Have you seen the movie Vertical Limit, where Peter Garrett, (Chris O’Donnell), a mountain climber, scales K2, the second highest mountain of the world to save his sister? Mountains have always been feared and respected by human beings. In Greek Mythology, Mount Olympus was the dwelling place of the Gods. Still now, in many religion of the world, mountains are considered as holy places. Now, I lay before you another surprising fact; the top ten highest mountains in the world are situated in South Asian region. You do not believe it? Here is the list of the top ten mountains of the world with location:
- Mount Everest………..Nepal/Tibet
- K-2………………………….Pakistan
- Kangchenjunga……….Nepal/India
- Lhotse………………………Nepal
- Makalu……………………..Nepal/Tibet
- Cho Oyu……………………Nepal/Tibet
- Dhaulagiri………………..Nepal
- Manaslu…………………….Nepal
- Nanga Parbat…………….Pakistan
- Annapurna………………….Nepal
This mountain became the major rival of Everest, after it was declared in 1986, by a group of climbers, to be 256 feet higher (29,284 feet) than Mount Everest. However, in 1999, another group of nine climbers proved it wrong. This mountain is situated in the Karakoram Range of Pakistan. It is 28,251 feet high and situated on the border between Pakistan and China. This mountain may be the second highest but height does matter when it comes to climbing. It is one of the most difficult mountains to climb. Till July 2000, 189 climbers were able to successfully climb the mountain.
This mountain is basically a combination of five peaks. The word “Kangchenjunga” means “The Five Treasures of Snows.” Four of these five peaks are above 8450 meters. These five treasures represent five repositories of God; gold, silver, gems, grain and holy books. From 1838 to 1849, it was considered to be the highest mountain in the world. Like K2, this mountain is also very difficult to climb and was not climbed till 1955. The first climbing mission took place in 1905 but four of the members died in avalanche. The next two ascents took place in 1977 and 1979 by Colonel N.Kumar and Doug Scott.
This 27,940 feet mountain is the world’s fourth highest mountain. Located on the border between China and Nepal, this mountain has three summits and they are respectively 8,516 metres, 8,414 metres (middle of the mountain) and 8,383 meters high. Since the mountain is connected with Everest by south, some people identify it as the south peak of the Everest, which is wrong. This mountain was first climbed as an alternative route to Mount Everest. In 1956, a Swiss team was the first to climb the mountain. Again in 1979, Zepp Mariel and Rolf Walter climbed to Lhoste Shar. In 1988, a polish climber, Krzysztof Wielicki climbed this mountain.
This 27,765 feet mountain is the fifth highest in the world. Situated about 14 miles east of Mount Everest, on the border between Nepal and China, this is an isolated mountain. The shape of this mountain is like a four sided pyramid. This mountain is very difficult to climb. The main reason behind this is its steep pitches and knife-edged ridges. Only five out of first sixteen attempts were successful. This mountain was first climbed by Lionel Terray and Jean Couzy who came with a French expedition team. In their second attempt, they were successful.
The height of this mountain is 26,906 feet. It is the sixth highest mountain in the world. The word “Cho Oyu” means “Turquoise Goddess” in Tibetan language. This mountain is located about 20 km west of Mount Everest, on the border of China and Nepal. If you are climbing Everest from North side, then you will see this mountain. It has become a landmark to the Everest climbers. The peak was first climbed by Herbert Tichy, with Sepp Jochler and Pasang Dava Lama in October 19, 1954. They reached the mountain peak without any oxygen. The second ascent of the mountain took place in 1958.
The word “Dhaulagiri” means "White Mountain". It is the seventh largest mountain in the world. The mountain is situated in a subrange of the Himalaya in North central Nepal. This mountain was discovered in 1808 and at that time was considered to be the highest mountain in the world. After thirty years, the record was taken away by Kungchenjunga. This mountain was first climbed by a Swiss/Austrian expedition team on May 13, 1960, lead by Max Eiselin. In that team there were Kurt Diemberger, Peter Diener, Ernst Forrer, Albin Schelbert, Nyima Dorji and Nawang Dorji. One of noticeable feature of this ascent was that it was supported by a fixed wing aircraft.
The name has derived from Sanskrit word “Manasha” which means “Mountain of the Spirit.” The mountain is 26,758 feet, which makes it the eighth highest mountain in the world. It is also known as Kutang. It is located forty miles east of Annapurna, the tenth highest mountain. This mountain has long ridges and valley glaciers which make it comparatively easy for the climbers but they were not successful in the beginning. A Japanese team first reached the peak in 1956 and till 1971 it was not climbed. From 1997 to 2002, only five American climbers were able to reach its peak.
This mountain is 26,658 feet high. It is the ninth highest mountain of the world and the second highest mountain in Pakistan. It is also known as Diamir. In Hindi “Nanga Parbat” means “Naked Mountain.” This mountain is very notorious among mountain climbers. The sherpas refer it as “The Maneater” or "The Mountain of the Devil". Located on the south of Indus River, this mountain was first climbed by an Austrian Climber Hermann Buhl. The most amazing thing about this mountaineer is that he reached the top of the mountain by himself. He even spent a whole night standing in the descent of the mountain.
Annapurna is a Sanskrit word which means “Goddess of the Harvests.” This mountain has a series of six peaks. The highest one is 26,545 feet high. The six peaks are:
Gangapurna………….24,457 ft
Annapurna is located in central Nepal. The interesting thing about this mountain is that different peaks are climbed by different people at different times. The main reason behind this is that the peaks of Annapurna are very difficult to climb. Until 2005, 103 successful climbs were done and 56 people died in different expeditions due to avalanches.
To human beings, mountain represents a great challenge. It is high, it is rugged and harsh. All these features make mountain climbing a very dangerous job. However, it is all these features that attract the adventure seekers. Until now, so many mountaineers have died trying to climb these mountains. Yet, they did not stop. The natural beauty, added with suffering and the thrill attract huge number of mountaineers from all over the world. If proper measures are taken by the government of these corresponding countries, then mountain trekking could be a good source of foreign currency.
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