Rongbuk Glacier

The Rongbuk Glacier (simplified Chinese: 绒布冰川; traditional Chinese: 絨布冰川; pinyin: Róngbù Bīngchuān) is located in the Himalaya of southern Tibet. Two large tributary glaciers, the East Rongbuk Glacier and the West Rongbuk Glacier, flow into the main Rongbuk Glacier. It flows north and forms the Rongbuk Valley north of Mount Everest. The famous Rongbuk Monastery is located at the northern end of the Rongbuk valley. Mount Everest is the source of the Rongbuk Glacier and East Rongbuk Glacier.

Discovery

The English climber George Mallory first explored the main Rongbuk Valley and its glacier while searching for possible routes to the summit of Mount Everest during the first British Everest reconnaissance expedition of 1921.

The East Rongbuk glacier was first explored by Edward Oliver Wheeler in August 1921 on the same expedition. Wheeler's exploration below the Lhakpa La pass led him on 3 August 1921 to realise that the East Rongbuk valley provided the key to a viable route to the summit of Everest.^[1] A few weeks later a party consisting of George Mallory, Guy Bullock and Oliver Wheeler explored the head of the valley via the Lhakpa La pass to become the first people to reach the North Col of Everest and set foot on the slopes of that mountain. See 1921 British Reconnaissance Expedition.^[2]^[3]

Location(s)

Rongbuk Glacier and Mount Everest as seen from the International Space Station.

Route to Everest

Climbing expeditions attempting the normal route from Tibet use this glacier to reach the Advanced Base Camp of Mount Everest at the upper end of the East Rongbuk Glacier. From there, climbing expeditions try to summit Everest by the North Col and the northeast ridge.^[4]

Environmental

Since 2007, American mountaineer and film-maker David Breashears has been chronicling the rapid disappearance of the Rongbuk glacier due to global climate change. Breashears has retraced the steps of Mallory's 1921 expedition, revealing a significant loss of ice mass across the West, Main and East Rongbuk Glaciers. In partnership with Asia Society and MediaStorm, Breashears' GlacierWorks^[5] has made the photos available online. In 80 years, the Rongbuk has shrunk by more than 300 vertical feet across the entire glacier, approximately the height of the Statue of Liberty.

Image gallery

Recent animation, Mount Everest at the top right.
View of Mount Everest and Rongbuk Valley from the Rongbuk Glacier
View of Mount Everest and Rongbuk Monastery

Overview

East Rongbuk Glacier

Notes

↑ Wade Davis - Into the silence, Vintage Books, London, 2012.
↑ Eric Simonson, Jochen Hemmleb, and Larry Johnson. "Outside Online Archives". OutsideOnline.com. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
↑ "Expedition to rewrite Everest history". BBC News. 1999-03-24. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
↑ "NOVA Online – Everest – Climb North – East Rongbuk Glacier". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
↑ http://www.glacierworks.org

References

Charles Howard-Bury, George Herbert Leigh-Mallory. Mount Everest: The Reconnaissance, 1921. Retrieved 2009-04-30.

External links

Glaciers of China

Mingyong Glacier Rongbuk Glacier Sarpo Laggo Glacier Siachen Glacier

Mount Everest

Topography and landmarks	Base Camp Geneva Spur Hillary Step Hornbein Couloir Kangshung Face Kangshung Glacier Khumbu Glacier Khumbu Icefall Lhakpa La Lho La North Col North Face Norton Couloir Rongbuk Glacier South Col South Summit Three Pinnacles Three Steps "Green Boots cave" Western Cwm

Expeditions	1921 British reconnaisance 1922 British 1924 British (Affair of the Dancing Lamas) 1933 British 1935 British 1936 British 1938 British 1950–52 British–Swiss–US reconnaissance 1951 British 1952 Swiss 1953 British 1975 British SW Face 1996 Indo-Tibetan Border Police 2006 Philippine 2007 Altitude Everest expedition Earth Day 20 International Peace Climb Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition Timeline of climbing Mount Everest List of Mount Everest guides

Disasters and notable deaths	1970 disaster 1974 avalanche 1996 disaster Green Boots David Sharp 2014 avalanche 2015 avalanches List of people who died climbing Mount Everest

Committees	Joint Himalayan Committee Mount Everest Committee

In media	Beyond the Edge The Climb (book) The Climb (2007 film) Everest (1998 film) Everest (2015 film) Everest (Indian TV series) Everest '82 Everest: Beyond the Limit EverestMax Expedition Everest (roller coaster) Into Thin Air The Man Who Skied Down Everest Mount Everest webcam Paths of Glory Peak The Wildest Dream Wings Over Everest

Mount Everest massif	Khumbutse Lhotse Lingtren Nuptse Pumori

Records	List of Mount Everest records Times to the summit 20th-century summiters

Coordinates: 28°6′7.2″N 86°51′54.87″E / 28.102000°N 86.8652417°E / 28.102000; 86.8652417

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