Makalu[3](Nepali:मकालु हिमाल,romanized:Makālu himāl;Chinese:Mã tạp lỗ phong;pinyin:Mǎkǎlǔ Fēng) is thefifth-highest mountainon Earth, with asummitat anelevationof 8,485 metres (27,838 ft)AMSL.It is located in theMahalangurHimalayas19 km (12 mi) southeast ofMount Everest,on theChina–Nepalborder. One of theeight-thousanders,Makalu is an isolated peak shaped like a four-sidedpyramid.
Makalu has two notable subsidiary peaks. Kangchungtse, or Makalu II (7,678 m), lies about three kilometres (two miles) north-northwest of the main summit. Rising about 5 km (3 mi) north-northeast of the main summit across a broad plateau, and connected to Kangchungtse by a narrow, 7,200 msaddle,isChomo Lonzo(7,804 m).
Climbing history
editThe first climb on Makalu was made by an American team led by Riley Keegan in the spring of 1954. The expedition was composed ofSierra Clubmembers including Bill Long andAllen Steck,and was called the California Himalayan Expedition to Makalu.[4] They attempted the southeast ridge but were forced to turn back at 7,100 metres (23,300 ft) by a constant barrage of storms. A New Zealand team includingSir Edmund Hillarywas also active in the spring, but did not get very high due to injury and illness. In the fall of 1954, a French reconnaissance expedition made the first ascents of the subsidiary summits Kangchungtse (October 22: Jean Franco,Lionel Terray,sirdarGyalzen Norbu Sherpa and Pa Norbu) and Chomo Lonzo (likely on October 30:Jean Couzyand Terray).[5]
First ascent
editMakalu was first summited on May 15, 1955, byLionel TerrayandJean Couzyof a French expedition led by Jean Franco. Franco, Guido Magnone and Gyalzen Norbu Sherpa summitted the next day, followed by Jean Bouvier, Serge Coupé, Pierre Leroux and André Vialatte on the 17th. This was an amazing achievement at the time, to have the vast majority of expedition members summit, especially on such a difficult peak. Prior to this, summits were reached by one to two expedition members at most, with the rest of teams providing logistical support before turning around and heading home. The French team climbed Makalu by the north face and northeast ridge, via the saddle between Makalu and Kangchungtse (the Makalu-La), establishing the standard route.[5]
An ascent without oxygen was attempted by the1960-61 Silver Hut expeditionbut neither of the two attempts succeeded.
Notable ascents
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- 1955North Face to Northeast RidgeFA byLionel TerrayandJean Couzyof France.[5]
- 1970:Southeast RidgeFA of ridge attempted by the Americans in 1954,[6]was made by Y. Ozaki and A. Tanaka fromJapanon May 23.[7]
- 1971: The very technicalWest Pillarroute was climbed in May by Frenchmen B. Mellet and Y. Seigneur.[5]
- 1975:South Face– an expedition led byAleš Kunaverreached the top of Makalu up its steep southern side, becoming the first Slovenes to summit an eight-thousander. The first amongst them was Stane Belak. This was the third ascent of an eight-thousand meter peak by a great mountain face and the highest peak successfully summitted without supplementary oxygen (Marjan Manfreda).[8]
- 1976 – South pillar route completed by Czechoslovak expedition (first attempt in 1973 ended shortly before Makalu South at 8010m due to the fatal fall of Jan Kounický). Route goes via south buttress to Makalu South and then via southeast ridge. Makalu South was climbed by 11 expedition members. Two of them – Karel Schubert and Milan Kriššák summited main summit together with Jorge Camprubi from Spanish expedition which climbed southeast ridge. Karel Schubert died after bivouac near the summit.[citation needed]
- 1980: The second ascent of theWest Pillarwas completed in May byJohn Roskelley(summit), Chris Kopczynski, James States and Kim Momb, without Sherpa support and without bottled oxygen.[9]
- 1981: On 15 October renowned Polish climberJerzy Kukuczkaascended Makalu via a new route up the north-western side and north crest. Kukuczka climbed solo, inAlpine style,without supplemental oxygen.[10]
- 1982: On 10 October Polish climber Andrzej Czok ascended Makalu via West face till 8000m and north-western ridge. Camp IV was reached by two more climbers, Janusz Skorek and Andrzej Machnik, but when their first summit attempt failed, Czok decided to try one more time solo.[11]
- 1988: Frenchman Marc Batard climbed in one day (after camps were set up) to the summit via theWest Buttresson April 27.[12]
- 1989:Direct South Face,solo new start by Frenchman Pierre Beghin to 1975 Yugoslav route.[13]
- 1990: First female ascent,Kitty Calhounvia the West Pillar route.[14]
- 1994: On May 15, the anniversary of thefirst summit (1955),Anatoli BoukreevandNeal Beidleman.Anatoli has planned a record speed ascent, but gave up that idea after realising his tent in camp III was destroyed by strong wind. He made an ascent in 46 hours.[citation needed]
- 1997: After seven failed attempts between 1977 and 1996, the West face was finally ascended. A Russian expedition led by Sergey Efimov brought Alexei Bolotov, Yuri Ermachek, Dmitri Pavlenko, Igor Bugachevski and Nikolai Jiline to the summit.[15]This ascent won the 1998Piolet d'Or.
