woowman: His Majesty - Mt. Kanchenjunga

Sep 7, 2011

His Majesty - Mt. Kanchenjunga

Kanchenjunga

Kangchenjunga, located along the India-Nepal border in the Himalayan Range, is the third highest mountain in the world after Mount Everest and K2, with an elevation of 8,586 m (28,169 ft). Kangchenjunga means "The Five Treasures of Snows", as it contains five peaks, four of them over 8,450 m (27,720 ft). The treasures represent the five repositories of God, which are gold, silver, gems,grain, and holy books. It is also the name of its section of the Himalaya. including twelve more peaks over 7000 meters and then some 33 over 6000.

Great Himalayan trail map Kanchenjunga

Three of the five peaks (main, central, and south) are on the border of the Indian North Sikkim and Taplejung District of Nepal, while the other two are completely in Taplejung District. Nepal is home to the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Project run by the World Wildlife Fund in cooperation with the Government of Nepal. The sanctuary is home to the red panda and other montane animals, birds and plants. The Khangchendzonga National Park is located in India.

Samiti lake

KANCHENJUNGA at DAWN

Kangchenjunga was first climbed on May 25, 1955 by Joe Brown and George Band, who were part of a British expedition. The British expedition honoured 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.

HIMALAYA

Idyllic Jannu Camp

Jannu background

The five peaks of Kangchenjunga are as follows:

Name of peak	Height (m)	Height (ft)
Kangchenjunga Main	8,586	28,169
Kangchenjunga West (Yalung Kang)	8,505	27,904
Kangchenjunga Central (Middle)	8,482	27,828
Kangchenjunga South	8,494	27,867
Kangbachen	7,903	25,925

jannu-bc-wall

The huge massif of Kangchenjunga 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 peaks between 6,000 and 8,000 metres. On the east ridge in Sikkim, is Siniolchu (6,888 m/22,600 ft). The west ridge culminates in the magnificentJannu (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, after passing through the minor subpeak Kangchenjunga North (7741 m/25,397 ft), 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 view behind clouds

kanchenjunga surrounded by clouds

kanchenjunga 3D view

In myth

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".