Gasherbrum
Gasherbrum group as seen from the ISS
Highest point
Peak	Gasherbrum I
Elevation	8,080 metres (26,510 ft)
Coordinates	35°43′N 76°42′E / 35.717°N 76.700°E / 35.717; 76.700
Geography
Gasherbrum Location of the Gasherbrum within the greater Karakoram region Show map of Karakoram Gasherbrum Gasherbrum (Gilgit Baltistan) Show map of Gilgit Baltistan Gasherbrum Gasherbrum (Southern Xinjiang) Show map of Southern Xinjiang
Countries	Pakistan and China
Regions	Gilgit-Baltistan and Xinjiang
Parent range	Karakoram

Gasherbrum (Urdu: گاشر برم) is a remote group of peaks situated at the northeastern end of the Baltoro Glacier in the Karakoram mountain range. The peaks are located within the border region of Xinjiang, China and Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The massif contains three of the world's 8,000 metre peaks (if Broad Peak is included). Although the word "Gasherbrum" is often claimed to mean "Shining Wall",^{[citation needed]} presumably a reference to the highly visible face of Gasherbrum IV,^{[original research?]} it comes from "rgasha" (beautiful) + "brum" (mountain) in Balti, hence it actually means "beautiful mountain". H. Adams Carter, "Balti Place Names in the Karakoram", American Alpine Journal 49 (1975), p. 53.

Geography

History

In 1856, Thomas George Montgomerie, a British Royal Engineers lieutenant and a member of the Great Trigonometric Survey of India, sighted a group of high peaks in the Karakoram from more than 200 km away. He named five of these peaks K1, K2, K3, K4 and K5, where the "K" denotes Karakoram. Today, K1 is known as Masherbrum, K3 as Gasherbrum IV, K4 as Gasherbrum II and K5 as Gasherbrum I. Only K2, the second highest mountain in the world, has retained Montgomerie's name. Broad Peak was thought to miss out on a K-number as it was hidden from Montgomerie's view by Masherbrum.

Climbing history