Stok Kangri
Encyclopedia
1 E3 m
To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 1 kilometre and 10 kilometres .Distances shorter than 1 kilometre-Conversions:1 kilometre is equal to:* 1,000 metres...
(20,182 feet) is the highest mountain in the Stok Range of the Himalayas in the Ladakh
Ladakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
region of northwest India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The peak is located in Hemis National Park
Hemis National Park
Hemis National Park is a high altitude national park in the eastern Ladakh region of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India...
, 12 km southwest of the trailhead at 3,610 m
1 E3 m
To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 1 kilometre and 10 kilometres .Distances shorter than 1 kilometre-Conversions:1 kilometre is equal to:* 1,000 metres...
(11,845 feet) in the village of Stok and 24 km southwest of the Ladakhi capital of Leh. Despite its altitude, Stok Kangri is a popular peak and is often climbed as an initial non-technical foray into high altitude mountaineering.
In late July and August, all but the top of the peak may be snow-free, as can be seen by clicking on 33°59′11"N 77°26′32"E and following the Google Earth
Google Earth
Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
link, which leads to some excellent new high resolution satellite imagery. The elevation data was verified by GPS readings from 11 satellites at the Summit during a late July 2007 joint Nepalese-US expedition which encountered snow cover for 85% of the final four hour, four km, 900 meter climb.
The shortest and most popular approach to the peak ascends the Stok valley, along the Stok Chu. This valley's grazing landscape, especially near the village Stok
Stok
Stok or Stak, museum and gompa in village of the same name, situated in the Indus Valley 17 km south east of the Ladakhi capital, Leh. Stok is the current residence of the former royal family of Ladakh and the museum contains the shrines, crown, ceremonial dress and jewelry of the Ladakhi...
, was decimated by flooding in the first week of August 2006, the most severe in decades.
The first official winter season ascent was made in march/April 2002, by the Bicton college team, which had three members on the summit. Snow was so deep base camp was located over a mile down an adjacent valley pitched on the frozen river.
The peak has been judged safe enough to climb for teams by expedition companies, for example World Challenge who send many students every year.
The Perse School
The Perse School
The Perse Upper School is an independent secondary co-educational day school in Cambridge, England. The school was founded in 1615 by Dr Stephen Perse, a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and has existed on several different sites in the city before its present home on Hills...
's Exploration Society has previously summited the peak in 2009 and again in 2011 during a 4 week expedition in Ladakh
Ladakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
.