Saltoro Kangri the highest mountain #31 in the world

Saltoro Kangri is the highest peak of the Saltoro Mountains, better known as the Saltoro Range, which is a minor range of the Karakoram. It is one of the highest mountains on Earth, but it is in a very remote location deep in the Karakoram. Saltoro Kangri lies in a region controlled by India on the southwestern side of the Siachen Glacier. Notable features Saltoro Kangri is the 31st highest independent mountain in the world. In addition, it rises dramatically above the Pakistani-controlled valleys of the Kondus and Saltoro Rivers to the west of the peak (draining eventually into the Indus River.) Due to danger from military operations, Saltoro Kangri is little visited. Areas just to the west are controlled by Pakistan, to the east by India. Climbing...

Read more »

Posted in: List of Mountains in Asia

Rakaposhi the highest mountain #27 in the world

Rakaposhi is a mountain in the Karakoram mountain range in Pakistan. It is situated in the Nagar Valley approximately 100 km north of the city of Gilgit in the Gilgit District of the Gilgit-Baltistan province of Pakistan. Rakaposhi means "Snow Covered" in the local language. Rakaposhi is also known as Dumani ("Mother of Mist"). It is ranked 27th highest in the world and 12th highest in Pakistan, but it is more popular for its beauty than its rank might suggest. Rakaposhi was first climbed in 1958 by Mike Banks and Tom Patey, members of a British-Pakistani expedition, via the Southwest Spur/Ridge route. Both of them suffered minor frostbite during the ascent. Another climber slipped and fell on the descent and died during the night. Park The...

Read more »

Posted in: List of Mountains in Asia

Muztagh Tower the highest mountain #91 in the world

Muztagh Tower (also: Mustagh Tower; Muztagh: ice tower), is a mountain in the Baltoro Muztagh, part of the Karakoram range on the border of the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan and the Xinjiang Uygur region of China. It stands between the basins of the Baltoro and Sarpo Laggo glaciers. Early prominence The Mustagh Tower was made famous by a spectacular but somewhat misleading photograph taken by Vittorio Sella during the 1909 Italian expedition to K2. Taken from the upper Baltoro, due southeast of the mountain, the twin summits were perfectly aligned and the mountain was seen as a slender tooth, and looked impregnable. In 1941, the photograph was featured in a popular book on mountaineering with the caption "The Last Citadel". First and...

Read more »

Posted in: List of Mountains in Asia

Masherbrum the highest mountain #22 in the world

Masherbrum (also known as K1) is located in the Gilgit Baltistan of Pakistan. At 7,821 metres (25,659 ft) it is the 22nd highest mountain in the world and the 9th highest in Pakistan. It was the first scaled and mapped peak in the Karakoram mountain range, hence its name. The meaning of the name "Masherbrum" is not entirely clear. It may come from mashadar (muzzle-loading gun) plus brum (mountain), from the resemblance of the double summit to an old muzzle-loader. It may also come from masha (queen or lady), giving "queen of peaks." Other meanings have also been suggested. Geography Masherbrum is the highest peak of the Masherbrum Mountains, a subrange of the Karakoram range. It is a large and striking peak, which is somewhat overshadowed by...

Read more »

Posted in: List of Mountains in Asia

Laila Peak (Hushe Valley)

Laila Peak in Hushe Valley near Gondogoro glacier is in Karakoram range and is 6,096 metres (20,000 ft) high. It has a distinctive spear-like shape. Its northwest face has a slope of 45 degrees in more than 1500 vertical metres. It has been climbed by Simon Yates, among others. According to the local people in Hushe, Laila peak has been climbed only twice, a total of only seven people have summited. The height of the Laila peak in Hushe Valley is controversial. Some believe it to be 6200 metres whereas some mention it as 6614 metres. In a Japanese mountaineering map by Tsuneo Miyamori (published in 2003), the height of Laila Peak is mentioned as 6096 metres. First Skiers on Laila Peak In the summer of 2005, the first ever ski attempts on Laila...

Read more »

Posted in: List of Mountains in Asia

Khunyang Chhish the highest mountain #21 in the world

Khunyang Chhish or Kunyang Chhish is the second-highest mountain in the Hispar Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram mountains of Pakistan. Alternate variations of the name include Kunyang Kish and Khiangyang Kish, among others. Its height is also sometimes given as 7823m. It is ranked 21st in the world and 8th in Pakistan. Location Khunyang Chhish lies in the heart of the Hispar Muztagh, north of the Hispar Glacier, one of the major glaciers of the Karakoram, and east of the Hunza River valley. It rises on the southwest side of the Khunyang Glacier while Distaghil Sar (the highest peak of the Hispar Muztagh) dominates the glacier on its northern end. Notable features Khunyang Chhish is the 21st highest independent mountain in the world. It...

Read more »

Posted in: List of Mountains in Asia

Baintha Brakk #87 highest mountain in the world

Baintha Brakk or The Ogre is a steep, craggy mountain, 7,285 metres (23,901 ft) high, in the Panmah Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram mountain range. It is located in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It is famous for being one of the hardest peaks in the world to climb: twenty-four years elapsed between the first ascent in 1977 and the second in 2001. Location Baintha Brakk rises above the north side of the Biafo Glacier, one of the major glaciers of the central Karakoram. It lies about 75 kilometres (47 mi) north of Skardu, the major town of the region, and about 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of the roadhead at Askole. Notable features Baintha Brakk is exceptional in its combination of altitude, height above local terrain, and steepness. It is...

