Machapuchare
{{short description|Mountain in Nepal}}
{{about|a mountain}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Machapuchare
| native_name ={{native name|gvr|कतासुँ क्लिको}}
| other_name = Machhapuchhre (Fishtail Mountain)
| photo = Machapuchare close-up of summit ridge.jpg
| photo_caption = Machapuchare
| elevation_m = 6993
| elevation_ref = {{cite peakbagger|pid=10626|name=Machapuchare}}
| prominence_m = 1,233
| language =
| range = Annapurna Himalayas
| location = North Central Nepal
| map = Nepal
| range_coordinates =
| map_caption = Location in Nepal
| map_size =
| label_position = right
| coordinates = {{coord|28|29|42|N|83|56|57|E|type:mountain_region:NP_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref =
| first_ascent = Unclimbed (ascents not allowed)
| easiest_route =
}}
Machapuchare, Machhapuchchhre or Machhapuchhre ({{etymology|Nepali|माछापुच्छ्रे |fishtail}}, Tamu: कतासुँ क्लिको), is a mountain situated in the Annapurna massif of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. Its highest peak has never been officially climbed due to the impossibility of gaining a permit from the government of Nepal.
Location
Machapuchare is at the end of a long spur ridge, coming south out of the main backbone of the Annapurna massif, which forms the eastern boundary of the Annapurna Sanctuary. The peak is about {{convert|25|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} north of Pokhara, the provincial capital of the Gandaki Province. The sanctuary is a favorite trekking destination, and the site of the base camps for the South Face of Annapurna and many other named and unnamed peaks.
Notable features
Due to its southern position in the range and the particularly low terrain that lies south of the Annapurna Himalayas, which contains three of the 10 highest peaks in the world, Machapuchare commands tremendous vertical relief in a short horizontal distance. This, combined with its steep, pointed profile, makes it a particularly striking peak, despite its lower elevation than some of its neighbors. Its double summit resembles the tail of a fish, hence the name meaning "fish's tail" in Nepalese. It is also nicknamed the "Matterhorn of Nepal".
It is a sacred peak for the Gurungs and the people of Chomrong.{{Cite web|last=Vallangi|first=Neelima|title=The Himalayan peak off limits to climbers|url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20210216-the-himalayan-peak-off-limits-to-climbers|access-date=2021-02-22|website=www.bbc.com|language=en}} The mountain is said to be sacred as a home to the god Shiva.{{Cite web|url=https://honeyguideapps.com/blog/machhapuchhre-a-mountaineering-mecca-or-just-a-proud-monument|title=Mt. Machhapuchhre: Should it be opened for climbing?|date=2015-07-30|website=HoneyGuide|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-30}}
Climbing history
File:Machhapuchree During ABC Trek.jpg
It is believed that Machapuchare has never been climbed to the summit. The only confirmed attempt was in 1957 by a British team led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Roberts. Climbers Wilfrid Noyce and A. D. M. Cox climbed to within {{convert|150|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} of the summit via the north ridge,{{cite journal | title = Climbing the Fish’s Tail | journal =Alpine Journal| date= 1957| first =Wilfred | last = Noyce | issn= 0065-6569 |volume =#62 |issue = 94 | pages=113-120 | access-date =16 November 2024 |url = https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1957_files/AJ62%201957%20113-120%20Noyce%20Fish%27s%20Tail.pdf }} to an approximate altitude of {{convert|22,793|ft|abbr=on}}. King Mahendra had given them permission to climb the mountain, but forbade them from stepping foot on the summit itself, Noyce and his team honoured his words and published the only climbing record of the mountain a year later. Early in the expedition another member of the party, Roger Chorley, contracted polio, with help from Jimmy Roberts he left the expedition to seek medical assistance.{{cite journal | title = Asia, Nepal, Machapuchare | journal =American Alpine Journal| date=1958| first =Wilfrid | last = Noyce | issn= 0065-6925 |volume =#11 |issue =32 | pages= 118-120 | access-date = 12 September 2024 |url = http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12195811800/Asia-Nepal-Machapuchare }}
No permits to climb the mountain have been issued since then but there are reports of a New Zealand climber, Bill Denz, illegally but successfully reaching the summit in the early 1980s.{{Cite web|url=https://www.anothermag.com/design-living/8893/the-untouched-holy-mountain-of-nepal|title=The Untouched Holy Mountain of Nepal|last=AnOther|date=2016-07-22|website=AnOther|language=en|access-date=2019-10-30}}
Sources
- {{cite book|first1=Andy|last1=Fanshawe|first2=Stephen|last2=Venables|title=Himalaya Alpine Style|publisher=Hodder and Stoughton|year=1995}}
- {{cite book|first=Koichiro|last=Ohmori|title=Over The Himalaya|publisher=Cloudcap Press/The Mountaineers|year=1994}}
References
External links
{{Commons and category}}
- [http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/150279/machhapuchare.html Machapuchare on Summitpost]
- [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/galleries/worlds-most-beautiful-mountains/ The world's 19 most staggeringly beautiful mountains] The Telegraph, April 2018.
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Machapuchare}}
Category:Mountains in Hinduism
Category:Six-thousanders of the Himalayas