Zemu Gap Peak or Zemu Peak () is a peak on a high ridge running east of the south summit of

Kangchenjunga Kangchenjunga is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak River and Jongsang La, and ...

in 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 ...

. It is located in

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

It is one of the highest unclimbed named peaks of the world. There have been no known attempts to climb this peak. A number of expeditions in the 1920s and 1930s investigated the peak and made early, ascent attempts. In 1925, N. Tombazi, a Greek photographer, claimed to have reached the summit via the South, but as no photographs were taken at the summit, the attempt was disputed. At the same time, Tombazi also claimed to have made some early sightings of the

Yeti The Yeti ()"Yeti"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. is an ape-like creature purported t ...

while climbing in the region. British explorer Bill Tilman made a traverse of the Zemu Gap in 1938. Mountaineering in Sikkim was abundant during the time of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, with most climbing activity in the region taking place between 1929-1939. In the years since, the saddle ''Zemu Gap'' () has been rarely attempted by climbers, partly due to its remoteness and difficult approach, with wide crevasses preventing passage. In 2008, a British team consisting of Adrian O’Connor, Colin Knowles and Jerzy Wieczorek that was attempting to reach the saddle ''Zemu Gap'' from the south was prevented by icefall and poor weather. In December 2011, an Indian expedition consisting of Thendup Sherpa, Anindya Mukherjee, Pemba Sherpa, Phurtemba Sherpa and Gyalzen Sherpa made the first documented successful ascent of the saddle ''Zemu Gap'' over the course of a 16-day expedition. On 15 December, Thendup Sherpa, Anindya Mukherjee and Pemba Sherpa summitted ''Zemu Gap'' after a six hour climb from camp 3. In 2012,

The Himalayan Club The Himalayan Club is an organization founded in India in 1928 along the lines of the Alpine Club. The stated mission of the organization was "to encourage and assist Himalayan travel and exploration, and to extend knowledge of the Himalaya and a ...

awarded the inaugural Jagdish Nanavati Award for Excellence in Mountaineering for the achievement.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Anindya Mukherjee ''Zemu Gap From the South: The First Documented Ascent''

Mountains of Sikkim

See also

References

External links