Shishapangma, or Shishasbangma or Xixiabangma, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at 8027 m above sea level. It is located entirely within Tibet. In 1964, it became the final eight-thousander to be climbed.

Name

Geologist Toni Hagen explained the name as meaning a "grassy plain" or "meadow" (pangma) above a "comb" or a "range" (shisha or chisa) in the local Tibetan language, 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 (shisha sbangma), signifying "meat of dead animals and malty dregs". The name of the mountain, Gosainthan, means "place of the saint" or "Abode of God". The name is in use in popular literature. For example, in the comic strip Tintin in Tibet, a fictional Air India flight had crashed at Gosainthan. Tintin, Captain Haddock and the Sherpa team traveled to Gosainthan in search of Chang Chong-Chen.

Geography

Shishapangma is located in south-central Tibet, five kilometres from the border with Nepal. It and Nanga Parbat are the only eight-thousanders entirely within Chinese and Pakistan territory respectively. 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 farther from the lower terrain of Nepal, it has less dramatic vertical relief than most major Himalayan peaks. Shishapangma also has a subsidiary peak higher than 8,000 m, Central Peak, at 8008 m.

Ascents and attempts

Some of Shishapangma's ascents are not well verified, or still in dispute, with climbers potentially having only reached the slightly lower west peak at 7966 m or the central peak at 8008 m, which is still almost two hours of dangerous ridge-climbing from the 19 m true summit at 8027 m. Respected Himalayan chronicler and record keeper Elizabeth Hawley famously got Ed Viesturs (amongst others) to re-climb the true main summit of Shishapangma in his quest to climb all 14 eight-thousanders, as she would not accept central (or west) summit ascents as being full ascents of Shishapangma for her Himalayan Database. Thirty-one people have died climbing Shishapangma, including Americans Alex Lowe and Dave Bridges in 1999, veteran Portuguese climber Bruno Carvalho, and noted Bulgarian climber Boyan Petrov, who disappeared on 3 May 2018. Nevertheless, Shishapangma is considered one of the easiest eight-thousanders to climb. The most common ascent, via the North Route, traverses the northwest face and northeast ridge and face, and has relatively easy access, with vehicle travel possible to base camp at 5000 m. Routes on the steeper southwest face are more technically demanding and involve 2200 m 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 (张俊岩), Wang Fuzhou, Wū Zōngyuè (邬宗岳), Chén Sān (陈三), Soinam Dorjê (索南多吉), Chéng Tiānliàng (成天亮), Migmar Zhaxi (米马扎西), Dorjê (多吉), and Yún Dēng (云登).

Later ascents and attempts

Sources