Its Sanskrit name is “Gosainthan”. Reinhold Messner called it “an exquisite apparition”. Indeed, it is Emerging out of the earth-brown Tibetan plateau a solitary snow goddess rearing its not-so-ugly head out to be admired. It was first climbed by Hsu Ching and Nine Climbers in 1964. This ‘exquisite apparition’ is located in central Himalaya and lies totally within Tibet. To the east lies Mount Molamenchen to the west Mount Xifeng and Mount Nandengri and to the northwest Mount Kangbochen.
Shishapangma, “the range above the grassy plain” was first climbed by the Chinese in 1964.
There are three distinct climbing routes on the Southwest face with several other logical possibilities on the West Ridge and East face. Our route picks up from Nyalam, 33km from the Nepal / Tibet border, up to the Chinese base camp at an altitude of about 5000-5400m. The trek to BC takes about three to five days via the Nyanang Phu Chu valley.
