Shishapangma


Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the 14th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It was the last 8,000 metre peak to be climbed, due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions on visits by foreign travelers to the region imposed by authorities of the Government of China and of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Name

Geologist Toni Hagen explained the name as meaning a "grassy plain" or "meadow" above a "comb" or a "range" in the local Tibetan dialect, thereby signifying the "crest above the grassy plains".
On the other hand, Tibetologist Guntram Hazod records a local story that explains the mountain's name in terms of its literal meaning in the Standard Tibetan language: shisha, which means "meat of an animal that died of natural causes", and sbangma which means "malt dregs left over from brewing beer". According to the story, one year a heavy snowfall killed most of the animals at pasture. All that the people living near the mountain had to eat was the meat of the dead animals and the malt dregs left over from brewing beer, and so the mountain was named Shisha Pangma, signifiying "meat of dead animals and malty dregs".
The Sanskrit name of the mountain, Gosainthan, means "place of the saint" or "Abode of God". Still, its most common name is Shishapangma.

Geography

Shishapangma is located in south-central Tibet, five kilometres from the border with Nepal. It is the only eight-thousander entirely within Chinese territory. It is also the highest peak in the Jugal Himal which is contiguous with and often considered part of Langtang Himal. The Jugal/Langtang Himal straddles the Tibet/Nepal border. Since Shishapangma is on the dry north side of the Himalayan crest and further from the lower terrain of Nepal, it has less dramatic vertical relief than most major Himalayan peaks.
Shishapangma has a subsidiary peak higher than 8,000 m: Central-Peak at.

Ascents and attempts

Some of Shishapangma's ascents are not well verified, or still in dispute. Some climbers claim to have reached the summit when in fact they reached the slightly lower central summit at, which is still almost two hours climbing from the, true summit of. Respected Himalayan chronicler and record keeper, Elizabeth Hawley, famously got Ed Viesturs, to re-climb the true main summit of Shishapangma in his quest to climb all 14 eight-thousanders. Her "Himalayan Database" would not accept central summit ascents as full ascents of Shishapangma.
Thirty-one people have died climbing Shishapangma, including Americans Alex Lowe and Dave Bridges in 1999, veteran Portuguese climber Bruno Carvalho and also noted Bulgarian climber Boyan Petrov, who disappeared on 3 May 2018. Nevertheless, Shishapangma is regarded as one of the easiest eight-thousanders to climb. The most common ascent via the Northern Route ascends via the northwest face and northeast ridge and face, and has relatively easy access, with vehicle travel possible to base camp at. Routes on the steeper southwest face are more technically demanding and involve of ascent on a 50-degree slope.

First ascent

Shishapangma was first climbed via the Northern Route on 2 May 1964 by a Chinese expedition led by Xǔ Jìng. In addition to Xǔ Jìng, the summit team consisted of Zhāng Jùnyán, Wang Fuzhou, Wū Zōngyuè, Chén Sān, Soinam Dorjê, Chéng Tiānliàng, Migmar Zhaxi, Dorjê, and Yún Dēng.

Later ascents and attempts