Teram Kangri II
Teram Kangri II is a 7,407-meter (24,301-foot) summit in the remote eastern Karakoram, forming part of the Teram Kangri massif in the Siachen Muztagh. Although it rises higher than nearly every mountain outside the Himalaya and Karakoram, it is generally considered a subsidiary summit because it is closely connected to the higher Teram Kangri I.
The mountain has an especially interesting climbing history. Teram Kangri II was first climbed during the landmark 1975 Japanese expedition that also made the first ascent of Teram Kangri I. Three years later, an Indian Army expedition climbed the mountain from the Siachen Glacier side in an ascent that became closely associated with the exploration and geopolitical history of the region.
Today, Teram Kangri II remains one of the least commonly visited 7,000-meter summits of the Karakoram. Extreme altitude, enormous glaciers, complex terrain, and tightly controlled access all contribute to its remarkable isolation.
⚡ Fast Facts
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Continent | Asia |
| Mountain Range | Karakoram |
| Subrange | Siachen Muztagh |
| Mountain Group | Teram Kangri Group |
| Political Location | Boundary region between Chinese-administered Xinjiang and the Indian-administered Siachen area of Ladakh |
| Elevation | Approximately 7,407 m / 24,301 ft |
| Prominence | Approximately 167 m / 548 ft |
| Isolation | Approximately 1.33 km / 0.83 mi |
| Nearest Higher Neighbor (NHN) | Teram Kangri I |
| Parent Peak | Teram Kangri I |
| Coordinates | Approximately 35.5705° N, 77.0884° E |
| First Ascent | August 12, 1975 |
| First-Ascent Expedition | Shizuoka University Alpine Club, Japan |
| Expedition Leader | Hajime Katayama |
| Notable Second Ascent | October 13, 1978, Indian Army expedition |
| Terrain | Snow, ice, glaciers, steep faces, and high ridges |
🏔️ Where Is Teram Kangri II?
Teram Kangri II rises in the Siachen Muztagh, an eastern division of the Karakoram. It sits immediately southeast of Teram Kangri I and forms part of a tightly connected chain of extremely high summits overlooking the Teram Shehr and Siachen glacier systems.
The political geography of the mountain is unusually complicated. The Teram Kangri group lies along the boundary between Chinese-administered territory in Xinjiang and the Indian-administered Siachen region of Ladakh, within the broader disputed Kashmir region.
For this reason, geographic databases may list Teram Kangri II under both China and India or describe it as lying on a disputed international boundary.
Its remote position is only part of the challenge. The mountain is surrounded by glaciers, high passes, military-sensitive terrain, and neighboring peaks exceeding 7,000 meters, making it one of the least accessible major summits in Asia.
📏 How High Is Teram Kangri II?
Teram Kangri II is commonly given an elevation of approximately 7,407 meters (24,301 feet).
Published figures vary slightly. Historical climbing accounts frequently list the summit at 7,406 meters or 24,300 feet, while the Indian Mountaineering Foundation has also used a figure of approximately 7,404 meters. Differences of a few meters are common for remote Karakoram summits because mapping and surveying methods have changed considerably over time.
At around 7.4 kilometers above sea level, Teram Kangri II is extraordinarily high by any global standard.
However, elevation alone does not determine whether a summit is regarded as an independent mountain.
📐 Prominence and Isolation
Teram Kangri II has only about 167 meters (548 feet) of topographic prominence.
Its key col is approximately 7,240 meters above sea level, connecting the summit with the much more prominent Teram Kangri I.
This low prominence means Teram Kangri II is generally considered a subsidiary summit of the Teram Kangri massif rather than a fully independent mountain in rankings that use topographic prominence.
Its isolation is approximately 1.33 kilometers (0.83 miles). The nearest higher terrain is on Teram Kangri I, which rises only a short distance to the northwest.
The contrast is striking: Teram Kangri II is higher than thousands of recognized mountains around the world, yet its close relationship with Teram Kangri I keeps it from appearing on many lists of the world’s highest independent peaks.
