Location: Tibet/China, Asia
First Ascent: Hsu Jing and 9 other climbers (China) May 2, 1964
Fast Facts:
- The Tibetan name Shi sha sbang ma means "Crest above the Grassy Plains." The Sanskrit name is Gosainthan, which means "Place of the Saint" or "The Holy Place."
- Shishapangma was the last 8,000-meter peak climbed because of its remoteness and Chinese restrictions on climbing.
- Shishapangma is the only 8,000-meter peak wholly in Tibet/China.
- It's of the easier high peaks, with vehicle access to base camp.
- Most only climb to the lower central summit, not crossing a long sharp ridge to the main summit. They technically have not climbed the peak.
- The first ascent of Shishapangma was in 1964 by a Chinese expedition, led by Hsu Jing. Ten climbers summited the peak on May 2.
- The first ascent of the steep 6,000-foot-high South Face was by Brits Doug Scott, Roger Baxter-Jones and Alex MacIntyre in 1982.
- In 1983 the first American ascent was by Mike Browning, Chris Pizzo and Glenn Porzak on the Northeast Face.
- In 1999 expert American mountaineer Alex Lowe was killed in an avalanche while on an expedition to be the first Americans to ski down an 8,000-meter peak.
