Chomolhari
Encyclopedia
Jomolhari or Chomolhari sometimes known as "the bride of Kangchenjunga
”, is a mountain
in the Himalayas
, straddling the border between Yadong County
of Tibet
and the Thimphu
district of Bhutan
. The north face rises over 2700 metres (8,858.3 ft) above the barren plains. The mountain is the source of the Paro Chu (Paro river) which flows from the south side and the Amo Chu which flows from the north side.
who believe it is the abode of one of the Five Tsheringma Sisters; (jo mo tshe ring mched lnga) — female protector goddesses (Jomo) of Tibet and Bhutan, who were bound under oath by Guru Padmasambhava to protect the land, the Buddhist faith and the local people.
On the Bhutanese side is a Jomolhari Temple, toward the south side of the mountain about a half-day's journey from the army outpost between Thangthangkha and Jangothang at an altitude of 4150 meters. Religious practitioners and pilgrims visiting Mt. Jomolhari stay at this temple. There are several other sacred sites near Jomolhari Temple, including meditation caves of Milarepa
and Gyalwa Lorepa. Within an hour's walk up from the temple at an altitude of c. 4450 meters is Tseringma Lhatso, the "spirit lake" of Tsheringma.
In Tibet there is an annual pilgrimage from Phari Dzong to a holy lake, Jomo Lharang, which lies at c. 5100 m elevation, just north of the mountain.
Valley, the mountain has seen little climbing activity, probably because of access restrictions on the Bhutanese side and the difficulty of the routes from the Tibetan side. The first ascent was made on May 17th 1937 by a five-man British expedition, with Freddie Spencer Chapman
and Sherpa
Pasang Dawa Lama (of the American K2
expedition fame) reaching the summit from Bhutan over the southeast spur. The protracted and epic descent, which they were fortunate to survive, is described in detail in F. Spencer Chapman’s Helvellyn to Himalaya (1940) Chatto & Windus, London.
The second ascent was in 1970 on 24 April over the same route by a joint Bhutanese-Indian military expedition led by Colonel Narendra Kumar. This ascent was notable also for the disappearance of two climbing members and a sherpa in the second summit party the following day. Dorjee Lhatoo (Nanda Devi East 1975, West 1981) led the route, partnered with Prem Chand (2nd ascent Kanchenjunga 1977) all the way to the summit via two camps. Lhatoo was charged with laying a "yangu" offering on the summit by the Bhutanese King in order to "appease" mountain deities - apparently a pot containing gold, silver and precious stones. The following day, the second party of three were spotted close to the ridge when they became obscured by cloud. When the cloud lifted, they were gone. A telephoto lens and fruit cans were found on the ridge by a search party. Prem Chand went up to the ridge and reported gunshots thudding into the ice and whipping up ice chips - thus ending any further attempts in locating the missing bodies. Lhatoo and Prem Chand, on their way up during their successful summit attempt had reported seeing a lot of PLA
activity on the Lhasa-Chumbi highway. The reason for their disappearance remains speculative - did they fall or were they shot? All three were relatively inexperienced climbers and Lhatoo later speculated on the exposure on the knife-edged ridge leading to the summit slope as a possible incident site. He (an ex-Gurkha himself) is quoted as believing the shooting theory to be unlikely but possible, citing his difficulty in estimating the distance between the ridge and possible Chinese positions on the Tibetan side. An account of the expedition is available in the Himalayan Journal 2000. Prem Chand has not spoken publicly on the matter. Chinese displeasure with Bhutan over the expedition and sensitivities in New Delhi
led to a complete media blackout
of what was otherwise a notable Indian climb.
The third ascent was made in 1996 by a joint Japanese-Chinese expedition which reached the south col
from the Tibetan side and climbed the peak over the south ridge. On 7 May 2004, British climbers Julie-Ann Clyma and Roger Payne reached the summit via the c. 5800 m south col as well, in a single day's dash from the col, after attempts to climb the impressive northwest pillar were thwarted by strong winds.
In October 2006, a six-member Slovenian team climbed two new routes, registering the fifth and sixth ascents. Rok Blagus, Tine Cuder, Samo Krmelj and Matej Kladnik took the left couloir of the north face to the East ridge at c. 7100 m, from which they followed the ridge to the top, while Marko Prezelj
and Boris Lorencic climbed the northwest ridge in a six-day round trip. This climb earned Prezelj and Lorencic the Piolet d'Or
in January 2007.
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain of the world with an elevation of and located along the India-Nepal border in the Himalayas.Kangchenjunga is also the name of the section of the Himalayas and means "The Five Treasures of Snows", as it contains five peaks, four of them over...
”, is a mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, straddling the border between Yadong County
Yadong County
Chomo County is a frontier county and trade-market of Tibet, situated in the mouth of the Chumbi valley near the Indian frontier. It lies in the middle part of Himalayas and the south of Tibet Autonomous Region, covering about 4,306 square kilometers with a population of 10,000...
of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and the Thimphu
Thimphu District
Thimphu District is a dzongkhag of Bhutan. Thimphu is also the capital of Bhutan and the largest city in the whole kingdom.-Languages:...
district of Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
. The north face rises over 2700 metres (8,858.3 ft) above the barren plains. The mountain is the source of the Paro Chu (Paro river) which flows from the south side and the Amo Chu which flows from the north side.
Religious Significance
The mountain is sacred to Tibetan BuddhistsTibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
who believe it is the abode of one of the Five Tsheringma Sisters; (jo mo tshe ring mched lnga) — female protector goddesses (Jomo) of Tibet and Bhutan, who were bound under oath by Guru Padmasambhava to protect the land, the Buddhist faith and the local people.
