Kusum Kanguru (alternatively Kusum Kangguru, Kusum Kangru, Kusum Kang, Kusum Khangru, Kusumkhang Karda or Mount Kanguru) 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 ...

in the Khumbu Region of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. Its name, Kusum Kanguru, means "Three Snow-White Gods" in the

Sherpa language Sherpa (also Sharpa, Sherwa, or Xiaerba) is a Tibetic language spoken in Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim, mainly by the Sherpa. The majority speakers of the Sherpa language live in the Khumbu region of Nepal, spanning from the Chinese ( ...

, which refers to the

triple summit Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * I ...

of the mountain. The main north-south ridge of Kusum Kanguru forms the border between the

Dudh Khosi Dudh Koshi (दुधकोशी नदी, ''Milk-Koshi River'') is a river in eastern Nepal. It is the highest river in terms of elevation. Dudh Koshi originates from the glacier lakes at the height of 5,100 meters above sea level and meets Sapt ...

to the west and the Hinku Valley to the east. The mountain is the main source of the

Kusum Khola ''Schleichera'' is a monotypic genus of plants in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. There is only one species, ''Schleichera oleosa'', a tree that occurs in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Species ''Schleichera oleosa'', kusum tr ...

(or Thado Koshi Khola) which flows westward to merge with the Dudh Khosi at the village of

Thado Koshi Thadou people, also called Thadou Kukis, are the Thadou language-speaking Kuki people inhabiting Northeast India, Burma, and Bangladesh. "Thadou" is also the name of a particular clan among the Thadou Kukis. Other clans of Thadou Kukis include H ...

. Kusum Kanguru is one of the first high snowy mountains that become visible while trekking from

Jiri Jiri () is a municipality in Dolakha District in the Bagmati Province of central Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 13,638 people. Jiri, which lies about 190 kilometers from Kathmandu, is the main gateway to the ...

to the

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 ...

base camp.

Climbing history

With an altitude of 6,367 metres (6,369m or 6,370m according to other map sources), the mountain is classified as a

trekking peak The term "Trekking Peak" is a commonly misunderstood colloquial term which may refer to a variety of types of peaks in the Himalayas, Himalayan Region. The term is most often associated with Group "B" NMA Climbing Peaks classified by the Nepal Moun ...

, but it is considered one of the most difficult to climb. Out of twenty two attempts between 1978 and 1998, nine successful expeditions have been reported. After four previously unsuccessful attempts by British, Japanese and two prior New Zealand expeditions, a Japanese expedition led by Ken Kanazawa reached the subsidiary northeast summit on 9 October 1979. The first successful ascent of the main summit was made by Bill Denz of New Zealand on 7 October 1981, climbing the southwest buttress (west face), and descending the northwest flank. Denz did not only realise the first ascent, but also the first solo ascent and the first traverse of Kusum Kanguru. Five days later, on 12 October 1981, a Japanese team made the second ascent via the southeast face. In the subsequent years, new routes have been opened, all of them technically very challenging. 1988 British Expedition led by Nick Mason, John Diplock and Julian Holmes conquered the previously unclimbed East Face. Expedition doctor was Rob Howarth who later worked in support of Everest Mountain Marathons. Expedition was filmed by Warwick Partington, former ITV & Channel 4 TV director.

References

External links

Alpine Journal on the 1991 ascent via the south pillar (pdf)

2011 attempt by a New Zealand team (pdf)
{dead link, date=December 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Mountains of Koshi Province Six-thousanders of the Himalayas

Climbing history

See also

References

External links