SenZible: The Nearest neighbor of Mt.Everest -Mt. Lhotse

Everest and Lhotse

Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain on Earth (after Mount Everest, K2 and Kangchenjunga) and is connected to Everest via the South Col. In addition to the main summit at 8,516 metres (27,940 ft) above sea level, Lhotse Middle (East) is 8,414 metres (27,605 ft) and Lhotse Shar is 8,383 metres (27,503 ft). It is located at the border between Tibet and the Khumbu region of Nepal.

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Lhotse is best known for its proximity to Mount Everest and the fact that climbers ascending the standard route on that peak spend some time on its northwest face. In fact Lhotse has the smallest topographic prominence value of any official eight-thousander, as it rises only 610 m (2,000 ft) above the South Col. Hence it is often seen as a minor eight-thousander.
However, Lhotse is a dramatic peak in its own right, due to its tremendous south face. This rises 3.2 km (2.0 mi) in only 2.25 km (1.4 mi) of horizontal distance, making it the steepest face of this size in the world. The south face has been the scene of many failed attempts, some notable fatalities, and very few ascents

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View Abode of God -K2

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The name Lhotse comes from the Tibetan Lho meaning south and Tse meaning peak, so Lhotse means South Peak, the south peak of Mount Everest. Similarly, Nuptse means the west peak of Mount Everest and Changtse means the north peak of Mount Everest.
The western flank of Lhotse is known as the Lhotse Face. Any climber bound for the South Col on Everest must climb this 1,125m (3,700 ft) wall of glacial blue ice. This face rises at 40 and 50 degree pitches with the occasional 80 degree bulges. High altitude climbing Sherpas and the lead climbers will set fixed ropes up this big wall of ice. Climbers and porters need to establish a good rhythm of front-pointing and pulling themselves up the ropes using their Jumar. Two rocky sections called the Yellow Band and the Geneva Spur interrupt the icy ascent on the upper part of the face.

Everest and Lhotse From Kala Pattar

Everest Lhotse

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Everest, Lhotse South Face, Lhotse, Lhotse Middle, Lhotse Shar Close Up From Hongu Valley

Lhotse First Ascent

The first ascent of Lhotse Main was made by a Swiss expedition, with Ernst Reiss and Fritz Luchsinger reaching the Lhotse summit on May 18, 1956. The Swiss team also made the second summit of Everest by Ernst Schmied and Jurg Marmet on May 23 and Dolf Reist and Hansrudolf von Gunten on May 24.

Reiss: "On that savagely sculptured summit there was neither room to sit nor to put a rucksack down. We stood, holding on to the rim of the summit, looking at Everest's mighty south-western precipice and, near by, the rocky summit ridge of our own peak, plastered with ice crests and cornices."

Other Notable Lhotse Ascents

After a solo climb claimed by controversial Tomo Cesen in spring 1990, a 20-member Soviet team for sure made the first ascent of Lhotse Main by the south face. Despite bad weather, avalanches, ice-covered rock and dangerously corniced ridges, Sergei Bershov and Vladimir Karatayev made it to the summit on October 16, 1990.

The first ascent of Lhotse Main in winter was made by Krzysztof Wielicki of Poland on December 31, 1988

The first ascent of Lhotse Shar was made by Zepp Maierl and Rolf Walter on May 12, 1979 via the South East ridge.

The first ascent of Lhotse Shar via the south face was made by a Czech-Slovakian team, with Zoltan Demjan reaching the summit on May 20, 1984 via the Southwest spur. Bozik, Josef Rakoncaj and Jaryk Stejskal reached the summit the following day.

The first ascent of Lhotse Middle was made on May 23, 2001 by Eugeny Vinogradsky, Sergei Timofeev, Alexei Bolotov and Petr Kuznetsov of a Russian expedition. They climbed from the South Col, traversed the slopes of northeast wall with a number of technical difficult sections before reaching the summit. On May 24 Nikolay Zilin, Gleb Sokolov, and Yuri Koshelenko made it to the summit, and on May 27 Vladimir Yanochkin and Viktor Volodin also made it.

View Abode of God -K2

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Everest-Lhotse--Nuptse

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Google Earth Image Of Everest Kangshung East Face Trek

Google Earth Image Of Everest Nepal Trek

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5 Notable trivia Of Lhotse

1. Lhotse West And South Faces - are so close from Kongma La that you can almost reach out and touch them.

2. Lhotse West Face - the Lhotse West Face, the South Col and the Geneva Spur are perfectly visible from Knobby View north of Gokyo. The Lhotse West Face is also visible from Gokyo Ri, especially spectacular at sunset, and peaking out between Everest and Nuptse from Kala Pattar.

3. Lhotse East Face - spectacular full view at sunrise from the Kharta Valley in Tibet.

4. Lhotse South Face - visible from Namche all the way to Dingboche and Chukung on the trek to Mount Everest, from just above Makalu Base Camp South, and from Mera Peak.

5. Kathmandu Mountain Flight - the enormous Lhotse South Face and also the Lhotse West Face are visible.