Tupopdan, also known as Passu Cathedral or Passu Cones, is a mountain in northern

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Description

Tupopdan is a summit in the South Ghujerab Mountains subrange of the

Karakoram The Karakoram () is a mountain range in the Kashmir region spanning the border of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwestern extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range is withi ...

. The mountain is situated north of the village of

Passu Passu () is a small village in the Gojal valley of Upper Hunza in the Gilgit Baltistan region of Northern Pakistan. Located along the Karakoram Highway, Passu is a tourist destination. The village is known for its landscapes and views of the ...

and the mountain is one of the most scenic sights along the

Karakoram Highway The Karakoram Highway (, ), also known as the KKH, National Highway 35 (), N-35, and the ChinaPakistan Friendship Highway, is a National Highways of Pakistan, national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab p ...

. Precipitation runoff from this mountain's slopes drains into tributaries of the

Hunza River Hunza River () is the principal river within the Hunza region in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. It is formed by the confluence of the Chapursan and Khunjerab ''nalas'' (gorges) which are fed by glaciers. It is also joined by the Gilgit River ...

Topographic relief Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...

is significant as the north face rises 1,700 metres (5,577 ft) in , and the summit rises 3,600 metres (11,811 ft) above the Hunza River in . The first ascent of the summit was achieved on July 6, 1987, by

Andy Cave Andy Cave (born 1966) is a British mountaineer, mountain guide, and motivational speaker. He was nominated for the Piolet d'Or for his first ascent of the North Face of Changabang in 1997, and won the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Litera ...

and John Stevenson via the Northeast Ridge. One source claims that ''Tupopdan'' means "sun-drenched mountain", whereas another source states it is a Wakhi word meaning "hot rock" which alludes to snow shedding quickly from the south slopes in winter.

Climate

Based on the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Tupopdan is located in a

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. It is classified as ET according to the Köppen climate classification. It is a climate which at least one month has an average temperature high enough ...

zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool summers. Weather systems are forced upwards by the mountains (

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall. This climate supports two unnamed glaciers descending from the north slope. The summer months offer the most favorable weather for viewing or climbing this peak.''Passu Cones''
TravelerTrails, travelertrails.com, Retrieved June 1, 2025.

Gallery

File:Tupopdan (6106m) (crop).jpg, Tupopdan summit is left of center. South aspect. File:Passu Cones Upclose.jpg, Passu Cathedral from south File:Passu cathedral.jpg, Passu Cathedral File:Passu Cathedral from Attabad Lake.jpg, Passu Cathedral from Attabad Lake File:Passu-Cones crop.jpg, Tupopdan summit is left of center. South aspect.

References

External links

* Weather
Passu Cathedral
{{Portal bar, Mountains, Geography, Geology Mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan Six-thousanders of the Karakoram Hunza District

Description

Climate

See also

Gallery

References

External links