Nepal
is known as land of Himalayas world over. There are 1,310 peaks above
6000 meters of which 238 are already opened for climbing. Likewise, out
of fourteen 8000 meters above peaks eight of them, including the
highest peak in the world, Mount Everest lie in Nepal. Other seven are
namely Kanchanjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu and
Annapurna.
Mt.
Everest
Mount
Everest is the highest mountain in the world measuring 8,848 m(29,028
feet) in height. It was first climbed on May 29, 1953 by a New
Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal. Mount Everest
is also known by the Tibetan name Chomolangma
(Goddess Mother
of the
Snows), and by the Nepali name Sagarmatha (Mother of the
Universe).
Everest
had been
attempted many times before the important expeditions being that of
1922, 1923 and 1924. The body of George H. L. Mallory, who died in an
earlier attempt (1924), was discovered on the mountain in 1999. More
than 600 climbers from 20 countries have climbed the summit by various
routes from both north and south. Climbers? ages have ranged from
nineteen years to sixty. Climbing on Everest is very strictly regulated
by both the Nepalese and Chinese governments. Climbing Everest and
Treks to Everest Base Camp are becoming increasingly popular on both
the north and south sides of the mountain. On the north side, a
Buddhist monastery stands at the foot of the Rongbuk Glacier, beneath
Everest?s spectacular north face. The monastery is one of two whose
locations were selected specifically to allow religious contemplation
of the great peak. The other is the Thyangboche Monastery in Nepal. The
once active Rongbuk monastery in Tibet has required much rejuvenation
from the destruction it experienced following China?s invasion of
Tibet.
Kanchenjunga
Kanchenjunga (8,586)
is the third highest mountain in the world. From 1838 until 1849, it
was believed to be the highest. It is an enormous  mountain
mass, and
many satellite peaks rise from its narrow icy ridges. It is located on
the border of Nepal and Sikkim, just 46 miles northwest of Darjeeling.
It is the most easterly of the great 8,000-meter peaks of the
Himalaya.
Though not successfully climbed until 1955, it was first attempted in
1905, but four members of that international parties were killed in an
avalanche. As inspiring as Kanchanjunga?s beauty is that at least the
first three parties to ascend the mountain never attempted the final
few feet to the summit out of voluntary respect for the Sikkimese, who
consider the summit sacred. The successful British expedition of 1955
set the standard by stopping a few feet short of the actual summit, in
honor of the local religion.
Lhotse
Lhotse (8,516) is the fourth highest mountain in the world. Its long
east-west crest is located immediately south of Mount Everest and the
summits of the two mountains are connected by the South Col, a
vertical
ridge that never drops below 8,000 meters. Lhotse is sometimes
mistakenly identified as the south peak of the Everest massif. No
serious attention was turned to climbing Lhotse until after Everest had
finally been ascended. Lhotse was first climbed in 1956 by two Swiss,
Fritz Luchsinger and Ernest Reiss.
In addition to the main summit, there are two subsidiary peaks, Lhotse
Shar, which is immediately east of the main summit, and Nuptse, a high
peak on the mountain?s west ridge.
Makalu
Makalu (8,463) is the
fifth highest mountain in the world. It is an
isolated peak, located just 14 miles
east of Mount Everest. Its size
alone is  impressive, but its structure, that of a perfect pyramid
with
four sharp ridges, makes this mountain all the more
spectacular.
It has proved to be a challenging climb, as only five of its first
sixteen attempts were successful. Previously, it had been admired and
studied by several Everest parties, but like so many other giants in
the Khumbu region, it was not attempted until the summit of Everest had
been attained in 1954. A French group first climbed Makalu in the year
1955.
Chomo Lonzo (25,650 ft.) is a subsidiary peak of Makalu, rising just
north of the higher summit, separated by a narrow saddle.
Cho
Oyu
Cho Oyu (8,201) is the sixth highest mountain in the world, located a
short distance to the west from Everest and Lhotse (the fourth highest)
in the Khumbu region of Eastern Nepal along the Tibetan border. Its
towering peak stands with Everest well above the surrounding mountains.
It became a familiar landmark to climbers ascending Everest?s north
face. Just west of Cho Oyu is the Nangpa La, a 19,000-foot glacier
pass, and the main trade route between the Khumbu Sherpas and Tibet.
Cho Oyu?s proximity to the Nangpa La has earned it the distinction
among some climbers as being the easiest 8,000 meter peak. It was the
third such peak climbed, and the first climbed in autumn by two
Austrian.
Dhaulagiri
Dhaulagiri (8,167), whose name means White Mountain, is the seventh
highest mountain in the world. It is an enormous Himalayan massif,
located in north central Nepal. It is the highest  mountain located
entirely within Nepal. After its discovery by the western world in
1808, it replaced Ecuador?s Chimborazo (20,561 ft.) as the postulated
highest mountain in the world. It maintained this standing for nearly
30 years, until the discovery of Kanchanjunga, which was then falsely
believed to be the world?s highest mountain.
Dhaulagiri?s crest stretches for thirty miles, lending structure to an
otherwise tangled topography of twisting ridges, glaciers, and ice
falls. Along the main crest, several pyramid-shaped peaks rise. Four of
these summits, numbered from east to west, rise above 25,000
feet.
In 1960, the Swiss/Austrian expedition who first reached the summit did
so despite their airplane having crashed during the approach. This was
the first Himalayan climb supported by an airplane, although the plane
was subsequently abandoned on the mountain.
Manaslu
Manaslu (8,163) is the high peak of the Gorkha massif, and is the
eighth highest mountain in the world. It is located about forty miles
east of Annapurna, the tenth highest mountain. The mountain?s long
ridges and valley glaciers offer feasible approaches from all
directions, and it culminates in a peak that towers steeply above its
surrounding landscape, and is a dominant feature when seen from afar.
The name Manaslu is derived from the Sanskrit word Manasa and can be
roughly translated as Mountain of the Spirit. An all-female Japanese
expedition successfully ascended to the summit, thereby becoming the
first women to climb an 8,000-meter peak.
Annapurna
Annapurna (8091) is an enormous Himalayan massif, the tenth highest
mountain in the world.
 In 1950, it became the first 8,000 meter
mountain to be successfully climbed. It is located east of a
great
gorge cut through the Himalaya by the Kali Gandaki river. The mountain
has glaciers on its western and northwestern slopes, which drain into
this gorge.
Annapurna is a Sanskrit name that can be translated as Goddess of the
Harvests or more simply The Provider. Of Annapurna?s many highs peaks,
five are labeled using some variation of the name Annapurna. Of these,
the two highest (Annapurna I and II), stand like bookends at the
western and eastern ends of the massif.
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