Makalu Makalu is an 8,485-meter (27,838-foot) mountain on the border between Nepal and Tibet and the fifth-highest mountain on Earth. Rising southeast of Mount Everest, it is one of the most visually distinctive of the world’s fourteen 8,000-meter peaks, forming an immense four-sided pyramid with sharp ridges and steep faces of snow, ice, and dark …
Category: Mountain Field Guide
Aug 19 2023
Lhotse
Lhotse (ལྷོ་རྩེ) Lhotse is an 8,516-meter (27,940-foot) mountain on the border between Nepal and Tibet and the fourth-highest mountain on Earth. It rises immediately south of Mount Everest and is so closely connected with the world’s highest mountain that the two share the same approach and much of the same standard climbing route. Despite that …
Aug 19 2023
Machapuchare
Machapuchare (Machhapuchchhre, Machhapuchhre, माछापुच्छ्रे) Machapuchare is a spectacular 6,993-meter (22,942-foot) mountain in the Annapurna Himal of north-central Nepal. Better known around the world as Fishtail Mountain, it is instantly recognizable from Pokhara and the surrounding foothills because of the twin summit points that, from certain angles, resemble the forked tail of a fish. Despite standing …
Aug 19 2023
Kala Patthar
Kala Patthar (Kala Pattar) Kala Patthar is a famous high-altitude viewpoint in Nepal’s Khumbu region, rising on the southern ridge of Pumori immediately above the settlement of Gorak Shep. It is one of the most popular side trips on the Everest Base Camp trek because it provides something that Everest Base Camp itself cannot: a …
Aug 19 2023
Diran
Diran Diran is a 7,266-meter (23,838-foot) mountain in the western Karakoram of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Rising east of the much larger Rakaposhi massif, it is one of the most recognizable mountains above the Nagar and Hunza region, where its broad snow-covered pyramid contrasts sharply with the jagged granite and ice peaks surrounding it. The mountain was …
Aug 19 2023
Paiju Peak
Paiju Peak (Paiyu Peak, Payu Peak) Paiju Peak is a 6,610-meter (21,686-foot) mountain in the Baltoro Muztagh of the Karakoram in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Rising immediately northwest of the lower end of the Baltoro Glacier, it occupies one of the most traveled landscapes in the entire Karakoram. Thousands of trekkers heading toward K2, Broad Peak, the …
Aug 19 2023
Great Trango Tower
Great Trango | Great Trango Tower Great Trango Tower is a 6,286-meter (20,623-foot) mountain in the central Karakoram of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Rising immediately north of the Baltoro Glacier, it belongs to the spectacular Trango Towers group, whose enormous granite walls have become some of the most famous technical climbing objectives on Earth. The mountain is …
Aug 19 2023
Skyang Kangri
Skyang Kangri (سکیانگ کنگری) | Skyank Kangri | Staircase Peak Skyang Kangri is a 7,544-meter (24,751-foot) mountain in the Baltoro Muztagh of the central Karakoram, rising on the border between Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan and Xinjiang in China. Located only a few kilometers northeast of K2, it stands in one of the highest and most heavily …
Aug 14 2023
Muztagh Tower
Muztagh Tower (Mustagh Tower) Muztagh Tower is a spectacular 7,273-meter (23,861-foot) mountain on the border between Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan and Xinjiang in China. Rising in the Baltoro Muztagh of the central Karakoram, it stands between the Baltoro and Sarpo Laggo glacier systems and is one of the most visually distinctive high mountains in Asia. For …
Aug 14 2023
Baintha Brakk
Baintha Brakk (بائنتھا براک) Baintha Brakk is a 7,285-meter (23,900-foot) granite mountain in the Panmah Muztagh of the Karakoram in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Better known internationally as The Ogre, it is one of the most technically formidable high mountains in the world, combining enormous granite walls with steep ice, corniced ridges, avalanche terrain, severe Karakoram weather, …