The North Col (Chinese: 北坳; pinyin: Běi Ào; Tibetan: Chang La) refers to the sharp-edged pass carved by glaciers in the ridge connecting Mount Everest and Changtse in Tibet. It forms the head of the East Rongbuk Glacier.
When climbers attempt to climb Everest via the North ridge (Tibet), the first camp on the mountain itself (traditional Camp IV, modern Camp I) is established on the North Col. From this point at approximately 7,020 metres (23,030 ft) above sea level, climbers ascend the North Ridge to reach a series of progressively higher camps along the North Face of Everest. Climbers make their final push to the summit from Camp VI at 8,230 metres (27,001 ft) altitude.[1]
The North Col was first climbed by George Mallory, Edward Oliver Wheeler, and Guy Bullock on 24 September 1921, during the British reconnaissance expedition. This was the first time a Westerner had set foot on Mount Everest. Although long credited to Mallory, discovery of the North Col was in fact made by Wheeler about a week before Mallory confirmed its existence while searching for possible routes to the summit of Mount Everest. All subsequent expeditions in the 1920s and 1930s attempted to reach the summit of Everest by using the North Col.[2]
Before 1950, most Everest expeditions went from Tibet and via the North Col, but most now go from Nepal via the South Col. In 1951, two mountaineers on the 1952 British Cho Oyu expedition, Edmund Hillary and George Lowe, crossed the Nup La Col, and "like a couple of naughty schoolboys" went deep into Chinese territory, down to Rongbuk and round to the old prewar Camp III beneath the North Col.[3]
This satellite photograph highlights the northern approach to Mount Everest including the North Col (image centre).North Col of 3D versionSketch map of Everest region
^"North Col of Mount Everest". NASA.
^Peter Gillman, ed. (1993). Everest - The Best Writing and Pictures from Seventy Years of Human Endeavour. Little, Brown and Company. pp. 24–25. ISBN 0-316-90489-9.
^George Lowe and Huw Lewis-Jones, The Conquest of Everest: Original Photographs from the Legendary First Ascent (London: Thames and Hudson, 2013) (pages 23,212) ISBN 978-0-500-54423-5
The NorthCol (Chinese: 北坳; pinyin: Běi Ào; Tibetan: Chang La) refers to the sharp-edged pass carved by glaciers in the ridge connecting Mount Everest...
from Nepal and gone via the southeast ridge and the South Col (instead of via the NorthCol). When climbers attempt to climb Everest from the southeast...
ice leading to Everest's NorthCol, at 23,031 ft (7,020 m), from where mountaineers can attain the summit via the NorthCol-North Ridge-Northeast Ridge route...
77 ascents by Indians - 18 of them women - from both South Col and NorthCol side. South Col side summiteers Megha Parmar Aditya Gupta Romil Barthwal Bhawna...
British in 1921 reached 7,000 m (22,970 ft) on the North Col, the 1922 expedition pushed the north ridge route up to 8,320 m (27,300 ft), marking the first...
East Rongbuk Glacier before climbing again to Everest's NorthCol. However, although the NorthCol was reached, it was not possible to climb further before...
Later George Mallory proposed a longer modified climb to the northcol, then along the north ridge to reach the northeast ridge, and then on to the summit...
Advanced Base Camp (ABC) at the foot of the NorthCol. Then he began the descent down the Norton Couloir of the north face, but after 200 metres (660 feet)...
erect Camp IV on the NorthCol. They arrived in Camp II only two and a half hours later. On 11 May they started to climb on the NorthCol. This camp was at...
Camp to the NorthCol, and the following day they reached 7700 m (25,262 ft) as 21 other climbers reached the summit of Everest from the North. On May 19...
Buttress up to the South Col. It is considered a dangerous route of ascent, compared to the standard NorthCol and South Col routes, and it is the most...
- NorthCol - North East Ridge 1995 British Commercial Expedition - NorthCol - North East Ridge 1995 International Expedition - NorthCol - North East...
85944), while North Base Camp is in Tibet at 5,150 metres (16,900 ft) (28°8′29″N 86°51′5″E / 28.14139°N 86.85139°E / 28.14139; 86.85139 (North Base Camp))...
Madness team, led by Scott Fischer. While climbers died on both the North Face and South Col approaches, the events on the latter were more widely reported...
the col, not quite corresponding to the lowest pass. His 1975 1:50,000 version (in Chinese only) has Changtse at 7,580 m (24,870 ft) and NorthCol at 7...
the NorthCol, he was extremely disappointed to find no trace of the rope, or the steps. The next day Wilson began a further attempt to reach the Col. After...
possible to ascend the pass from both the north and south sides controlled by China and India respectively. Indira Col East (Coord 35°39′40″N 76°48′10″E /...
Glacier and its route to the base of the NorthCol. On September 23, Mallory, Bullock, and Wheeler reached the NorthCol at 7,020 metres (23,030 ft) before...
The icefall is considered one of the most dangerous stages of the South Col route to Everest's summit. The Khumbu Glacier moves an estimated 0.9 to 1...
containing Coles Supermarkets, Coles Online, Coles Express, Coles' liquor division, Coles' financial division, and Flybuys. In 1914, the first Coles "variety...
entailed negotiating the Western Cwm and the flank of Lhotse to the South Col, then up the southeast ridge to the peak. Hornbein and Unsoeld, however,...
Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Coles, is an Australian supermarket, retail and consumer services chain, headquartered in Melbourne as...
prominent of the eight-thousanders due to the great height of the South Col between it and Everest. Lhotse's Western Face, recessed behind the head of...
then skied into the North Face by the Norton Couloir, a 55 degree steep and nearly 3000 meter high mountain face. The NorthCol (North Face) Route is one...
the 6,849-metre (22,470 ft) Lhakpa La col above the East Rongbuk Glacier and by going on to reach the NorthCol at 7,020 metres (23,030 ft). They did...
Autonomous Region, China, immediately north of Mount Everest. It is connected to Mount Everest via the NorthCol. The given elevation of 7,543 metres is...
000 ft) through 6,800 m (22,300 ft). Geneva Spur (Eperon des Genevois) South Col Krakauer, Jon (1997). Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest...
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...
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