Saser Kangri (or
Sasir Kangri) is the highest peak in the
Saser MuztaghThe Saser Muztagh is the easternmost subrange of the Karakoram range, in the Kashmir region of India. It is bounded on the south, east and northeast by the Shyok River, which bends sharply around the southeast corner of the range...
, the easternmost subrange of the
KarakoramKarakoram is a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan , Ladakh , and Xinjiang...
rangeA mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes,...
in
IndiaIndia, 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, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
.
The Saser Kangri
massifIn geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term is also used to refer to a group of mountains formed by such a structure...
consists of four main peaks:
- Saser Kangri I at
- Saser Kangri II East at ; West at 7,500 metres
- Saser Kangri III at
- Saser Kangri IV at
This massif lies toward the northwestern end of the Saser Muztagh, at the head of the North Shukpa Kunchang Glacier, a major glacier which drains the eastern slopes of the group.
Saser Kangri (or
Sasir Kangri) is the highest peak in the
Saser MuztaghThe Saser Muztagh is the easternmost subrange of the Karakoram range, in the Kashmir region of India. It is bounded on the south, east and northeast by the Shyok River, which bends sharply around the southeast corner of the range...
, the easternmost subrange of the
KarakoramKarakoram is a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan , Ladakh , and Xinjiang...
rangeA mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes,...
in
IndiaIndia, 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, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
.
The Saser Kangri
massifIn geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term is also used to refer to a group of mountains formed by such a structure...
consists of four main peaks:
- Saser Kangri I at
- Saser Kangri II East at ; West at 7,500 metres
- Saser Kangri III at
- Saser Kangri IV at
This massif lies toward the northwestern end of the Saser Muztagh, at the head of the North Shukpa Kunchang Glacier, a major glacier which drains the eastern slopes of the group. The Sakang and Pukpoche Glaciers head on the western side of the group, and drain into the
Nubra RiverThe Nubra River is a tributary of the Shyok River, which flows into the Indus River. It flows in the Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir....
.
Early exploration and climbing attempts of Saser Kangri occurred on the western side, from the Nubra Valley; this is lower, more populated, and hence more easily accessible than the eastern side, which faces the
Tibetan PlateauThe Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Tibel-Qingai Plateau or Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province in China and Ladakh in Kashmir, India...
. Early European exploration included a visit in 1909 by famed explorer T. G. Longstaff, along with Arthur Neve and A. M. Slingsby. However, visits and failed climbing attempts by multiple groups on the western side over the period 1922-1970 showed that the western side was surprisingly difficult.
In 1973, an expedition of members of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police finally succeeded in making the first ascent of the peak, by a very different route. They approached the peak from the southeast, via the upper Shyok Valley and the North Shukpa Kunchang Glacier, a long and difficult journey. Only in 1987 did climbers succeed in ascending this peak from the western side: an Indian-British team successfully climbed the peak in conjunction with the first ascent of Saser Kangri IV.
Saser Kangri II West was first climbed in 1984 by an Indo-Japanese team. Saser Kangri II main remains unclimbed; The main peak is world's second highest unclimbed mountain after
Gangkhar PuensumGangkhar Puensum is the highest mountain in Bhutan and a strong candidate for the highest unclimbed mountain in the world with an elevation of 7570 metres and a prominence of over 2990 metres. It lies on the border with Tibet...
. Saser Kangri III was climbed by an Indian team using an eastern approach.