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Lhotse

__NOTOC__ Lhotse (in China officially Lhozê; Tibetan in Wylie transliteration: lho rtse ; Chinese: 洛子峰, Pinyin: Luòzǐ Fēng ) is the fourth highest mountain on Earth and is connected to Mount Everest via the South Col. In addition to the main summit at 8,516 metres above sea level, Lhotse Middle (East) is 8,414 metres and Lhotse Shar is 8,383 metres. It is located at the border between China and Nepal.

Lhotse (main) was first climbed on May 18, 1956 by the Swiss team Ernst Reiss and Fritz Luchsinger. On May 12, 1979, Zepp Maierl and Rolf Walter of Austria made the first ascent of Lhotse Shar. On May 23, 2001, the first ascent of Lhotse Middle was made by Eugeny Vinogradsky, Sergei Timofeev, Alexei Bolotov and Petr Kuznetsov of a Russian expedition.

On 31 December 1988, Krzysztof Wielicki, a Polish climber, completed the first winter ascent of Lhotse.

As of October 2003, 243 climbers have summitted Lhotse and 11 have died.

Elevation discrepancy

† A height of 8,501 m is sometimes given but official Nepalese and Chinese mapping agree on 8,516 m.

Timeline

  • 1956 First ascent of the main summit.
  • 1965 First attempt on Lhotse Shar by a Japanese expedition - reached 8,100m.
  • 1979 First ascent of Lhotse Shar
  • 1981 April 30 Second ascent of the main summit by Hristo Prodanov, Bulgaria.
  • 1981 October 16 Second ascent of Lhotse Shar Switzerland
  • 1984 May 20 Third ascent of Lhotse Shar Czechoslovakia
  • 1989 Jerzy Kukuczka perishes while climbing the South Face of Lhotse, when his secondhand rope breaks.
  • 1996 Chantal Mauduit became the first woman to reach the top of Lhotse.
  • 2001 First ascent of Lhotse Middle.

Lhotse Face

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 (3,700ft) 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.