- 2006: On or about January 27 the French mountaineerJean-Christophe Lafailledisappeared on Makalu while trying to make the first winter ascent.[16]
- 2009: Makalu was first climbed in winter on February 9, 2009, by ItalianSimone Moroand Kazakh Denis Urubko.[17][18]It was the final Nepali eight-thousander to be climbed in the winter. Moro had previously made the first winter ascent ofShishapangmain winter 2005 with PolePiotr Morawski.
- 2022: EcuadorianKarl Egloffset a new speed record by ascending in 17 hours 18 minutes on May 8, 2022. He climbed without sherpa support and without bottled oxygen.[19]
- 2022:Adrian Ballingermade the first ski descent, skiing from 15m below the summit to the foot of the glacier.[citation needed]
Makalu-Barun Valley
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Makalu-Barun Valleyis a Himalayan glacier valley situated at the base of Makalu in the Sankhuwasabha district of Nepal. This valley lies entirely inside theMakalu Barun National Park.
View
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In other media
editIn theInspector Gadgetepisode "Weather in Tibet," the criminal organization MAD has built a weather control machine atop Mount Makalu.[citation needed]
Makalu Peak is referenced in the animatedX-Men: Evolutionseries episode titled "Dark Horizon – Part 2". It is the burial place of the villainApocalypse.[citation needed]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^The elevation is often given as 8,481 or 8,485 m (27,825 or 27,838 ft).
References
edit
- ^ab "Mountaineering in Nepal Facts and Figures 2018"(PDF).Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation.Nepal in Data.Kathmandu: Government of Nepal. June 2018. p. 145.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2019-12-23.Retrieved2019-12-23.
- ^"Peak Bagger:Himalaya, Central Nepal Himalaya, Khumbu, Ghurka Himal, Annapurna Himal, Xishapangma Area, Sikkim-Eastern Nepal Himalaya, Western Nepal Himalaya, Assam Himalaya, Punjab Himalaya, Bhutan Himalaya, Garwhal Himalaya, Ganesh Himal".Retrieved22 October2024.
- ^Searle, Mike (March 2013). "Mapping the Geology of Everest and Makalu".Colliding Continents.Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/oso/9780199653003.003.0013.ISBN978-0-19-965300-3.Retrieved2021-01-29.
- ^Daniel Duane (September–October 2005)."Career Climber".Sierra Magazine.Sierra Club.Archived fromthe originalon July 14, 2007.
- ^abcdBaume, Louis C. (1979).Sivalaya.Seattle, WA, USA: The Mountaineers. pp. 74–75.ISBN0-916890-71-6.
- ^ Dunmire, William W.; Unsoeld, William (1955)."Makalu, 1954, California Himalayan Expedition".American Alpine Journal.New York, NY, USA:American Alpine Club.Retrieved2016-12-26.
- ^ Hara, Makoto; Asami, Masao (1971)."Makalu's South Ridge".American Alpine Journal.American Alpine Club.Retrieved2016-12-26.
- ^(in Slovene)http:// gore-ljudje.net/novosti/35160/
- ^Roskelley, John (1993).Stories Off The Wall.Seattle, WA, USA: The Mountaineers. pp. 137–152.ISBN0-89886-609-X.
- ^ Kurtyka, Voytek (1983)."Makalu West Face Attempt and Solo Ascent of the Unclimbed North Ridge of Makalu".The Himalayan Journal.39.The Himalayan Club.Retrieved2022-12-03.
- ^ Bilczewski, Adam (1984)."Makalu West Face".The Himalayan Journal.40.The Himalayan Club.Retrieved2022-12-03.
- ^ Batard, Marc (1989)."Makalu West Buttress, One-Day Solo Ascent".American Alpine Journal.31(63). American Alpine Club: 188.ISBN0-930410-39-4.Retrieved2020-08-01.
- ^ Beghin, Pierre (1990)."Cold Sweat on Makalu".American Alpine Journal.32(64). American Alpine Club: 1–6.ISBN0-930410-43-2.Retrieved2016-12-26.
- ^ Krakauer, Jon(June 1993)."What's a Nice Southern Girl Doing in a Place Like This?".Outside.Retrieved2016-04-06.
- ^ Efimov, Sergei (1998)."The West Face of Makalu".American Alpine Journal.Translated by Nekhai, Sergei. American Alpine Club.Retrieved2016-12-26.
- ^ "Jean-Christophe Lafaille obituary".The Independent.2006-02-09. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-01-20.Retrieved2007-10-27.
- ^"Simone Moro and Denis Urubko: Makalu first winter ascent".PlanetMountain.Retrieved2009-02-10.
- ^"Simone Moro and Denis Urubko make winter history on Makalu".MountEverest.net. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-02-12.Retrieved2009-03-01.
- ^"Makalu FKT: Ecuadorians Climb in 17h 18m".explorersweb.Retrieved2023-02-10.
- ^Delhi, Hugh Tomlinson (May 2019)."Blizzard of ridicule greets Indian army's yeti footprint claims".The Times.
Further reading
edit- Franco, Jean,Makalu: 8470 metres (27,790 feet): the highest peak yet conquered by an entire team,J. Cape, 1957.
- Terray, Lionel (1963).Conquistadors of the Useless.Victor Gollancz Ltd. pp. 323–335.ISBN0-89886-778-9.
External links
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- Makalu on SummitPost
- Makalu on Himalaya-Info.org (German)
- "Makalu".Peakware.Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-04.
- Ascents and fatalities statistics