The Kangshung Glacier is one of the three main 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 Mount Everest

Mount Everest

Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...

, the others being the Khumbu Glacier

Khumbu Glacier

The Khumbu Glacier is located in the Khumbu region of northeastern Nepal between Mount Everest and the Lhotse-Nuptse ridge. With elevations of at its terminus to at its source, it is the world's highest glacier. The Khumbu Glacier is followed for the final part of the trail to Everest Base Camp....

 and Rongbuk Glacier

Rongbuk Glacier

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Rongbuk Glacier and Mount Everest as seen from the International Space Station.rect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateau...

. The Kangshung Glacier's accumulation areas lie on the three main faces of Everest. The Kangshung Glacier is located on the eastern side of the world's highest mountain in the government district of Shigatse

Shigatse

Shigatse is a county-level city and the second largest city in Tibet Autonomous Region , People's Republic of China, with a population of 92000, about southwest of Lhasa and northwest of Gyantse...

 in the Tibet Autonomous Region

Tibet Autonomous Region

The Tibet Autonomous Region , Tibet or Xizang for short, also called the Xizang Autonomous Region is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China , created in 1965....

 of the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

.

The common eastern face of Everest and Lhotse

Lhotse

Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain on Earth and is connected to Everest via the South Col. In addition to the main summit at 8,516 metres above sea level, Lhotse Middle is and Lhotse Shar is...

 is called the Kangshung Face. Here, the Kangshung Glacier is fed and then flows through the Kangshung Valley towards the east. South of the glacier east of Lhotse lie the Pethangtse (6738 m) and the massif of the Makalu

Makalu

Makalu is the fifth highest mountain in the world at and is located southeast of Mount Everest, on the border between Nepal and China...

 (8463 m) with its neighbouring peaks of Makalu II (7678 m - also called Kangshungtse) and Chomo Lonzo

Chomo Lonzo

Chomo Lonzo is a mountain in Tibet, 5 km northeast of Makalu in the Mahalungur or Khumbu Himalayas. Alternate spellings of the same name include Chomolonzo, Chomolönzo, Chomo Lönzo, Jomolönzo, and Lhamalangcho....

 (7818 m), whose imposing north face hides the view of the main summit. The border between Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

and China runs over this summit.

The east side of Mount Everest is the least accessible and developed side of the mountain. While the base camp on the Rongbuk Glacier can be accessed by jeep and the south side of Everest can be reached after a multi-day hike using fortified lodges for overnight stays, the Kangshung Glacier can only be reached following an approach march of several days, including a pass crossing.