Lhotse Middle
{{short description|Subsidiary peak to Lhotse}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Lhotse Middle
| other_name = Lhotse Central I, Lhotse East
| photo = Lhotse Middle peak.jpg
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| photo_caption = Lhotse Middle (centre left) and Lhotse Central II (centre right) situated between Lhotse (at far left) and Lhotse Shar (at far right)
| elevation_m = 8410{{cite peakbagger| pid=18718 | accessdate=12 December 2021 | title=Lhotse-Middle Summit}}
| elevation_ref =
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| isolation_km = 0.31
| parent_peak = Lhotse
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| map = Nepal
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| location = Lhotse, Khumbu, Nepal
Lhotse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China
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| coordinates = {{coord|27|57|39.21|N|86|56|20.08|E|display=inline,title}}
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| range = Himalayas
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| first_ascent = 23 May 2001
| easiest_route = Snow/rock climb
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}}
Lhotse Middle (also called Lhotse Central I and Lhotse East), is a subsidiary peak of {{convert|8410|m|ft}} in elevation that sits in the middle of a ridge between its parent peak, the eight-thousander, Lhotse {{convert|8516|m|ft}}, and another subsidiary peak, Lhotse Shar {{convert|8383|m|ft}}. In 2013, a proposal by Nepal to the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) to have Lhotse Middle (and Lhotse Shar) designated as standalone eight-thousanders was not successful due a perceived lack of topographic prominence.{{cite web | website=BBC News | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-24571309 | date=18 October 2013 | access-date=12 December 2021 | first=Navin |last=Khadka | title=Nepal mountain peak expansion bid stalls}} Right beside the peak is the smaller subsidiary peak of Lhotse Central II ({{convert|8372|m|ft}}; sometimes the term West tower and East tower are used to distinguish Lhotse Central I and Lhotse Central II, respectively (which can create confusion given Lhotse Middle's alternative name as Lhotse East, i.e being east of the parent Lhotse summit).{{cite web|url=http://www.8000ers.com/cms/en/8000ers-mainmenu-205.html |publisher=8000ers.com|author=Eberhard Jurgalski|author-link=:de:Eberhard Jurgalski|access-date=12 December 2021|title=Subsidiary Peaks}}
Climbing history
Lhotse Middle was first climbed in 2001 by three groups of Russian climbers. The first ascent was made on 23 May 2001 by Eugeny Vinogradsky, Sergei Timofeev, Alexei Bolotov, and Petr Kuznetsov; while on May 24, an ascent was made by Nikolai Zhilin, Gleb Sokolov, and Yuri Koshelenko. Vladimir Yanochkin, while Victor Volodin reached the summit on May 27. The Russian expedition was led by Nikolay Cherny and Victor Kozlov. Vasily Elagin and Yuri Ermachek were other expedition participants. At the time, Lhotse Middle was one of the last unclimbed named peaks above eight-thousand-meters (although as a subsidiary peak, it was not considered an eight-thousander).{{cite web|url=http://www.k2news.com/lhmid01.htm|title=First ascent on Lhotse Middle|publisher=K2 News|accessdate=2009-12-20 | date=June 2001 | author=Yury Koshelenko}} Several members of the 2001 expedition had attempted to reach the summit in 1997, but bad weather forced them to abandon the attempt, and one climber, Vladimir Bashkirov, died during the descent.{{cite web|url=http://www.russianclimb.com/middle_lhotse.html|title=First ascent of Lhotse Middle (with route map)|publisher=russianclimb.com|access-date=2009-12-20}}
References
{{reflist|refs=
{{cite aaj | title = Unraveling the Mystery of Lhotse Middle
| volume = 44 | issue = 76 | year = 2002 | page = 166
| author = Koshelenko, Yuri | article_id=12200216600
| access-date = 10 April 2016}}
}}
{{Eight-thousander}}
Category:Eight-thousanders of the Himalayas