Changtse (, ) 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 t ...

situated between the Main Rongbuk and East Rongbuk Glaciers in

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, immediately north of

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

. It is connected to Mount Everest via the

North Col __NOTOC__ The North Col (; ) refers to the sharp-edged pass carved by glaciers in the ridge connecting Mount Everest and Changtse in Tibet. It forms the head of the East Rongbuk Glacier. When climbers attempt to climb Everest via the North Rid ...

. The given elevation of 7,543 metres is from modern Chinese mapping. Some authorities give 7,583 metres instead. The Changtse Glacier flows north into the East Rongbuk Glacier. It is possible that the third highest lake in the world is in the Changtse Glacier at .

Timeline

*1924

George Mallory George Herbert Leigh-Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an English Mountaineering, mountaineer who participated in the first three British Mount Everest expeditions from the early to mid-1920s. He and climbing partner An ...

and Andrew Irvine first to set foot on Changtse. They climbed the east ridge of Changtse to reconnoiter camp sites on the East Rongbuk Glacier. *1935 During the Mount Everest Reconnaissance a team with

Eric Shipton Eric Earle Shipton, CBE (1 August 1907 – 28 March 1977), was an English Himalayan mountaineer. Early years Shipton was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1907 where his father, a tea planter, died before he was three years old. When he was e ...

, Edmund Wigram and

Bill Tilman Major (United Kingdom), Major Harold William Tilman, Commander of the British Empire, CBE, Distinguished Service Order, DSO, Military Cross, MC and Bar, (14 February 1898 – November 1977) was an England, English mountaineering, mountaineer ...

attempted the North Peak from their Camp IIA . On August 21 they got to within of the summit before very deep and soft snow forced them to turn back. *1952

Reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

of Changtse via Changtse Glacier by

Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineering, mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa people, Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the Timeline of M ...

and

George Lowe George Edward Lowe (November 10, 1957 – March 2, 2025) was an American voice actor and comedian whose voice roles included Space Ghost on the animated series ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' and its spin-off, '' Cartoon Planet''. He continued ...

and a group of

Sherpa SHERPA (Securing a Hybrid Environment for Research Preservation and Access) is an organisation originally set up in 2002 to run and manage the SHERPA Project. History SHERPA began as an endeavour to support the establishment of a number of open ...

s. They reached an estimated elevation of before turning back after running low on supplies. *1982 The

first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...

of Changtse was unofficially made on October 3, 1982, by Johan Taks of the Dutch Everest Expedition who were officially climbing the north side of Everest. However, Taks climbed Changtse without a permit. *1982 The first official ascent of Changtse with a permit was completed 11 days later on October 14 by five members of a German expedition Udo Zehetleitner, Paul Braun, Rudolf Frick, Ludwig Hösle and Martin Engler. The ascent was made via the four kilometre-long NE Ridge from the junction of the East Rongbuk Glacier and Changtse Glacier. *1983 The next ascent (but illegal) and also the first solo was made by Chilean climber Gino Casassa May 14, 1983 by the same route used by the Germans. *1986 Changtse was climbed again by a large Chinese-Japanese expedition in 1986. This expedition put eight Japanese and 16 Chinese on the summit May 10 and May 11, 1986, again via the NE Ridge from the Changtse Glacier. Also included the first ascent by a woman, Mrs. Gunsung. *1986 American climber Ed Webster made the first solo ascent via the SE face from the foot of the North Col on August 28, 1986. Most of this climb was done at night, taking advantage of more stable snow and ice conditions. *1987 Australian climbers Rob Turner and Glen Nash reached the summit September 29, 1987 via the north face icewall (Japanese 1986 route) despite high winds.''Wild Issue 28'' (April 1988), pp 33-36.

Overview

References

Bibliography

* Astill, Tony. ''Mount Everest : The Reconnaissance 1935''. Published by the Author, 2005. {{Authority control Mountains of Tibet Seven-thousanders of the Himalayas