Chomolhari

Introduction

Description

Chomolhari (Tibetan for "Mount of the Goddess"), sometimes called "the bride of Kangchenjunga", is a mountain in the Himalayas on the border of Yadong in the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the Paro district in Bhutan. The mountain is sacred for Tibetan Buddhists who make a pilgrimage to the sacred lake of Phari Dzong Chomo Lharang at about 5,100 m in the north of the mountain every year. The north face of the Chomolhari rises more than 2,700 m above the barren plain at their foot. Although the mountain is well known and offers a spectacular view of the Hautpthandelsroute of India in the Tibetan Pagri Valley, very few mountaineering activities took place there. This may have had its basis in the confidential pages of the Bhutanese authorities, as well as the difficulty of the routes from the Chinese side. The first ascent took place in May 1937 by a five-member British expedition. Freddie Spencer Chapman and Pasang Dawa Lama reached the summit of Bhutan from the southeast spur. The second successful ascent was by an Indo-Bhutanese military expedition in 1970, which was led by Colonel Narendra Kumar. The third ascent was made in 1996 by a Japanese-Chinese expedition reached the South Col from the Chinese side of the peak and climbed the South Ridge. In May 2004, English climber Julie-Ann and Roger Payne Clyma also reached the summit via the Col du Sud about 5,800 m high, after attempts to climb to the imposing north-west pillar, were vereitetlt by strong winds. In October 2006, a six-member Slovenian team opened two new routes and thus marked the fifth and sixth ascent. Rok Blagus, Tine Cuder, Samo Krmelj and Matej Kladnik took the route up the north face of the left couloir to the east ridge at about 7,100 m, while Marko Prezelj and Boris Lorencic climbed the north-west ridge in a six-day round trip. This tour gave Prezelj and Lorencic the Piolet d'Or in January 2007. There is no evidence that the mountain whose official height is just over 7,300 m, has ever been measured accurately. Her true amount might be closer to 7,000 m.