Rakaposhi
Encyclopedia
Rakaposhi (Urdu
: راکا پہشئ), is a mountain
in the Karakoram
mountain range
in Pakistan
. It is situated in the Nagar Valley
approximately 100 km north of the city of Gilgit
in the Gilgit District
of the Gilgit-Baltistan province of Pakistan. Rakaposhi means "Snow Covered" in the local language. Rakaposhi is also known as Dumani ("Mother of Mist"). It is ranked 27th highest in the world and 12th highest in Pakistan, but it is more popular for its beauty than its rank might suggest.
Rakaposhi was first climbed in 1958 by Mike Banks
and Tom Patey
, members of a British
-Pakistan
i expedition, via the Southwest Spur/Ridge route. Both of them suffered minor frostbite
during the ascent. Another climber slipped and fell on the descent and died during the night.
has dedicated the Rakaposhi range mountain area as a community park. The Minister for Northern Areas inaugurated the park. The Rakaposhi mountain range is the home of endangered species
such as Marco Polo sheep
, Snow Leopard
, brown bear
, wolves and many other species.
. There are magnificent views of Rakaposhi from the Karakoram Highway
on the route through Hunza. A tourist spot in the town of Ghulmat (located in the Nagar Valley
) called "Zero Point of Rakaposhi" is the closest convenient view point of the mountain.
In 2005 Nazeem Khan Climbed up the peak of This Mountain (Mubeen Khan the eye witness of this historic event)
Attempts have also been made from the east side (Bagrot Glacier), the East Ridge, and the North Face.
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
: راکا پہشئ), is a 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 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,...
mountain range
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
in 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...
. It is situated in the Nagar Valley
Nagar Valley
The Nagar Valley is a valley near Gilgit Valley in the Gilgit Baltistan of Pakistan. The valley is part of Hunza Nagar District and is administratively subdivided into two tehsils namely Nagar-1 and Nagar-2. The valley is situated at an elevation of 2,438m . Nagar Khas is the main town and the...
approximately 100 km north of the city of Gilgit
Gilgit, Pakistan
Gilgit is the capital city of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Gilgit City forms a tehsil of Gilgit, within Gilgit District. Its ancient name was Sargin, later to be known as Gilit, and it is still called Gilit or Sargin-Gilit by local people...
in the Gilgit District
Gilgit District
Gilgit District is one of the districts of the federal territory of Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan. It was formed in 1970 when Gilgit-Baltistan was federally administered as the "Northern Areas". It is bounded by the Wakhan Corridor to the north; Xinjiang to the northeast and east; Skardu,...
of the Gilgit-Baltistan province of Pakistan. Rakaposhi means "Snow Covered" in the local language. Rakaposhi is also known as Dumani ("Mother of Mist"). It is ranked 27th highest in the world and 12th highest in Pakistan, but it is more popular for its beauty than its rank might suggest.
Rakaposhi was first climbed in 1958 by Mike Banks
Mike Banks (mountaineer)
Mike Banks is a British climber and mountaineer. He has climbed in all continents and the Arctic. During his career as an officer in the Royal Marines, he was a member of the British North Greenland Expedition ....
and Tom Patey
Tom Patey
Tom Patey was a Scottish climber, mountaineer and writer. Although he was a leading Scottish climber of his day, particularly excelling on winter routes, he his probably best known for his humorous songs and prose about climbing, many of which were published posthumously in the collection One...
, members of a 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...
-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...
i expedition, via the Southwest Spur/Ridge route. Both of them suffered minor frostbite
Frostbite
Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
during the ascent. Another climber slipped and fell on the descent and died during the night.
Park
The people of NagarNagar, Pakistan
Nagar is a town near to the Gilgit Valley in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of northern Pakistan. The town is located in Hunza–Nagar District and was the capital of the former State of Nagar...
has dedicated the Rakaposhi range mountain area as a community park. The Minister for Northern Areas inaugurated the park. The Rakaposhi mountain range is the home of endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
such as Marco Polo sheep
Marco Polo sheep
The Marco Polo sheep is a subspecies of argali sheep, named after Marco Polo. Their habitat is the mountainous regions of Central Asia. Marco Polo sheep are distinguishable mostly by their large size and spiraling horns. Their conservation status is "near threatened" and efforts have been made to...
, Snow Leopard
Snow Leopard
The snow leopard is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of South Asia and Central Asia...
, brown bear
Brown Bear
The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...
, wolves and many other species.
Notable features
Rakaposhi is notable for its exceptional rise over local terrain. On the north, it rises 5800m in only an 11.5 km horizontal distance from the Hunza RiverHunza River
Hunza River is the principal river of Hunza, in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. It is formed by the confluence of the Kilik and Khunjerab nalas which are fed by glaciers. It is joined by the Gilgit River and the Naltar River before it flows into the Indus River.The river cuts through the...
. There are magnificent views of Rakaposhi from the Karakoram Highway
Karakoram Highway
The Karakoram Highway is the highest paved international road in the world, but at its peak at the China-Pakistan border it is only paved on the Chinese side. It connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram mountain range, through the Khunjerab Pass, at an altitude of as confirmed by both...
on the route through Hunza. A tourist spot in the town of Ghulmat (located in the Nagar Valley
Nagar Valley
The Nagar Valley is a valley near Gilgit Valley in the Gilgit Baltistan of Pakistan. The valley is part of Hunza Nagar District and is administratively subdivided into two tehsils namely Nagar-1 and Nagar-2. The valley is situated at an elevation of 2,438m . Nagar Khas is the main town and the...
