Regarded as a holy mountain by the Tibetans, Shishapagma (which is a corruption of its original Tibetan name – Chisa-Pangma, meaning "pasture meadow"), stands completely alone – a solitary and somewhat alien extrusion of the earth rearing its head from the barren and desolate Tibetan plateau. The mountain was known for a long time as Gosaithan, a Nepalese name that it assumedly took on because of its proximity to Gosaikunda, a sacred lake, which lies less than 30 km north of Kathmandu in the Jugal Himal range of the Langtang region. This peak, the least tall and the youngest among all the 8000-m Himalayan peaks, is the only one that lies entirely in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The most common climbing route to the top of Shishapagma is the Northwest Face and North Ridge route from the north side of the mountain. This was the very route followed by the first successful ascent of the mountain by a team of 10 Tibetan and Chinese mountaineers on May 2, 1964.
In order to climb the mountain, we first take a drive on the Kathmandu - Lhasa highway to reach the base camp of Shishapagma, which is situated at an altitude around 5,000 m. It takes four days to arrive at the base camp with a night's halt in the border town of Zangmu (on the Tibet side) and another two night's halt at Nyalam 3,750 m in between for acclimatization purpose. From the base camp, it takes another two days to reach the advance base camp (ABC) situated at an altitude of 5,600 m from where we make our assault on the mountain. Yaks are used to carry our climbing gear.
Technically not very demanding, this climb provides a good start for your quest to climb the other 8000-m peaks. Brilliant mountain views of the Jugal and Langtang Himal ranges on the Nepal-Tibet frontier can be taken in from the top of this beautiful mountain of which very little was known about until China opened up its doors to Westerners in 1978.
| Shishapagma Expedition (Tibet Side) |
Trip duration: 45 days
Climb duration: 24 days
Start / Finish: Kathmandu / Kathmandu
Entry/Exit: Zangmu (Tibet) |
|
| Day |
Itinerary |
Accomodation |
| 01 |
Arrival in Kathmandu and transfer to Hotel |
Hotel |
| 02 |
Kathmandu (briefing) |
Hotel |
| 03 |
Kathmandu |
Hotel |
| 04 |
Drive to Zangmu |
Guest House |
| 05 |
Drive to Nyalam |
Guest House |
| 06 |
Nyalam (Acclimatization day) |
Guest House |
| 07 |
Nyalam to Tingri |
Guest House |
| 08 |
Tingri to Shishapagma Base Camp |
Camping |
| 09-12 |
Base Camp |
Camping |
| 13-14 |
Advance Base Camp |
Camping |
| 15-38 |
Climbing period |
|
| 39 |
Advance Base Camp |
Camping |
| 40 |
Return to Base Camp |
Camping |
| 41 |
Clean up Base Camp |
Camping |
| 42 |
Drive to Nyalam |
Guest House |
| 43 |
Drive back to Kathmandu via Zangmu |
Hotel |
| 44 |
Kathmandu |
Hotel |
| 45 |
Transfer to airport for international departure |
|
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| Major mountains of Nepal |
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| |
Mountain |
Altitude |
 |
Mt. Everest |
8,848 m |
|
Mt. Kanchenjunga |
8,586 m |
|
Mt. Lhotse |
8,516 m |
|
Mt. Makalu |
8,463 m |
|
Mt. Cho-Oyu |
8,201 m |
|
Mt. Dhaulagiri |
8,167 m |
|
Mt. Manaslu |
8,163 m |
|
Mt. Annapurna |
8,091 m |
|
Mt. Shishapagma |
8,027 m |
|
Mt. Pumori |
|
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Mt. Baruntse |
7,129 m |
|
Mt. Amadablam |
6,812 m |
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