Shishapangma

Shishapangma
Shishapangma (left) from mountain flight, Nepal
Highest point
Elevation	8,027 m (26,335 ft)  Ranked 14th
Prominence	2,897 m (9,505 ft)  Ranked 111th
Isolation	91 kilometres (57 mi)
Listing	Eight-thousander Ultra
Coordinates	28°21′08″N 85°46′47″E / 28.35222°N 85.77972°E / 28.35222; 85.77972Coordinates: 28°21′08″N 85°46′47″E / 28.35222°N 85.77972°E / 28.35222; 85.77972
Geography
Shishapangma Tibet
Location	Nyalam County, Tibet, China
Parent range	Jugal/Langtang Himal, Himalayas
Climbing
First ascent	2 May 1964 by Xǔ Jìng et al. (Chinese) (First winter ascent 14 January 2005 Piotr Morawski and Simone Moro)
Easiest route	snow/ice climb

Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the 14th highest mountain in the world at 8,027 metres (26,335 ft) above sea level. It was the last 8,000 metre peak to be climbed, due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions on visits by foreign travelers to the region imposed by authorities of the Government of China and of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Geologist Toni Hagen explained the name as meaning a "grassy plain" or "meadow" (pangma) above a "comb" or a "range" (shisha or chisa) in the local Tibetan dialect, thereby signifying the "crest above the grassy plains".

On the other hand, Tibetologist Guntram Hazod records a local story that explains the mountain's name in terms of its literal meaning in the Standard Tibetan language: shisha, which means "meat of an animal that died of natural causes" and sbangma which means "malt dregs left over from brewing beer". According to the story, one year a heavy snowfall killed most of the animals at pasture. All that the people living near the mountain had to eat was the meat of the dead animals and the malt dregs left over from brewing beer, and so the mountain was named Shisha Pangma (shisha sbangma), signifiying "meat of dead animals and malty dregs".

The Sanskrit name of the mountain, Gosainthan, means "place of the saint" or "Abode of God". Still, its most common name is Shishapangma.

Shishapangma is located in south-central Tibet, five kilometres from the border with Nepal. It is the only eight-thousander entirely within Chinese territory. It is also the highest peak in the Jugal Himal which is contiguous with and often considered part of Langtang Himal. The Jugal/Langtang Himal straddles the Tibet/Nepal border. Since Shishapangma is on the dry north side of the Himalayan crest and further from the lower terrain of Nepal, it has less dramatic vertical relief than most major Himalayan peaks.