) called "Zero Point of Rakaposhi" is the closest convenient view point of the mountain.
Time line
- 1892 Martin Conway explores the south side of Rakaposhi.
- 1938 M. Vyvyan and R. Campbell Secord make the first reconnaissance and climb a north-western forepeak (about 5,800m/19,000') via the northwest ridge.
- 1947 Secord returns with H. W. TilmanBill TilmanMajor Harold William "Bill" Tilman, CBE, DSO, MC and Bar was an English mountaineer and explorer, renowned for his Himalayan climbs and sailing voyages.-Early years and Africa:...
and two Swiss climbers; they ascend via the Gunti glacier to 5,800m/19,000' on the south-west spur. - 1954 Cambridge UniversityUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
team, led by Alfred Tissières, attempts the peak via the south-west spur but only reached 6,340m/20,800'. Also, an Austro-German expedition led by Mathias Rebitsch attempted the same route. - 1956 A British-American expedition, led by Mike Banks, reaches 7,163m/23,500' on the Southwest Ridge, above the Gunti glacier.
- 1958 The first ascent, noted above.
- 1964 An Irish expedition attempts the long and difficult Northwest Ridge.
- 1971 Karl Herrligkofer leads an attempt on the elegant but difficult North Spur (or North Ridge).
- 1973 Herrligkofer returns to the North Spur but is again unsuccessful due to time and weather problems.
- 1979 A Polish-Pakistani expedition ascends the Northwest Ridge from the Biro Glacier.
- 1979 A Japanese expedition from Waseda UniversityWaseda University, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...
, led by Eiho Ohtani, succeeds in climbing the North Spur. Summit party: Ohtani and Matsushi Yamashita. This ascent was expedition-style, done over a period of six weeks, with 5000m of fixed rope. - 1984 A Canadian team achieves a semi-alpine-style ascent of the North Spur, using much less fixed rope than the Japanese team had. Summit party: Barry BlanchardBarry BlanchardBarry Blanchard is one of North America's top alpinists, noted for pushing the standards of highly technical, high-risk alpine climbing in the Canadian Rockies and the Himalayas.- Climbing accomplishments :...
, David Cheesmond, Kevin Doyle. - 1985-1987 Various unsuccessful attempts on the long East Ridge.
- 1986 A Dutch team climbs a variation of the Northwest Ridge route.
- 1995 An ascent via the Northwest Ridge.
- 1997 An ascent via the Southwest Spur/Ridge (possibly the original route).
- 2000 An attempt from the East side (Bagrot Glacier).
- 2003 A Mountaineering expedition team of Chiltan Adventures Association Balochistan led by Hayatullah Khan DurraniHayatullah Khan DurraniHayatullah Khan Durrani is a Pakistani cave explorer, mountaineer, environmentalist, organizer, and a rescuer. He is also a part-time sports anchor actor in Pakistani Television shows. He played a significant role in the promotion of mountaineering and caving adventure sports in Pakistan,...
with coordination Malik Abdul Rahim Baabai & Noor Mohammad Khilji followed by Saad Tariq Saddiqi Manager of the team from Alpine Club of Pakistan (Islamabad) achieves ascent of the Southwest Spur/Ridge (first ascent route. expedition members Abdul Samad Khilji (Late)Mohammad Ali Khan Mandokhail (Late) Syed Taimoor Shah (Late) Nasibullah Khilji (Late) the others were stayed at 6000m ,
In 2005 Nazeem Khan Climbed up the peak of This Mountain (Mubeen Khan the eye witness of this historic event)
Climbing routes
The routes with successful summits so far have been (see the timeline as well):- Southwest Spur/Ridge (first ascent route). Long, but not exceedingly technical. Some tricky gendarmes (rock pinnacles). Has been repeated.
- Northwest Ridge. Long, and more technically difficult than the SW Spur/Ridge. Has been repeated.
- North Spur (a.k.a. North Ridge). Shorter than the above two routes, but much more technically difficult. Has been repeated, including a semi-alpine-style (capsule style) ascent.
Attempts have also been made from the east side (Bagrot Glacier), the East Ridge, and the North Face.
Sources
- Jill Neate, High Asia: An Illustrated History of the 7000 Metre Peaks, ISBN 0-89886-238-8.
- Andy Fanshawe and Stephen Venables, Himalaya Alpine-Style, Hodder and Stoughton, 1995 ISBN 0-89886-456-9.
- Himalayan Index
- DEM files for the Himalaya/Karakoram (Corrected versions of SRTM data)
See also
- List of mountains in Pakistan
- Northern Areas, Pakistan
- Highest Mountains of the World
- List of Ultras of the Western Himalayas
External links
- Rakaposhi on Summitpost.org
- A Rakaposhi web page
- Photos from Rakaposhi, by Waqas Usman
- A list of mountains by local relief and steepness showing Rakaposhi as the world #3.
- Northern Pakistan - highly detailed place marks of towns, villages, peaks, glaciers, rivers and minor tributaries in Google Earth