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About
Lhotse |
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Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain on Earth (after Mount
Everest, K2 and Kangchenjunga) and it is well-connected to
Everest via the South Col. Lhotse means “South Peak” in
Tibetan. In addition to the main summit at 8,516 metres
(27,940 ft) above sea level, Lhotse Middle (East) is 8,414 m
(27,605 ft) and Lhotse Shar is 8,383 m (27,503 ft). It is
located at the border between Tibet (China) and the Khumbu
region of Nepal.
Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain in the world, it is
located in the South of Everest massif, separated by the
Everest South col which always maintains itself on the upper
side of 8000 meters. Lhotse expedition is organized in post
monsoon season (Spring) though it can also be organized in
Autumn season on request. Lhotse is a massif of different in
the Lhotse range such as Lhotse shar, Lhotse middle, Lhotse
East and we climb the highest peak of the massif.
Mount Lhotse has an elevation of 8,516m, it lies south of
Mount Everest. Mt. Lhotse was first ascended in 1956. Nepal is
also known for its marvelous south face by Ernst Reiss and
Fritz Luchsinger who were both part of a Swiss expedition.
Lhotse Climbing route follows the Everest route untill Camp
III, then splits off to “Lhotse Camp 4” steep up the Camp III.
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Important Features of Lhotse |
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Lhotse is close to Mount Everest, and climbers ascending the
standard route on that peak spend some time on its northwest
face. Lhotse has the smallest topographic prominence value of
any official eight-thousander, as it rises only 610 m (2,000 ft)
above the South Col. Hence it is often seen as a minor eight-thousander.
However, Lhotse's south face rises 3.2 km in only 2.25 km of
horizontal distance, making it the steepest face of this size in
the world. The south face has been the scene of many failed
attempts, some prominent fatalities, and very few ascents. |
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Lhotse Face |
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The
western flank of Lhotse is known as the Lhotse Face. Any climber
bound for the South Col on Everest must climb this 1,125 m
(3,690 ft) wall of glacial blue ice. This face rises at 40 and
50 degree pitches with the occasional 80 degree bulges.
High-altitude climbing Sherpas and the lead climbers will set
fixed ropes up this wall of ice. Climbers and porters need to
establish a good rhythm of foot placement and pulling themselves
up the ropes using their jumars. Two rocky sections called the
Yellow Band and the Geneva Spur disrupt the icy ascent on the
upper part of the face. |
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The Trek |
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Lhoste is a frequently trekked mountain. Being far more
easier to trek than Mount Everest, mountaineers climb
Lhoste to get a close view of Everest. The following is a
possible day-to-day trekking route to Lhotse. Best Trek
Season to Lhotse is from April to May & Late September to
October. |
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Climbing |
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An
early attempt on Lhotse was by the 1955 International Himalayan
Expedition which was headed by Norman Dyhrenfurth. It also
included two Austrians (cartographer Erwin Schneider and Ernst
Senn) and two Swiss (Bruno Spirig and Arthur Spöhel), and was
the first expedition in the Everest area to include Americans
(Fred Beckey,George Bell, and Richard McGowan). The Nepalese
liaison officer was Gaya Nanda Vaidya. They were accompanied by
200 local porters and several climbing Sherpas. After a brief
look at the dangerous southern approaches of Lhotse Shar, they
turned their attention, during September and October, to the
West Cwm and the northwest face of Lhotse, on which they
achieved an elevation of about 8,100 metres (26,600 ft). They
were beaten back by unexpectedly strong wind and cold
temperatures. Under Schneider's direction they completed the
first map of the Everest area. The expedition also made several
short films covering local cultural topics, and made a number of
first ascents of smaller peaks in the Khumbu region.
The main summit of Lhotse was first climbed on May 18, 1956 by
the Swiss team of Ernst Reiss and Fritz Luchsingerfrom the Swiss
Mount Everest/Lhotse Expedition. On May 12, 1970, Rolf Walter
and Sepp Mayerl of Austria made the first ascent of Lhotse Shar.
Lhotse Middle remained, for a long time, the highest unclimbed
named point on Earth; on May 23, 2001, its first ascent was made
by Eugeny Vinogradsky, Sergei Timofeev, Petr Kuznetsov and
Alexei Bolotov of a Russian expedition. As of December 2008, 371
climbers have summitted Lhotse and 20 have died. |
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History of Climbing |
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First
serious attempt to reach Mount Lhotse summit was made in 1955 by
a group led by Norman Dyhrenfurth. Some local sherpas and
porters had accompanied the group. This expedition is also
attributed with making the first map of the region. The mountain
was finally climbed in 1956 by a Swiss group. As of date, more
than 200 mountaineers have reached Lhotse summit. Many
mountaineers have even died while trying to reach the summit of
Lhotse. |
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