Khunyang Chhish
Encyclopedia
Khunyang Chhish or Kunyang Chhish is the second-highest mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 in the Hispar Muztagh
Hispar Muztagh
Hispar Muztagh is a sub-range of the Karakoram mountain range. It is located in the Gojal region of the Northern Areas of Pakistan, north of Hispar Glacier, south of Shimshal Valley, and east of the Hunza Valley. It is the second highest sub-range of the Karakoram, the highest being the Baltoro...

, a subrange of the Karakoram
Karakoram
The Karakoram, or Karakorum , is a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan , Ladakh , and Xinjiang region,...

 mountains of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. Alternate variations of the name include Kunyang Kish and Khiangyang Kish, among others. Its height is also sometimes given as 7823m. It is ranked 21st in the world and 8th in Pakistan.

Location

Khunyang Chhish lies in the heart of the Hispar Muztagh, north of the Hispar Glacier, one of the major glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

s of the Karakoram, and east of the Hunza
Hunza Valley
The Hunza Valley is a mountainous valley in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. The Hunza valley is situated to the north of the Hunza River, at an elevation of around . The territory of Hunza is about...

 River valley.
It rises on the southwest side of the Khunyang Glacier while Distaghil Sar
Distaghil Sar
Disteghil Sar or Distaghil Sar is the highest mountain in the Hispar Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram mountain range, in Gilgit-Baltistan. It is the 19th highest mountain on earth and the 7th highest peak in Pakistan...


(the highest peak of the Hispar Muztagh) dominates the glacier on its northern end.

Notable features

Khunyang Chhish is the 21st highest independent mountain
in the world. It is also notable for its rise above local terrain: for example, it rises
almost 4000m above its southern base camp on the Khunyang Glacier, and it rises
5500m above the Hunza valley in about 33 km. It is a steep, pointed, and complex peak; it
easily rivals the slightly higher Distaghil Sar
Distaghil Sar
Disteghil Sar or Distaghil Sar is the highest mountain in the Hispar Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram mountain range, in Gilgit-Baltistan. It is the 19th highest mountain on earth and the 7th highest peak in Pakistan...

, which has a more rounded profile.

Climbing history

The first climbing attempt on Khunyang Chhish was made in 1962 but the climb was aborted after an avalanche on 18 July killed two climbers, Major James Mills and Captain M. R. F. Jones. Their bodies were never recovered.

The next attempt was in 1965 but another climber died after the collapse of a narrow ridge at 7200 m (23,622 ft).

The first ascent was accomplished by a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 team led by Andrzej Zawada
Andrzej Zawada
Andrzej Zawada, born: Maria Andrzej Zawada, was a Polish Alpinist and Tatra mountains climber, pioneer of Polish Himalayism and winter Alpinism. Organiser and guide in numerous high-mountains expeditions...

 in 1971. They climbed a long route up the South Ridge of the peak from the Pumari Chhish Glacier. However, one of their members was killed in a crevasse accident.

The second, and only other recorded ascent, climbed the Northwest Spur to the North Ridge. Two British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 climbers, Mark Lowe and Keith Milne, completed this route on July 11, 1988. The route had first been attempted in 1980, and had been attempted again in 1981, 1982, and 1987.

The Himalayan Index lists three recent attempts on this peak, in 2000 and 2003.

See also


External links

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