Nuptse

Nuptse or Nubtse (Sherpa: Template:Bo-textonly नुबचे, Wylie: Nub rtse, Template:CJKV) is a mountain in the Khumbu region of the Mahalangur Himal, in the Nepalese Himalayas. It lies Template:Cvt WSW of Mount Everest. The main peak, Nuptse I at an elevation of Template:Cvt, was first climbed on May 16, 1961, by Dennis Davis and Sherpa Tashi.<ref name=aj_1961/><ref name=aaj_1962/><ref name=cc_1962/> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

Nuptse lies Template:Cvt WSW of Mount Everest. Due to the structure of the Everest Massif, Nuptse blocks Everest's view for much of the surrounding region. 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 Template:Convert. Hence it is not ranked in the list of highest mountains.Template:Citation needed

The main Nuptse ridge contains 7 summits:

Summit	Elevation	Latitude (N)	Longitude (E)
Nuptse I	Template:Cvt	27°57′59″	86°53′24″
Nuptse II	Template:Cvt	27°57′52″	86°53′34″
Nuptse Shar I	Template:Cvt	27°57′41″	86°53′47″
Nuptse Nup I	Template:Cvt	27°58′05″	86°53′08″
Nuptse Shar II	Template:Cvt	27°57′39″	86°53′55″
Nuptse Nup II	Template:Cvt	27°58′06″	86°52′54″
Nuptse Shar III	Template:Cvt	27°57′30″	86°54′42″

Climbing

File:Everest nubtse.jpg

Nuptse on the right, Everest to the left

File:Nuptse-fromChukhungRi.jpg

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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> On May 17, other members of the same expedition reached the summit: Chris Bonington, Les Brown, James Swallow and Pemba Sherpa.<ref name="aj_1961" /><ref name="cc_1962" />
• 1975 - 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: Major G.F. Owens and Captain R.A. Summerton, Lieutenant D.A.J. Brister and Rifleman Pasang Tamang.<ref name=aaj_1976>Template:Cite aaj</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1979 - Ascent of the North Ridge on October 19 by Georges Bettembourg, Doug Scott, Alan Rouse and Brian Hall.<ref name="AlpinistSummer23">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1984 - First ascent of the West Ridge by Yvan Estienne, Rémi Roux, et al., an expedition led by Raymond Renaud.<ref name=aaj_1985/>
• 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 Template:Convert from the summit. The climb was nominated for a Piolets d'Or.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Nuptse jacket in bright colours was popular in New York City in the 1990s, especially among school kids and rappers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Nuptse line of outdoors clothing has expanded to over 60 items in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Ueli Steck, Swiss alpinist who died falling from Nuptse

External links

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