Nuptse or Nubtse (Sherpa: ནུབ་རྩེ། नुबचे, Wylie: Nub rtse, Chinese: 努子峰) is a mountain in the Khumbu region of the Mahalangur Himal, in the NepaleseHimalayas. It lies 2 km (1.2 mi) WSW of Mount Everest. The main peak, Nuptse I at an elevation of 7,861 m (25,791 ft), was first climbed on May 16, 1961, by Dennis Davis and Sherpa Tashi.[1][2] 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.[3]
Geography
Nuptse lies 2 km (1.2 mi) WSW of Mount Everest. 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 319 m (1,047 ft). Hence it is not ranked in the list of highest mountains.[citation needed]
The main Nuptse ridge contains 7 summits:
Summit
Elevation
Latitude (N)
Longitude (E)
Nuptse I
7,861 m (25,791 ft)
27°57′59″
86°53′24″
Nuptse II
7,827 m (25,679 ft)
27°57′52″
86°53′34″
Nuptse Shar I
7,804 m (25,604 ft)
27°57′41″
86°53′47″
Nuptse Nup I
7,784 m (25,538 ft)
27°58′05″
86°53′08″
Nuptse Shar II
7,776 m (25,512 ft)
27°57′39″
86°53′55″
Nuptse Nup II
7,742 m (25,400 ft)
27°58′06″
86°52′54″
Nuptse Shar III
7,695 m (25,246 ft)
27°57′30″
86°54′42″
Southern and northern climbing routes as seen from the International Space Station. (The names on the photo are links to corresponding pages.)
Climbing
Nuptse on the right, Everest to the leftNuptse 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.[4] On May 17, other members of the same expedition reached the summit: Chris Bonington, Les Brown, James Swallow and Pemba Sherpa.[1][2]
1984 - First ascent of the West Ridge by Yvan Estienne, Rémi Roux, et al., an expedition led by Raymond Renaud.
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 300 m (980 ft) from the summit.
2008 - Opening of the south face by Stéphane Benoist and Patrice Glairon-Rappaz; nominated for the Piolets d'or 2008.
2017 - Frédéric Degoulet, Benjamin Guigonnet and Hélias Millerioux2 open a route on the south face.[6]
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.[7]
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.[8] The Nuptse jacket in bright colours was popular in New York City in the 1990s, especially among school kids and rappers.[9] The Nuptse line of outdoors clothing has expanded to over 60 items in 2023.[10]