🗻 The Teram Kangri Massif
Teram Kangri II belongs to a spectacular cluster of high summits.
Teram Kangri I is the principal peak, rising to approximately 7,462 meters (24,481 feet). Its prominence of roughly 1,702 meters makes it an ultra-prominent mountain.
Teram Kangri II lies immediately southeast of the main summit and reaches approximately 7,407 meters.
Teram Kangri III rises nearby to approximately 7,382 meters (24,219 feet). Although slightly lower than Teram Kangri II, Teram Kangri III has substantially greater prominence and is therefore more topographically independent.
Together, the summits form one of the most impressive high-altitude massifs of the eastern Karakoram.
📜 Early Exploration of the Region
The modern geographical history of the Teram Kangri group is closely connected with the exploration of the Siachen Glacier.
British explorer Tom Longstaff entered the region in 1909 and helped establish the enormous extent of the Siachen Glacier. During those explorations, the Teram Kangri massif was identified and named.
The name is associated with Teram Shehr, which in turn is linked with a Yarkandi legend describing a settlement believed to have existed in the glacier region.
Early maps of the eastern Karakoram were necessarily approximate. Few explorers had entered the upper Siachen region, and enormous glaciers and high mountain walls made accurate surveying extremely difficult.
The combination of geographical uncertainty and limited access persisted well into the 20th century.
🧗 First Ascent of Teram Kangri II
Teram Kangri II was first climbed on August 12, 1975, during a Japanese expedition from the Shizuoka University Alpine Club led by Hajime Katayama.
The expedition consisted of Katayama and 17 other members. The team began its long approach from Khapalu on June 1, traveling through Goma and Ali Bransa before crossing Bilafond La and moving through the Lolofond and Siachen glacier systems.
Base Camp was established at approximately 16,900 feet on July 10. The team then created an advanced base near the junction of the Teram Shehr Glacier and established five progressively higher camps.
On August 12, Kazuo Kodaka and Yasunori Kobayashi climbed over Teram Kangri II by its south ridge before continuing toward the principal summit.
They then followed the connecting terrain to reach the summit of Teram Kangri I, completing the first ascent of the massif’s highest peak.
Other members of the expedition also reached Teram Kangri II, making the 1975 expedition the undisputed first ascent of the secondary summit.
🧗 The 1978 Indian Army Expedition
Teram Kangri II returned to international mountaineering attention in 1978, when an Indian Army team led by Colonel Narinder “Bull” Kumar approached the mountain through the Nubra Valley and Siachen Glacier.
The expedition was operated through the High Altitude Warfare School and represented a major journey into a region that remained poorly mapped and rarely visited.
The team established an advanced base at roughly 17,000 feet near the junction of the Siachen and Teram Shehr glaciers.
Camp I was positioned at approximately 19,000 feet below the mountain’s south face. From there the climbers examined several possible routes through terrain threatened by hanging glaciers and avalanches.
Rather than following the ridge used during the Japanese expedition, the Indian team attempted a more direct route on the south face.
🧗 Climbing the South Face
The south face presented serious objective hazards.
Large hanging glaciers threatened sections of the route, while the approach crossed heavily crevassed ice. The expedition spent days examining avalanche patterns before selecting a line involving a rib on the face.
Higher camps were established as the team moved upward through steep snow, ice, gullies, and exposed terrain.
Repeated summit attempts were disrupted by bitter cold and powerful winds. Frostbite affected members of the expedition, and the team came close to abandoning the climb.
A final summit attempt nevertheless went ahead.
On October 13, 1978, Puran Chand, Awtar Singh, and Kalam Singh reached the summit at approximately 4:45 p.m.
Their climb represented the second ascent of Teram Kangri II and an important early Indian mountaineering achievement in the eastern Karakoram.
📖 The “Virgin Peak” Confusion
The historical record surrounding the 1978 climb contains an unusual correction.
