 Lhakpa Ri Mountain (7,045m./23,000ft.) is the newly becoming famous
expedition in Tibet; and many climbers have been attracted these days
to
this mountain climbing through Tibet side.
Lhakpa Ri is an ideal objective, remarkably positioned just across the
glacier from Everest. It shares the historic route up the East Rongbuk
Glacier and is climbable by a relatively safe and straightforward
route. It
is just over the milestone altitude of 7,000m, making it higher than
anything outside Asia and is probably the most climbable 7,000m peak in
the
world.
The mountain is one of several peaks that line the east flank of the
East
Rongbuk Glacier. The summit is a prominent three-sided pyramid which
drops
to the East Rongbuk Glacier to the west, the Kharta Glacier to the east
and
falls steeply to a tributary glacier of the Kangshung to the south. The
slopes from the Rongbuk an Kharta Glaciers are relatively low angled
and
are linked by the Lhakpa La pass (6,849m), which is just to the north
of
Lhakpa Ri . It was from this pass, in 1922, that Mallory and his team
mates
first saw the East Rongbuk Glacier, an event well documented in
mountaineering annals.
George Mallory was in fact the first person ever to set foot on the
Lhakpa
Ri mountain when he climbed to the nearby Lhakpa La from the eastern
side
during the first Everest reconnaissance of 1921. The first ascent of
the
Lhakpa Ri had to wait another fifteen years and was climbed by the
indomitable Bill Tilman during the Everest reconnaissance of 1936. The
second ascent was made in 1988 by the French Everest summiter Michelle
Pelle.
On the summit day you will be required to walk up a snow slope wearing
crampons and using a ice axe but during the trip from base camp to
Lhakpa
Ri we will have had plenty of opportunities to practice basic snow and
ice
travel and those who wish to acquire the techniques for correct glacier
travel will do so. The last 30m/100ft to the true summit is quite
exposed
but very easy. It will safeguarded by fixed rope. You will be clipped
into
the rope so even if your have a vaso bagal attack or your first grand
mall
seizure at such an inopportune moment you cannot fall.
The summit view from Lhakpa Ri rivals that from many of the world's
greatest mountains. It gives very unusual vies of some of the world's
best
known mountains and excellent views of some very little known
mountains.
Amongst the highlights are the Nyonno Ri range in eastern Tibet, the
north
face of Chomolonzo and the north faces of Makalu and Pethangtse. Also
the
beautiful and little known peak of Shartse and the frightening
Kangshung
(east) face of Everest and the east face of Lhotse.
There is an unrivalled view of the north east ridge of Everest, the
North
Col, Changtse, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma. You also have a chance to
grasp
the immensity of the Tibetan plateau as you can see hundreds of miles
across the wildest of landscapes. |
