Makalu

For other uses, see Makalu (disambiguation).
"Makaru" redirects here. For the village in Iran, see Makaru, Iran.
Makalu

Makalu from the southwest
Highest point
Elevation 8,485 m (27,838 ft) [1]
Ranked 5th
Prominence 2,386 m (7,828 ft)
Isolation 17 kilometres (11 mi)
Listing Eight-thousander
Ultra
Coordinates 27°53′21″N 87°05′19″E / 27.88917°N 87.08861°E / 27.88917; 87.08861Coordinates: 27°53′21″N 87°05′19″E / 27.88917°N 87.08861°E / 27.88917; 87.08861
Geography
Makalu

Location in Nepal, on the border with China

Location Khumbu, Nepal / Tibet, China
Parent range Mahalangur Himalaya
Climbing
First ascent May 15, 1955 by Lionel Terray and Jean Couzy
Easiest route snow/ice climb

Makalu (Nepal: मकालु; China: Makaru) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at 8,485 metres (27,838 ft). It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas 19 km (12 mi) southeast of Mount Everest, on the border between Nepal and China. One of the eight-thousanders, Makalu is an isolated peak whose shape is a four-sided pyramid.

Makalu has two notable subsidiary peaks. Kangchungtse, or Makalu II (7,678 m) lies about 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of the main summit. Rising about 5 km (3.1 mi) north-northeast of the main summit across a broad plateau, and connected to Kangchungtse by a narrow, 7,200 m saddle, is Chomo Lonzo (7,804 m).

Climbing history

The first climb on Makalu was made by an American team led by William Siri in the spring of 1954. The expedition was composed of Sierra Club members including Allen Steck, and was called the California Himalayan Expedition to Makalu.[2] They attempted the southeast ridge but were turned back at 7,100 m (23,300 ft) by a constant barrage of storms. A New Zealand team including Sir Edmund Hillary was also active in the spring, but did not get very high due to injury and illness. In the fall of 1954, a French reconnaissance expedition made the first ascents of the subsidiary summits Kangchungtse (October 22: Jean Franco, Lionel Terray, Sardar Gyaltsen Norbu and Pa Norbu) and Chomo Lonzo (October 30(?): Jean Couzy and Terray).[3]

Makalu was first climbed on May 15, 1955 by Lionel Terray and Jean Couzy of a French expedition led by Jean Franco. Franco, G. Magnone and Sardar Gyaltsen Norbu summitted the next day, followed by Bouvier, S. Coupe, Leroux and A. Vialatte on the 17th. This was an amazing achievement at the time to have the vast majority of expedition members summit, especially on such a difficult peak. Prior to this time, summits were reached by 1-2 people at most with the rest of teams providing logistical support before turning around and heading home. The French team climbed Makalu by the north face and northeast ridge, via the saddle between Makalu and Kangchungtse (the Makalu-La), establishing the standard route.[3]

Notable ascents

Glacier on Makalu
Makalu
Makalu 3D

Makalu is one of the harder eight-thousanders, and is considered one of the most difficult mountains in the world to climb. The mountain is notorious for its steep pitches and knife-edged ridges that are completely open to the elements. The final ascent of the summit pyramid involves technical rock/ice climbing.

2004 photo mosaic: the Himalayas with Makalu and Mount Everest from the International Space Station, Expedition 8.

Makalu-Barun Valley

Main article: Barun Valley
Makalu-Barun Valley - A glacier valley starting from the foot of the Makalu.

Makalu-Barun Valley is a Himalayan glacier valley situated at the base of Makalu in the Sankhuwasabha district of Nepal. This valley lies entirely inside the Makalu Barun National Park.

Barun Valley provides stunning contrasts, where high waterfalls cascade into deep gorges, craggy rocks rise from lush green forests, and colorful flowers bloom beneath white snow peaks. This unique landscape shelters some of the last pristine mountain ecosystems on Earth. Rare species of animals and plants flourish in diverse climates and habitats, relatively undisturbed by human kind.

View

Chomo Lonzo Makalu Everest Tibetan Plateau Rong River Changtse Rongbuk Glacier North Face (Everest) East Rongbuk Glacier North Col north ridge route Lhotse Nuptse South Col route Gyachung Kang Cho Oyu
Makalu area - including Everest southern and northern climbing routes - as seen from the International Space Station. (The names on the photo are links to corresponding pages.)

References

Annotated closeup of Space Station image
  1. ↑ The height is often given as 8,481 m or 8,485 m.
  2. ↑ Daniel Duane (September–October 2005). "Career Climber". Sierra Magazine. Sierra Club. Archived from the original on July 14, 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Baume, Louis C. (1979). Sivalaya. Seattle, WA, USA: The Mountaineers. pp. 74–75. ISBN 0-916890-71-6.
  4. ↑ (Slovene) http://www.gore-ljudje.net/novosti/35160/
  5. ↑ Roskelley, John (1993). Stories Off The Wall. Seattle, WA, USA: The Mountaineers. pp. 137–152. ISBN 0-89886-609-X.
  6. ↑ Batard, Marc (1989). "Makalu West Buttress, One-Day Solo Ascent". American Alpine Journal. New York, NY, USA: American Alpine Club. 31 (63): 188. ISBN 0-930410-39-4.
  7. ↑ Beghin, Pierre (1990). "Cold Sweat on Makalu". American Alpine Journal. New York, NY, USA: American Alpine Club. 32 (64): 1–6. ISBN 0-930410-43-2.
  8. ↑ Krakauer, Jon (June 1993). "What's a Nice Southern Girl Doing in a Place Like This?". Outside. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
  9. ↑ "Jean-Christophe Lafaille obituary". The Independent. 2006-02-09. Archived from the original on 2008-01-20. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
  10. ↑ "Simone Moro and Denis Urubko: Makalu first winter ascent". PlanetMountain.com. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  11. ↑ "Simone Moro and Denis Urubko make winter history on Makalu". MountEverest.net. Retrieved 2009-03-01.

Further reading

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