Colonel Kumar’s published expedition account initially described Teram Kangri II as a virgin peak, implying that the Indian Army team had made its first ascent.
That claim was subsequently corrected by the Himalayan Club.
A correction published in the Himalayan Journal explicitly stated that Teram Kangri II had already been first climbed by the Japanese expedition led by Hajime Katayama on August 12, 1975.
The American Alpine Journal later made the same clarification when describing the 1978 expedition, identifying it as the second ascent of the mountain.
The confusion may have resulted from the extremely limited information available about earlier expeditions in this remote and politically complicated region.
Today, the 1975 Japanese ascent is well established in the historical record.
🧭 Teram Kangri II and the Siachen Story
The 1978 expedition became significant for reasons extending far beyond mountaineering.
Colonel Narinder Kumar was one of the central figures in India’s exploration of the Siachen Glacier during the late 1970s and early 1980s. His expeditions helped produce firsthand knowledge of an enormous high-altitude region whose political status and cartographic treatment were increasingly important.
The Teram Kangri II expedition required the team to travel deep into the Siachen glacier system from the Indian side, giving military mountaineers direct experience of terrain that had previously been visited primarily by foreign expeditions approaching from the west.
Further Indian expeditions followed, including a major traverse of the Siachen Glacier in 1981.
Mountaineering history and geopolitical history consequently became closely intertwined in the region.
🧊 Glaciers and Terrain
Teram Kangri II rises above one of the most heavily glaciated landscapes outside the polar regions.
The Siachen Glacier dominates the wider area, while the Teram Shehr Glacier and smaller tributary glaciers surround the Teram Kangri massif.
Historical expeditions encountered enormous crevasse fields, hidden snow bridges, avalanche-prone slopes, hanging glaciers, steep ice, and long stretches of exposed high-altitude terrain.
The 1978 expedition described crossing the broad Teram Shehr Glacier before reaching the base of the south face. From there, the climbers faced gullies bordered by rock and unstable ice formations.
The scale of the landscape adds significantly to the difficulty. Even reaching the base of Teram Kangri II historically required days or weeks of travel across glaciers before the actual ascent began.
🌦️ Climate and Weather
Conditions on Teram Kangri II are severe even during the most favorable climbing periods.
The summit rises above 7,400 meters, where atmospheric pressure is dramatically lower than at sea level. Climbers experience severe oxygen deprivation, greatly reduced physical performance, slower decision-making, and increased vulnerability to altitude illness.
Strong winds can produce extreme wind chill, while snowfall can obscure crevasses and destabilize steep slopes.
The eastern Karakoram is influenced by both western weather systems and, to varying degrees, the South Asian monsoon. Conditions can change quickly, particularly at high elevations.
The October timing of the 1978 summit ascent meant the Indian team also encountered increasingly cold temperatures as the Karakoram winter approached.
🌿 Flora and Fauna
Virtually no plant life survives on the upper slopes of Teram Kangri II.
The summit and surrounding high ridges are dominated by permanent snow, glacier ice, exposed rock, and extreme cold. Conditions at these elevations are far above the normal limit for sustained vascular plant growth.
At lower elevations in Ladakh and the eastern Karakoram, the environment transitions into alpine steppe and cold desert. Sparse grasses, cushion plants, shrubs, and other hardy vegetation can survive where soil, shelter, and seasonal meltwater are available.
Wildlife of the broader Karakoram region includes animals adapted to extreme altitude and aridity. Mountain ungulates, small mammals, raptors, and elusive predators occupy suitable habitat well below the summit zone.
The vast ice fields immediately around Teram Kangri II, however, support little terrestrial life.
🏔️ Nearby Mountains
The Teram Kangri group lies among numerous major peaks of the eastern Karakoram.
Teram Kangri I is the nearest higher summit and the dominant peak of the massif.
Teram Kangri III rises nearby and forms another important summit of the group.
Apsarasas Kangri lies farther east within another complex of 7,000-meter peaks.
Singhi Kangri rises to the northwest, while Saltoro Kangri dominates the Saltoro Mountains across the wider Siachen region.