Read more »

Posted in: List of Mountains in Asia

Tirich Mir #33 highest mountain in the world - Highest in peak Hindukush range

Tirich Mir (alternatively Terich Mir, Terichmir and Turch Mir) is the highest mountain in the Hindu Kush region and the highest mountain outside of the Himalaya-Karakoram range, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The mountain was first climbed in 1950 by a Norwegian expedition consisting of Arne Næss, P. Kvernberg, H. Berg, and Tony Streather. Tirich Mir overlooks Chitral town. It can easily be seen from the main bazaar. It can also be seen from Afghanistan. According to a local legend, it is impossible to climb it, because of all the Jinns, demons, witches and fairies who live up there. Locals also believe that Tirich Mir is an abode of fairies. From all over the Hindu Kush, fairies are said to come here for special meetings, washing...

Read more »

Posted in: List of Mountains in Asia

Saraghrar the highest mountain #78 in the world

The "walk of the gods Saraghrar is the fourth highest independent peak in the Hindu Kush. The entire Saraghrar massif is a huge, irregular stretched plateau at elevation around 7,000 m (22,966 ft), lying above vertical granite and ice faces, which protect it all around. Its distinct summits are poorly identified, and information gathered from expeditions that have visited the area is often misleading. The main summits are: NE summit (7,349 m (24,111 ft)), northwest summit (7,300 m (23,950 ft)), southwest summit (7,148 m (23,451 ft)), south summit (7,307 m (23,973 ft)) and southeast summit (7,208 m (23,648 ft)). To date (2005), the northwest summit is the only unclimbed peak of the massif. Climbing history In 1958 a British team led by Ted...

Read more »

Posted in: List of Mountains in Asia

Shivling (Garhwal Himalaya) dramatic rock peak

Shivling is a mountain in the Gangotri Group of peaks in the western Garhwal Himalaya, near the snout of the Gangotri Glacier. It lies in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, 6 kilometres (4 mi) south of the Hindu holy site of Gaumukh (the source of the Bhagirathi River). Its name refers to its status as a sacred symbol of the God - Lord Shiva's Shiva Linga. It was called "Matterhorn Peak" by early European visitors because of its similarity in appearance to that Alpine peak. While not of locally great elevation, it is a dramatic rock peak, and most visually striking peak seen from Gaumukh; that and the difficulty of the climb make it a famed prize for mountaineers. The mountain and its setting Shivling forms the western gateway for the...

Read more »

Posted in: List of Mountains in Asia

Exploration and climbing history of Nanda Devi

Nanda Devi (main summit) The ascent of Nanda Devi necessitated fifty years of arduous exploration in search of a passage into the Sanctuary. The outlet is the Rishi Gorge, a deep, narrow canyon which is very difficult to traverse safely, and is the biggest hindrance to entering the Sanctuary; any other route involves difficult passes, the lowest of which is 5,180 m (16,990 ft). Hugh Ruttledge attempted to reach the peak three times in the 1930s and failed each time. In a letter to The Times he wrote that 'Nanda Devi imposes on her votaries an admission test as yet beyond their skill and endurance', adding that gaining entry to the Nanda Devi Sanctuary alone was more difficult than reaching the North Pole. In 1934, the British explorers Eric...

Read more »

Posted in: List of Mountains in Asia

Nanda Devi the second highest mountain in India

Nanda Devi is the second highest mountain in India (excluding Pakistan-administered Kashmir) and the highest entirely within the country (Kangchenjunga being on the border of India and Nepal); owing to this geography it was the highest known mountain in the world until computations on Dhaulagiri by western surveyors in 1808. It was also the highest mountain in India before Sikkim joined the Indian Union. It is part of the Garhwal Himalayas, and is located in the state of Uttarakhand, between the Rishiganga valley on the west and the Goriganga valley on the east. Its name means Bliss-Giving Goddess. The peak is regarded as the patron-goddess of the Uttarakhand Himalaya. Description and notable features Nanda Devi is a two-peaked massif, forming...

Read more »

Posted in: List of Mountains in Asia

Namjagbarwa highest peak in the eastern Himalaya

Namcha Barwa is a mountain in the Tibetan Himalaya. The traditional definition of the Himalaya extending from the Indus River to the Brahmaputra would make it the eastern anchor of the entire mountain chain, and it is the highest peak of its own section as well Earth's easternmost peak over 7,600 metres. Location Namcha Barwa is in an isolated part of southeastern Tibet rarely visited by outsiders. It stands inside the Great Bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo River as the river enters its notable gorge across the Himalaya, emerging as the Dihang and becoming the Brahmaputra. Namcha Barwa's sister peak Gyala Peri 7,294 metres rises across the gorge 22 km to the NNW. Notable features Namcha rises 5,000 to 6,800 metres above the Yarlung Tsangpo. After...

Read more »

Posted in: List of Mountains in Asia

Melungtse

Melungtse is the highest mountain of the Rolwaling Himal in the Himalayas. The peak has a long summit ridge capped by the east (main) summit and the west summit, also known as Melungtse II, 7,023m. The mountain's steep faces make it more difficult than its elevation would suggest. Location Melungtse lies just north of the Nepal/China border, on a western spur ridge coming out of the main north-south trending ridge of the Rolwaling Himal, in Tingri County, Xigazê Prefecture of Tibet. To the southwest, across the Menlung Chu, lies Gauri Sankar, which, though a bit lower (7134 m), is much more visible from Nepal, hence better-known. Melungtse lies about 40 km west of Mount Everest. Climbing History Melungtse was off limits to climbing until quite...

Read more »

Posted in: List of Mountains in Asia