Xixabangma (8027m) is the 14th highest
mountain in the world and is the highest peak located entirely
in Tibet, China. It was also the last of the 14 mountains
above 8000m to be climbed.
The first recorded ascent of Xixabangma
was in 1964 by a mammoth size Chinese Expedition consisting
of 195 climbers. Xixabangma has since then been climbed by
internationally acclaimed climbers from all over the world
including Reinhold Messner, Doug Scott, Roger Baxter-Jones,
Alex MacIntyre, Alan Hinkes Jerzy Kukuczka and Erhard Loretan.
As the height of the mountain is just above the Death Zone
(above 8000m), it has become an excellent stepping stone to
climb "oxygenless" above 8000m. Climbing Xixabangma is no
trivial task as 21 out of 167 summitters had perished (a fatality
rate of 1 in 8). The most tragic occurred in 1991 when six
Japanese climbers were buried in an avalanche and in 1999,
when top mountaineers Alex Lowe and Dave Bridges died on the
mountain. It was a great loss to the world of mountaineering.
Height: Main summit 8027m; Central
summit 8012m
14th highest mountain in the world
and one of the 14 8000er in the world
Location: Langtang Himal, Tibet
Latitude: 28° 21' n, longitude:
85° 47' e
Highest mountain entirely in Tibetan territory
Nearest 8000er to Kathmandu, capital
of Nepal, and the only 8000er visible from the capital
Last of the 14 8000er to be climbed
because of travel restriction imposed in Tibet during the
50s
First ascent: 2nd May 1964 by
a Chinese party numbering 195, led by Hsu Ching
Peak XXIII of the Indian survey
was known many years by the Sanskrit name Gosainthan, which
translates as place of the saint
Tibetan name is Shishapangma which
means "the range (Shisha) above the grassy plain",
which is exactly how it looks when approached from the north
After the Chinese occupation of
Tibet, a Sino-Tibetan name was given, Xixabangma, meaning
"bad weather".
Total ascents of Xixabangma as
of 31 Dec 1999: 167 (7 women)
