Kanchenjunga
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Kanchenjunga (also called Kangchenjunga, Kangchen Dzö-nga, Khangchendzonga, Kanchenjanga, Kachendzonga, or Kangchanfanga) is the third highest mountain in the world and the second highest in Nepal, located in the Taplejung district straddling the frontier between Nepal and India.
The rough translation of Kanchenjunga is "Five Treasures of the Snow", as it contains five peaks over 8,000 metres. Until 1852, Kanchenjunga was assumed to be the highest mountain in the world, but calculations made by the British 1849 Great Trigonometric Survey showed Mount Everest to be the highest and Kanchenjunga the third-highest.
Kanchenjunga was first climbed on May 25, 1955 by George Band and Joe Brown of a British expedition. The British expedition honored the beliefs of the Sikkimese, who hold the summit sacred, by stopping a few feet short of the actual summit. Most successful summit parties since then have followed this tradition. After the alteration of the Nepalese/Indian frontier in 1975, Kanchenjunga became the tallest mountain in India.
Climbing History
- 1905 The Kanchenjunga expedition (1905) was the first attempt, headed by Aleister Crowley. Unsuccessful, it reached 6200 metres.
- 1929 A German expedition reaches 7400m/24,300' before being turned back by a five-day storm.
- 1955 Joe Brown and George Band make first ascent on May 25.
- 1978 A Polish team makes the first successful ascent of the south summit (Kangchenjunga II).
- 1983 Pierre Beghin makes the first solo ascent and without oxygen.
- 1986 On January 11, Krzysztof Wielicki and Jerzy Kukuczka, Polish climbers make the first winter ascent.
- 1991 Marija Frantor and Joze Rozman attempt the first ascent by a woman but their bodies are later found below the summit headwall.
- 1992 Wanda Rutkiewicz died on a summit attempt after she refused to descend in an approaching storm.
- 1998 Ginette Harrison becomes the first and only woman to reach the summit. She died in an avalanche while attempting Dhaulagiri in 1999.
See Kangchenjunga History (http://www.k2news.com/kanghistory.htm) for a more detailed account.
The Kanchanjunga Conservation Area (KCA) covers 2035 km2 surrounding the mountain on the Nepalese side.
See also: Kanchenjungha
In literature
Kanchenjangaattashi.jpg
- In the Swallows and Amazons series of books by Arthur Ransome, a high mountain in the Lake District is given the name Kanchenjunga when it is climbed by the children in 1931. It was based on the actual mountain The Old Man of Coniston. Presumably Ransome used the name as Kanchenjunga was in the news when he wrote the book.
External link
- Kangchenjunga on Peakware (http://www.peakware.com/encyclopedia/peaks/kangchenjunga.htm) - photos
| Eight-thousander series | |
| Everest | K2 | Kanchenjunga | Lhotse | Makalu | Cho Oyu | Dhaulagiri | Manaslu | |
| Nanga Parbat | Annapurna | Gasherbrum I | Broad Peak | Gasherbrum II | Shishapangma |
Kanchenjunga is also a visual RAD tool for producing Java client applications for use with Postgres95. ca:Kanchenjunga da:Khangchendzonga de:Kangchenjunga es:Kanchenjunga fr:Kangchenjunga ja:カンチェンジュンガ nn:Kantjendjunga no:Kanchenjunga pl:Kangchenjunga fi:Kanchenjunga