On the Bhutanese side is a Jomolhari Temple, toward the south side of the mountain about a half-day's journey from the army outpost between Thangthangkha and Jangothang at an altitude of 4150 meters. Religious practitioners and pilgrims visiting Mt. Jomolhari stay at this temple. There are several other sacred sites near Jomolhari Temple, including meditation caves of Milarepa
Milarepa
Jetsun Milarepa , is generally considered one of Tibet's most famous yogis and poets. He was a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.- Life :...
and Gyalwa Lorepa. Within an hour's walk up from the temple at an altitude of c. 4450 meters is Tseringma Lhatso, the "spirit lake" of Tsheringma.
In Tibet there is an annual pilgrimage from Phari Dzong to a holy lake, Jomo Lharang, which lies at c. 5100 m elevation, just north of the mountain.
Climbing history
Despite its notability and spectacular visibility from the old trade route between India and Tibet's PagriPagri
Pagri or Phari is a town in Yadong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region , China, near the border with Bhutan. Population 2121...
Valley, the mountain has seen little climbing activity, probably because of access restrictions on the Bhutanese side and the difficulty of the routes from the Tibetan side. The first ascent was made on May 17th 1937 by a five-man British expedition, with Freddie Spencer Chapman
Freddie Spencer Chapman
Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Spencer Chapman, DSO & Bar, ED was a British Army officer and World War II veteran, most famous for his exploits behind enemy lines in Japanese occupied Malaya...
and Sherpa
Sherpa people
The Sherpa are an ethnic group from the most mountainous region of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. Sherpas migrated from the Kham region in eastern Tibet to Nepal within the last 300–400 years.The initial mountainous migration from Tibet was a search for beyul...
Pasang Dawa Lama (of the American K2
K2
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...
expedition fame) reaching the summit from Bhutan over the southeast spur. The protracted and epic descent, which they were fortunate to survive, is described in detail in F. Spencer Chapman’s Helvellyn to Himalaya (1940) Chatto & Windus, London.
The second ascent was in 1970 on 24 April over the same route by a joint Bhutanese-Indian military expedition led by Colonel Narendra Kumar. This ascent was notable also for the disappearance of two climbing members and a sherpa in the second summit party the following day. Dorjee Lhatoo (Nanda Devi East 1975, West 1981) led the route, partnered with Prem Chand (2nd ascent Kanchenjunga 1977) all the way to the summit via two camps. Lhatoo was charged with laying a "yangu" offering on the summit by the Bhutanese King in order to "appease" mountain deities - apparently a pot containing gold, silver and precious stones. The following day, the second party of three were spotted close to the ridge when they became obscured by cloud. When the cloud lifted, they were gone. A telephoto lens and fruit cans were found on the ridge by a search party. Prem Chand went up to the ridge and reported gunshots thudding into the ice and whipping up ice chips - thus ending any further attempts in locating the missing bodies. Lhatoo and Prem Chand, on their way up during their successful summit attempt had reported seeing a lot of PLA
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
activity on the Lhasa-Chumbi highway. The reason for their disappearance remains speculative - did they fall or were they shot? All three were relatively inexperienced climbers and Lhatoo later speculated on the exposure on the knife-edged ridge leading to the summit slope as a possible incident site. He (an ex-Gurkha himself) is quoted as believing the shooting theory to be unlikely but possible, citing his difficulty in estimating the distance between the ridge and possible Chinese positions on the Tibetan side. An account of the expedition is available in the Himalayan Journal 2000. Prem Chand has not spoken publicly on the matter. Chinese displeasure with Bhutan over the expedition and sensitivities in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
led to a complete media blackout
Media blackout
Media blackout refers to the censorship of news related to a certain topic, particularly in mass media, for any reason. A media blackout may be voluntary, or may in some countries be enforced by the government or state. The latter case is controversial in peacetime, as some regard it as a human...
of what was otherwise a notable Indian climb.
The third ascent was made in 1996 by a joint Japanese-Chinese expedition which reached the south col
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
from the Tibetan side and climbed the peak over the south ridge. On 7 May 2004, British climbers Julie-Ann Clyma and Roger Payne reached the summit via the c. 5800 m south col as well, in a single day's dash from the col, after attempts to climb the impressive northwest pillar were thwarted by strong winds.
In October 2006, a six-member Slovenian team climbed two new routes, registering the fifth and sixth ascents. Rok Blagus, Tine Cuder, Samo Krmelj and Matej Kladnik took the left couloir of the north face to the East ridge at c. 7100 m, from which they followed the ridge to the top, while Marko Prezelj
Marko Prezelj
Marko Prezelj is a Slovenian mountaineer and photographer.Prezelj received two Piolet d'Or awards. He won the inaugural "Oscar of mountaineering" in 1992 with Andrej Štremfelj for their new route on the south ridge of Kangchenjunga South in alpine style...
and Boris Lorencic climbed the northwest ridge in a six-day round trip. This climb earned Prezelj and Lorencic the Piolet d'Or
Piolet d'Or
The Piolet d'Or is an annual mountaineering award given by the French magazine Montagnes and The Groupe de Haute Montagne since 1991...
in January 2007.
External links
- Chomolhari from Tibet
- pre 1950 photos of Chomolhari
- Photos of Jumolhari Mountain from Bhutan
- Chomolhari The peak of a white celestial maiden (You Tube)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGQ37txXxwYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMpONGE9NQ8&feature=mfu_in_order&list=ULhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Puabcezgdu8&feature=mfu_in_order&list=ULhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV4SmKTUJ0w&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL