Overview

Lhotse 8,516 meters (27,940 ft) is the 4 th highest mountain on Earth (after Mount Everest, K2 and Kangchenjunga) and is connected to Everest via the South Col. In addition to the main summit at 8,516 metres above sea level, Lhotse Middle (East) is 8,414 metres and Lhotse Shar is 8,383 metres. It is located at the border between Tibet (China) and Nepal. ( 27°58'N 86°56'E)

Notable Features

Lhotse is best known for its proximity to Mount Everest and the fact that climbers ascending the standard route on that peak spend some time on its northwest face, see below. In fact Lhotse has one of the smallest topographic prominence values of any official eight-thousander, as it rises only 610 m (2,000 ft) above the South Col. Hence it is often seen as a minor eight-thousander.

However, Lhotse is a dramatic peak in its own right, due to its tremendous south face. This rises 3.2 km (1.98 mi) in only 2.25 km (1.4 mi) of horizontal distance, making it the steepest face of this size in the world. The south face has been the scene of many failed attempts, some notable fatalities, and very few ascents (one of them, by Tomo Cesen, unverified).

Climbing Hostory

An early attempt on Lhotse was by the 1955 International Himalayan Expedition, headed by Norman Dyhrenfurth. It also included two Austrians (cartographer Erwin Schneider and Ernst Senn) and two Swiss (Bruno Spirig and Arthur Spöhel), and was the first expedition in the Everest area to include Americans (Fred Beckey, George Bell, and Richard McGowan). The Nepalese liaison officer was Gaya Nanda Vaidya. They were accompanied by 200 local porters and several climbing Sherpas. After a brief look at the dangerous southern approaches of Lhotse Shar, they turned their attention, during September and October, to the West Cwm and the northwest face of Lhotse, on which they achieved an altitude of about 8,100 metres (26,600 ft). They were beaten back by unexpectedly strong wind and cold temperatures. Under Schneider's direction they completed the first map of the Everest area (1:50,000 photogrammetric). The expedition also made several short films covering local cultural topics, and made a number of first ascents of smaller peaks in the Khumbu region.

The main summit of Lhotse was first climbed on May 18 , 1956 by the Swiss team of Ernst Reiss and Fritz Luchsinger from the Swiss Mount Everest/Lhotse Expedition. On May 12 , 1979 , Zepp Maierl and Rolf Walter of Austria made the first ascent of Lhotse Shar. Lhotse Middle remained, for a long time, the highest unclimbed named point on Earth; on May 23 , 2001 , its first ascent was made by Eugeny Vinogradsky, Sergei Timofeev, Alexei Bolotov and Petr Kuznetsov of a Russian expedition.

On 31 December 1988 , Krzysztof Wielicki , a Polish climber, completed the first winter ascent of Lhotse.

As of October 2003 , 243 climbers have summitted Lhotse and 11 have died.


Timeline

1955 Attempt by the International Himalayan Expedition.

1956 First ascent of the main summit.

1965 First attempt on Lhotse Shar by a Japanese expedition - reached 8,100m.

1979 First ascent of Lhotse Shar by Jerzy Kukuczka

1981 April 30 Second ascent of the main summit by Hristo Prodanov , Bulgaria .

1981 October 16 Second ascent of Lhotse Shar Switzerland

1984 May 20 The first ascent of the south face of the mountain finished on Lhotse Shar Czechoslovakia

1989 Jerzy Kukuczka perishes while climbing the South Face of Lhotse, when his secondhand rope breaks.

1996 Chantal Mauduit becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Lhotse.

2001 First ascent of Lhotse Middle.

2007 Pemba Doma Sherpa , Nepali mountaineer and two-time summiter of Mt. Everest , falls to her death from Lhotse at 8000



Lhotse Middle

Lhotse Middle was first climbed in 2001 by three groups of Russian climbers. At the time it was the last unclimbed named eight thousand metre summit.

The 2001 climb was not the first expedition to the peak; the idea of its ascent was originated by Vladimir Bashkirov (who died in an avalanche in a 1997 expedition).

Summit party details:

May 23 - first group: Alexey Bolotov, Sergey Timofeev, Evgeny Vinogradsky, Petr Kuznetsov

May 24 - second group: Nikolay Zilin, Gleb Sokolov (the first person to have climbed all the Lhotse peaks), Yuri Koshelenko

May 27 - third group: Vladimir Yanochkin, Viktor Volodin



Lhotse Face

Lhotse is connected to Mount Everest via the South Col.

The western flank of Lhotse is known as the Lhotse Face . Any climber bound for the South Col on Everest must climb this 1,125m (3,700ft) wall of glacial blue ice. This face rises at 40 and 50 degree pitches with the occasional 80 degree bulges. High altitude climbing Sherpas and the lead climbers will set fixed ropes up this big wall of ice. Climbers and porters need to establish a good rhythm of front-pointing and pulling themselves up the ropes using their Jumar . Two rocky sections called the Yellow Band and the Geneva Spur interrupt the icy ascent on the upper part of the face.

(Note. Information about above mentioned articles and climbing history of the Mountain are collected from different free media sources and for HNT use only. It does not represent an official data so that if need to correct, we would be grateful to your suggestion & support.)

Itinerary

DAY 01 Arrival Kathmandu, transfer to hotel.
DAY 02 Kathmandu free day,
DAY 03 Kathmandu Expedition Briefing & preparation day.
DAY 04 Flight to Lukla, trek to Phakding, camp
DAY 05 Trek to Namche
DAY 06 Rest day at Namche
DAY 07 Trek to Tengboche
DAY 08 Trek to Pheriche
DAY 09 Trek to Lobuche
DAY 10 Trek to Ghorakshep
DAY 11 Trek to Lhotse Base Camp
DAY 12-52, Climbing period of Mt. Lhotse
DAY 53 Preparation at base camp
DAY 54 Base camp to Lobuche, camp
DAY 55 Trek to Tengboche, camp
DAY 56 Trek to Namche, camp
DAY 57 Trek to Lukla, Camp
DAY 58 Flight Lukla-Ktm, transfer to hotel.
DAY 59 Kathmandu , hotel.
DAY 60 Depart KTM on schedule

Price

SERVICES INCLUDE

Mt. Lhotse climbing permit and all govt.taxes.
Ice fall fees
6 (six) nights hotel accommodation in Kathmandu on BB basis.
Round trip airfare and domestic airport taxes
Excess baggages and domestic cargo.
Liaison officer fee
One head Sardar/Guide
Cook and kitchen boy
High Altitude Climbing Sherpa (One Sherpa per two members)
Necessary number of porters and Yaks
All necessary climbing hardware gears including the Fixed ropes
All meals during the expedition
Available high altitude food for high camps
All necessary camping and kitchen gears
High quality high altitude tents
Communication & storage tents
Shower & comfortable wooden toilet tent
EPI gas with burners for high camps
Gamo /PAC bag at base camp for medical purpose
Oxygen with regulator set for medical purpose only at base camp
Walkie-talkie set to each client with radio base & accessories.

Sleeping bag & down jacket for BC purpose
Solar panel/ generator with accessories at Base camp for power supply purpose
Insurance of climbing Sherpa and local team members
All airport/hotel transfers by private transport.

SERVICES EXCLUDE

Medical and personal high-risk insurance (suggest to have rescue insurance as well)
Major meals in Kathmandu .
Personal climbing gears.
Cost of electronic appliances.
Cost of emergency evacuation
Personal natures expenses
Tips
Summit bonus.

Trek Facts

Trip duration: 60 Days
Grade: Challenging
Trip Code: HNT-LOHTSE-EXP60D
Activity: Sightseeing, trekking & Mountaineering
Starts in: Kathmandu
Ends in: Kathmandu
Accommodation: Hotel, camping
Transportation: Flights, private car or tourist bus
Maximum altitude: 8516M

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