kangchanfanga. The final word on the use of the name Kangchenjunga came from Tashi Namgyal, Chogyal of Sikkim, who stated that "although junga had no meaning in Tibetan, it really ought to have been Zod-nga (treasure, five) Kang-chen (snow, big) to convey the meaning correctly". Following consultations with a Lieutenant-Colonel J.L.R. Weir, British agent to Sikkim, he agreed that it was best to leave it as Kangchenjunga, and thus the name remained so by acceptance and common usage.
Kangchenjunga's name in Nepali is कञ्चनजङ्घा Kanchanjaŋghā. Its name in the Limbu language and the language of the Rai people is Sewalungma, meaning "mountain to which we offer greetings". Sewalungma is considered sacred by adherents of the Kirant Mundhum faith.
The Kangchenjunga landscape is a complex of three distinct ecoregions: the eastern Himalayan broad-leaved and coniferous forests, the Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows and the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands.[11] The Kangchenjunga transboundary landscape is shared by Bhutan, China, India and Nepal, and comprises 14 protected areas with a total of 6,032 km2 (2,329 sq mi):[12]
These protected areas are habitats for many globally significant plant species such as rhododendrons and orchids and many endangered flagship species such as snow leopard, Asian black bear, red panda, white-bellied musk deer, blood pheasant and chestnut-breasted partridge.[12]
The Kangchenjunga Himal section of the Himalayas lies both in Nepal and Sikkim, and encompasses 16 peaks over 7,000 m (23,000 ft). In the north, it is limited by the Lhonak Chu, Goma Chu and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River. The western limit runs from the Jongsang La down the Gingsang and Kangchenjunga glaciers and the rivers of Ghunsa and Tamur.[1] Kanchenjunga rises about 20 km (12 mi) south of the general alignment of the Great Himalayan range about 125 km (78 mi) east-south-east of Mount Everest as the crow flies. South of the southern face of Kanchenjunga runs the 3,000–3,500 m (9,800–11,500 ft) high Singalila Ridge that separates Sikkim from Nepal and north Bengal.[4]
Four glaciers radiate from the peak, pointing roughly to the north-east, south-east, north-west and south-west. The Zemu glacier in the north-east and the Talung glacier in the south-east drain to the Teesta River,[18] thereby forming a part of the Brahmputra catchment. The summit of Kangchenjunga is the highest point of the Brahmaputra basin.[19] The Yalung glacier in the south-west and the Kangchen glacier in the north-west drain to the Arun and Kosi rivers,[18] thereby forming a part of the Ganges catchment. The summit of Kangchenjunga, therefore, also forms a part of the Ganges basin.[19] The glaciers spread over the area above approximately 5,000 m (16,000 ft), and the glacialized area covers 314 km2 (121 sq mi) in total.[20]
The main ridge of the massif runs from north-north-east to south-south-west and forms a watershed to several rivers.[13] Together with ridges running roughly from east to west they form a giant cross. These ridges contain a host of peaks between 6,000 and 8,000 m (20,000 and 26,000 ft). On the east ridge is Siniolchu (6,888 m (22,598 ft)). The west ridge culminates in the Jannu (7,710 m (25,300 ft)) with its imposing north face. To the south are Kabru North (7,338 m (24,075 ft)), Kabru South (7,316 m (24,003 ft)) and Rathong (6,678 m (21,909 ft)). The north ridge, after passing through the Kangchenjunga North (7,741 m (25,397 ft)), includes The Twins and Tent Peak, and runs up to the Tibetan border by the Jongsang La, a high pass.
In 1955, Norman Hardie and Tony Streather on 26 May. The full team also included John Clegg (team doctor), Charles Evans (team leader), John Angelo Jackson, Neil Mather, and Tom Mackinnon.
The ascent proved that Aleister Crowley's 1905 route (also investigated by the 1954 reconnaissance) was viable. The route starts on the Yalung Glacier to the southwest of the peak, and climbs the Yalung Face, which is 3,000 metres (10,000 ft) high. The main feature of this face is the "Great Shelf", a large sloping plateau at around , covered by a hanging glacier. The route is almost entirely on snow, glacier, and one icefall; the summit ridge itself can involve a small amount of travel on rock. The first ascent expedition made six camps above their base camp, two below the Shelf, two on it, and two above it. They started on 18 April, and everyone was back to base camp by 28 May.[30]
Despite improved climbing gear the fatality rate of climbers attempting to summit Kanchenjunga is high. Since the 1990s, more than 20% of people died while climbing Kanchenjunga's main peak.[40]
Some of the most famous views of Kangchenjunga are from the hill station of Darjeeling and Antu Dada of Illam, Nepal. The Darjeeling War Memorial is among the most visited places from which Kangchenjunga is observed. On a clear day it presents an image not so much of a mountain but of a white wall hanging from the sky. The people of Sikkim revere Kangchenjunga as a sacred mountain. Permission to climb the mountain from the Indian side is rarely given.
Due to its remote location in Nepal and the difficulty involved in accessing it from India, the Kangchenjunga region is not much explored by trekkers. It has, therefore, retained much of its pristine beauty. In Sikkim too, trekking into the Kangchenjunga region has just recently been permitted. The Goecha La trek is gaining popularity amongst tourists. It goes to the Goecha La Pass, located right in front of the huge southeast face of Kangchenjunga. Another trek to Green Lake Basin has recently been opened for trekking. This trek goes to the Northeast side of Kangchenjunga along the famous Zemu Glacier.
The area around Kangchenjunga is said to be home to the "Kangchenjunga Demon", a type of yeti or rakshasa. A British geological expedition in 1925 spotted a bipedal creature which they asked the locals about, who referred to it as the "Kangchenjunga Demon".[41]
For generations, there have been legends recounted by the inhabitants of the areas surrounding Mount Kanchenjunga, both in Sikkim and in Nepal, that there is a valley of immortality hidden on its slopes. These stories are well known to both the original inhabitants of the area, the Lepcha people, and those of the Tibetan Buddhist cultural tradition. In Tibetan, this valley is known as Beyul Demoshong. In 1962 a Tibetan Lama by the name of Tulshuk Lingpa led over 300 followers into the high snow slopes of Kanchenjunga to ‘open the way’ to Beyul Demoshong.
The above Himalayan Journal References were all also reproduced in the "50th Anniversary of the First Ascent of Kangchenjunga" The Himalayan Club, Kolkata Section 2005.
India, Gangtok, Hinduism, Buddhism, Tibet
Nepal, Tibet, Seven Summits, Sherpa people, China
Darjeeling district, Nepali language, West Bengal, Bengali language, Kalimpong
Mount Everest, Eight-thousander, Pakistan, Seven Second Summits, Baltistan
Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Indo-Aryan languages, India
Mount Everest, Darjeeling, Hinduism, Buddhism, West Bengal
South Korea, Mount Everest, Seven Summits, Namwon, Spain
Earth, Caribbean Sea, Indian Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, India