Pumori

Pumori (Nepali: पुमोरि) (or Pumo Ri) is a mountain on the Nepal-Tibet border. It is in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. Pumori lies just eight kilometres west of Mount Everest. Pumori means "the Mountain Daughter" in Sherpa language. It was named by George Mallory. "Pumo" means young girl or daughter and "Ri" means mountain in Sherpa language.[3] Climbers sometimes refer to Pumori as "Everest's Daughter".[4] Mallory also called it Clare Peak, after his daughter.[5]

Pumori, Nepal, Asia.jpg
View of Pumori from Kala Patthar, Khumbu Valley
Elevation7,161 m (23,494 ft)
Prominence1,278 m (4,193 ft)[1]
Location
LocationNepal-Tibet
RangeHimalayas
Climbing
First ascent1962 by Gerhard Lenser[2]
Easiest routesnow/ice climb

Pumori is a popular climbing peak. The easiest route is graded class 3, but avalanche is still a danger. Pumori was first climbed on May 17, 1962 by Gerhard Lenser on a German-Swiss expedition.[2] Two Czechs (Leopold Sulovský and Zdeněk Michalec) climbed a new route on the south face in the spring of 1996.[6]

An outlier of Pumori is Kala Patthar (5,643m/18,513'). It appears as a brown bump below the south face of Pumori. Many trekkers going to see Mount Everest up close will try to climb to the top of Kala Patthar.[7][8]

Trekking and mountaineering

 
The 2015 Everest (it hit Everest BC) avalanche is reported to have started between Pumori (Left) and Lingtren (middle peak)[9] Khumbutse to the right
 
Pumori

Nearly 500 people had reached the summit of Pumori by 2005. 42 (13 after reaching the summit) people lost their lives while climbing by 2005.[10] It's popularity increased by 2008. From the summit, high Tibetan plateau can be seen on the one side and Nepal can be seen on the other side. The western part of the Everest can also be seen from the summit.[10] However, there have been some dangers from avalanches. Some Spanish climbing teams took heavy losses (such as in 1989 and 2001).[10] 2015 avalanche killed and injured many people. It was likely caused by the 2015 Nepal earthquake. It is said to have started from the Pumori-Lingtren ridge.[9]

In 1982 a group climbing to Pumori also did a ski-hike around Everest. Jim Bridwell led the climbing expedition to Pumori.[11]

Ascents

  • In 1962, first ascent was done by Gerhard Lenser of a German-Swiss expedition.
  • In 1974, Alpine Club Unpo, Japan, climbed through a new route on the west face of Pumori. Minoru Takagi and Nobuyaki Kaneko reached the summit on Oct 13.[12]
  • In 1986, Hiroshi Aota and Yoshiki Sasahara (Japan) climbed a new route on the east face of Pumori. They reached the summit on the third day, December 3.[13]
  • In 1986, 1985 Catalan Route on the east face was climbed by Todd Bibler. He reached the summit on December 5.[14]
  • In 2002, three women (Leila Bahrami, Mitra Nazari, and Farhondeh) from an Iranian expedition reached the summit on October 20 through the southeast face to the east ridge.[15]

Ski attempts

  • In 2013, Seb de Sainte Marie and Paul Holding tried to climb and Ski the West Face but they were not successful.[16]

Accidents

  • In late October 1988 two Icelandic climbers died on the mountain. They were found 30 years later, in November 2018 by an American mountaineer.[17]
  • In 1989 a team of four Spanish climbers were killed in an avalanche on Pumori. Again in September 2001, another Spanish team was killed in an avalanche.[10]
  • On 19 October 2002, five Basque mountaineers were swept 600–800 meters down the southeast face by an avalanche caused by seracs falling above them.[15]
  • On 25 April 2015 a 7.8 MW earthquake struck Nepal and caused several avalanches on and around Mount Everest. This includes the one that hit Everest Base Camp. A witness described it as "a huge avalanche coming off Pumori".[18] The avalanche traveled through part of the Khumbu Icefall and into the South Base Camp.[19] At least 19 people were killed.[20]

Pumori Media

References

  1. "Pumori, China/Nepal". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2012-01-22. The prominence value given here of 1,278 m is based on elevation of 7,138 m.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Asia, Nepal, Jannu". Climbs and Expeditions. American Alpine Journal. New York: American Alpine Club. 13 (2): 517. 1963. Retrieved 2015-04-12.
  3. Parekh, Navnit (1986). Himalayan Memoirs. India: Popular Prakashan. p. 37. ISBN 9780861321261. Retrieved 2015-04-12.
  4. "Pumori: The bitter-sweet daughter of Everest, part 2". mounteverest.net. ExplorersWeb Inc. 15 Oct 2004. Archived from the original on 2009-01-05. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2018-11-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Simpson, Joe (1999). Dark Shadows Falling. Mountaineers Books. ISBN 9780898865905. Archived from the original on 2018-01-03. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  7. "Kala Pattar, Nepal". peakbagger.com.
  8. "Romanians Open New Route on Pumori". ExplorersWeb Inc. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  9. 9.0 9.1 "Everest: List of Avalanche Victims". ExplorersWeb Inc. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 "The new Cho Oyu: Pumori". ExplorersWeb Inc. 18 Sep 2008. Archived from the original on 2016-08-10. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  11. Wren, Christopher S.; Times, Special to the New York (1982-06-13). "Americans Give Mt. Everest the Once-Around" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/13/world/americans-give-mt-everest-the-once-around.html. Retrieved 2018-01-21. 
  12. Fujita, Hiroshi (1975). "Asia, Nepal, Pumori, West Face". Climbs and Expeditions. American Alpine Journal. New York: American Alpine Club. 20 (49): 198. Retrieved 2015-04-12.
  13. Cheney, Michael (1987). "Asia, Nepal, Pumori Winter Ascent via East Face". Climbs and Expeditions. American Alpine Journal. New York: American Alpine Club. 29 (61): 238. ISBN 0-930410-29-7. Retrieved 2015-04-12.
  14. Bibler, Todd (1987). "Asia, Nepal, Pumori Winter Ascent". Climbs and Expeditions. American Alpine Journal. New York: American Alpine Club. 29 (61): 238. Retrieved 2015-04-12.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Hawley, Elizabeth (1987). "Asia, Nepal, Khumbu Himal, Pumori, Ascent, Attempt, Tragedy". Climbs and Expeditions. American Alpine Journal. New York: American Alpine Club. 44 (76): 409. Retrieved 2015-04-12.
  16. "West Face of Pumori". paulholding.com. 5 Oct 2013. Retrieved 2015-04-12.
  17. Þor­steinn og Krist­inn fundn­ir eft­ir 30 ár Morgunblaðið 11 Nov 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  18. Wilkinson, Freddie (25 April 2015). "Everest Base Camp a 'War Zone' After Earthquake Triggers Avalanches". National Geographic. Retrieved 2015-04-26.
  19. Holley, Peter (25 April 2015). 17 reported dead in Mount Everest avalanche, but toll expected to rise. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2015/04/25/cfa47ee6-eb95-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html?hpid=z2. Retrieved 2015-04-26. 
  20. "Indian Army's expedition team rescues 61 climbers from Mount Everest". DNA India. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-04-30.