Farther southeast, Rimo I reaches approximately 7,385 meters within the Rimo Muztagh.
🧭 Can Teram Kangri II Be Climbed Today?
Access to Teram Kangri II is highly controlled.
The Indian Mountaineering Foundation includes Teram Kangri I, II, and III in Area C of the Eastern Karakoram expedition system, alongside Apsarasas, Singhi Kangri, Sia Kangri, Ghent, and other objectives.
Expeditions require government clearance, formal applications, and specialized arrangements. Joint expeditions involving foreign climbers are subject to additional requirements because of the sensitive nature of the region.
The mountain should therefore not be considered an ordinary expedition destination comparable with commercially climbed Himalayan peaks.
Even where permission is available, the combination of extreme altitude, glacier travel, technical terrain, remoteness, and logistical complexity demands an experienced expedition team.
⭐ Why Teram Kangri II Is Remarkable
Teram Kangri II illustrates why elevation alone does not define a mountain.
At more than 7,400 meters, it is one of Earth’s highest named summits. Yet because only about 167 meters separate it topographically from Teram Kangri I, it is usually treated as a subsidiary peak rather than an independent 7,000-meter mountain.
Its mountaineering history makes it much more than a secondary summit.
The 1975 Japanese ascent formed part of the first successful climb of the entire Teram Kangri massif. The 1978 Indian Army ascent followed a dramatically different line up the south face and became part of the larger story of exploration in the Siachen Glacier region.
Few places combine extreme geography, climbing history, glaciology, and geopolitics as completely as the mountains surrounding Siachen.
Teram Kangri II stands directly at the center of that story.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How high is Teram Kangri II?
Teram Kangri II rises to approximately 7,407 meters (24,301 feet). Some sources give slightly different elevations, including 7,406 or 7,404 meters.
Where is Teram Kangri II?
It is located in the Siachen Muztagh of the eastern Karakoram, along the boundary region between Chinese-administered Xinjiang and the Indian-administered Siachen area of Ladakh.
Is Teram Kangri II a separate mountain?
It is a named summit but has only about 167 meters of prominence, so it is generally regarded as a subsidiary summit of Teram Kangri I rather than a fully independent mountain.
Who first climbed Teram Kangri II?
The summit was first reached during the Japanese Shizuoka University Alpine Club expedition led by Hajime Katayama on August 12, 1975. Kazuo Kodaka and Yasunori Kobayashi crossed the summit while continuing toward Teram Kangri I, and other expedition members also climbed Teram Kangri II.
Was Teram Kangri II first climbed in 1978?
No. An Indian Army expedition led by Colonel Narinder Kumar climbed it in 1978, but the Himalayan Club later formally corrected the original claim that it was a virgin peak. The 1978 climb was the mountain’s second ascent.
Who reached the summit in 1978?
Puran Chand, Awtar Singh, and Kalam Singh reached the summit on October 13, 1978.
What is the nearest higher mountain?
The nearest higher summit is Teram Kangri I, approximately 1.3 kilometers away.
Can Teram Kangri II be climbed today?
Potential expeditions are subject to strict permitting and government clearance because Teram Kangri II lies within the sensitive Eastern Karakoram and Siachen region.
🔗 Related Articles
- Teram Kangri
- Teram Kangri III
- Apsarasas Kangri
- Singhi Kangri
- Saltoro Kangri (K10)
- Rimo I
- K12 Mountain
- Karakoram
- Saltoro Mountains
📚 Sources
- Peakbagger — Teram Kangri II
- American Alpine Club — Teram Kangri, 1975 Expedition
- American Alpine Club — Teram Kangri II, 1975
- Himalayan Club — Teram Kangri II Expedition
- Himalayan Club — Corrections, Himalayan Journal Volume 37
- Himalayan Club — Eastern Karakoram: A Historical Review
- Himalayan Club — Saga of Siachen
- Indian Mountaineering Foundation — Expedition Application Process
