Nuptse

Nuptse
Nuptse from Kala Patthar
Highest point
Elevation	7,861 m (25,791 ft)
Prominence	319 m (1,047 ft)
Listing	List of mountains in Nepal
Coordinates	27°57′59″N 86°53′24″E
Naming
Native name	ནུབ་རྩེ། नुबचे (Sherpa)
English translation	West Peak
Geography
Nuptse Solukhumbu District, Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal Nuptse Nuptse (Nepal) Nuptse Nuptse (Tibet)
45km 30miles Nepal Pakistan China 45 42 41 40 37 36 35 34 33 32 30 29 28 27 24 23 22 21 20 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 5 3 1    The major peaks (not mountains) above 7,500 m (24,600 ft) height in Himalayas, rank identified in Himalayas alone (not the world). The map may help give context to Nuptse with more detail and zooming on click through. Legend： 1：Mount Everest,  2：Kangchenjunga,  3：Lhotse,  4：Yalung Kang, Kanchenjunga West,  5：Makalu,  6：Kangchenjunga South,  7：Kangchenjunga Central,  8：Cho Oyu,  9：Dhaulagiri,  10：Manaslu (Kutang),  11：Nanga Parbat (Diamer) ,  12：Annapurna,  13：Shishapangma (Shishasbangma, Xixiabangma),  14：Manaslu East,  15：Annapurna East Peak,  16： Gyachung Kang,  17：Annapurna II ,  18：Tenzing Peak (Ngojumba Kang, Ngozumpa Kang, Ngojumba Ri),  19：Kangbachen,  20：Himalchuli (Himal Chuli),  21：Ngadi Chuli (Peak 29, Dakura, Dakum, Dunapurna),  22：Nuptse (Nubtse),  23：Nanda Devi,  24：Chomo Lonzo (Chomolonzo, Chomolönzo, Chomo Lönzo, Jomolönzo, Lhamalangcho),  25：Namcha Barwa (Namchabarwa),  26：Zemu Kang (Zemu Gap Peak),  27：Kamet,  28：Dhaulagiri II,  29：Ngojumba Kang II,  30：Dhaulagiri III,  31：Kumbhakarna Mountain (Mount Kumbhakarna, Jannu),  32：Gurla Mandhata (Naimona'nyi, Namu Nan) ,  33：Hillary Peak (Ngojumba Kang III),  34：Molamenqing (Phola Gangchen),  35：Dhaulagiri IV,  36：Annapurna Fang,  37：Silver Crag,  38：Kangbachen Southwest,  39：Gangkhar Puensum (Gangkar Punsum),  40：Annapurna III,  41：Himalchuli West,  42：Annapurna IV,  43：Kula Kangri,  44：Liankang Kangri (Gangkhar Puensum North, Liangkang Kangri),  45：Ngadi Chuli South
Parent range	Mahalangur Himal, Himalayas
Climbing
First ascent	1961 by a British team led by Joe Walmsley
Easiest route	snow/ice climb

Nuptse
Chinese	努子峰
Transcriptions

Nuptse or Nubtse (Sherpa: ནུབ་རྩེ། नुबचे, Wylie: Nub rtse, Chinese: 努子峰) is a mountain in the Khumbu region of the Mahalangur Himal, in the Nepalese Himalayas. It lies 2 km (1.2 mi) WSW of Mount Everest. The main peak, Nuptse I at an elevation of 7,861 m (25,791 ft), was first climbed on May 16, 1961, by Dennis Davis and Sherpa Tashi. After a hiatus of almost 20 years, Nuptse again became the objective of mountaineers, with important routes being put up on its west, south, and north faces.

Name

Nuptse is Tibetan for "west peak", as it is the western segment of the Lhotse-Nuptse massif.

Geography

Nuptse lies 2 km (1.2 mi) WSW of Mount Everest. It is a dramatic peak when viewed from the south or west, and it towers above the base camp for the standard south col route on Everest. However, it is not a particularly independent peak: its topographic prominence is only 319 m (1,047 ft). Hence it is not ranked in the list of highest mountains.

The main Nuptse ridge contains 7 summits:

Summit	Elevation	Latitude (N)	Longitude (E)
Nuptse I	7,861 m (25,791 ft)	27°57′59″	86°53′24″
Nuptse II	7,827 m (25,679 ft)	27°57′52″	86°53′34″
Nuptse Shar I	7,804 m (25,604 ft)	27°57′41″	86°53′47″
Nuptse Nup I	7,784 m (25,538 ft)	27°58′05″	86°53′08″
Nuptse Shar II	7,776 m (25,512 ft)	27°57′39″	86°53′55″
Nuptse Nup II	7,742 m (25,400 ft)	27°58′06″	86°52′54″
Nuptse Shar III	7,695 m (25,246 ft)	27°57′30″	86°54′42″

Southern and northern climbing routes as seen from the International Space Station. (The names on the photo are links to corresponding pages.)

Climbing

Nuptse on the right, Everest to the left

Nuptse from Chukhung Ri

Nuptse was first climbed in 1961 and a few times thereafter.

• 1961 - First ascent of the North Ridge on May 16 by Dennis Davis and Sherpa Tashi as part of a British expedition led by Joe Walmsley. Tashi was the first human to set foot on the summit as Davis waited to take photos. Davis followed closely after Tashi. On May 17, other members of the same expedition reached the summit: Chris Bonington, Les Brown, James Swallow and Pemba Sherpa.
• 1976 - The Joint British Army-Royal Nepalese Army Nuptse Expedition in an attempt to be the second team atop Nuptse ended in tragedy with the loss of four climbers to falls.
• 1979 - Ascent of the North Ridge on October 19 by Georges Bettembourg, Doug Scott, Alan Rouse and Brian Hall.
• 1984 - First ascent of the West Ridge by Yvan Estienne, Rémi Roux, et al., an expedition led by Raymond Renaud.
• 1994 - First ascent of the south pillar of Nuptse Shar I by Frenchmen Michel Fauquet and Vincent Fine, who were stopped by the wind on the summit ridge 300 m (980 ft) from the summit. The climb was nominated for a Piolets d'Or.
• 1997 - Nuptse - Nup II (7742 m) - on top: Tomaž Humar, Janez Jeglič
• 2008 - Opening of the south face by Stéphane Benoist and Patrice Glairon-Rappaz; nominated for the Piolets d'Or in 2008.
• 2017 - Frédéric Degoulet, Benjamin Guigonnet and Hélias Millerioux open a route on the south face.
• 2023 - On 8 May, a team of 3 climbers from the US and 6 Sherpas were the first to reach the summit in the year. It is reported that at least 65 climbers in 6 teams have obtained permits for Nuptse.

In culture

In 1987, Sally McCoy, Director of Equipment at The North Face, an American outdoor recreation products company, was part of the Snowbird Everest Expedition. This inspired The North Face to create outerwear named after peaks and glaciers of the region. In 1992, the company introduced the Nuptse Jacket. It featured a novel baffle construction to reduce shifting of the down and to increase warmth. The Nuptse jacket in bright colours was popular in New York City in the 1990s, especially among school kids and rappers. The Nuptse line of outdoors clothing has expanded to over 60 items in 2023.

See also

• Ueli Steck, Swiss alpinist who died falling from Nuptse

External links

• Nuptse on Peakware - photos
• Günther Seifferth, Nuptse at himalaya-info.org.