Machapuchare, Machhapuchchhre or Machhapuchhre (, Tamu: कतासुँ क्लिको), is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

situated in the

Annapurna Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the diffic ...

massif of Gandaki Province, north-central

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. Its highest peak has never been officially climbed due to the impossibility of gaining a permit from the government of Nepal.

Location

Machapuchare is at the end of a long spur ridge, coming south out of the main backbone of the Annapurna massif, which forms the eastern boundary of the

Annapurna Sanctuary The Annapurna Sanctuary is a high glacial basin lying 40 km directly north of Pokhara. This oval-shaped plateau sits at an altitude of over 4000 metres, and is surrounded by a ring of mountains, the Annapurna range, most of which are over 7 ...

. The peak is about north of the provincial headquarter of

Pokhara Pokhara ( ne, पोखरा, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Gandaki Province. It is the List of cities in Nepal, second most populous city of Nepal after Kathmandu, with 518,452 inhabitants living ...

. The sanctuary is a favorite trekking destination, and the site of the base camps for the South Face of Annapurna and for numerous smaller objectives. The

Mardi Himal Mardi Himal ( ne, मार्दी हिमाल) is a peak beneath the much more prominent Machapuchare Machapuchare, Machhapuchchhre or Machhapuchhre (, Tamu: कतासुँ क्लिको), is a mountain situated in the Annapu ...

trek, for instance, climbs towards a minor peak.

Notable features

Due to its southern position in the range and the particularly low terrain that lies south of the Annapurna Himalayas, which contains three of the 10 highest peaks in the world, Machapuchare commands tremendous vertical relief in a short horizontal distance. This, combined with its steep, pointed profile, makes it a particularly striking peak, despite a lower elevation than some of its neighbors. Its

double summit A double summit, double peak, twin summit, or twin peak refers to a mountain or hill that has two summits, separated by a col or saddle. One well-known double summit is Austria’s highest mountain, the Großglockner, where the main summit of t ...

resembles the tail of a fish, hence the name meaning "fish's tail" in Nepalese. It is also nicknamed the " Matterhorn of Nepal". It is a sacred peak for the Gurungs and the people of Chomrong.

Climbing history

It is believed that Machapuchare has never been climbed to its summit. The only confirmed attempt was in 1957 by a British team led by Lieutenant Colonel

Jimmy Roberts Jimmy Roberts (born 1957) is a sportscaster for NBC Sports. Roberts joined NBC in May 2000 after serving as a sports reporter for almost 12 years at ESPN and ESPN on ABC, ABC Sports where he won 11 Sports Emmy Awards. Early life and career Rober ...

. Climbers

Wilfrid Noyce Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, ...

and A. D. M. Cox climbed to within of the summit via the north ridge, to an approximate altitude of . Adhering to the word of honor given to the then King Mahendra, Noyce and his team descended without stepping on to the summit - thus publishing the only climbing record of the mountain a year later. No permits to climb the mountain have been issued since then. The mountain is said to be sacred as a home to the god

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

. There have been reports of a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

climber,

Bill Denz Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pla ...

, making a successful yet illegal attempt to the summit in the early 1980s.

Sources

* *

References

External links

Machapuchare on Summitpost

The world's 19 most staggeringly beautiful mountains
''The Telegraph'', April 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Machapuchare Sacred mountains Six-thousanders of the Himalayas Mountains of the Gandaki Province Sacred mountains of Nepal