Shivling (Garhwal Himalaya)

F6

The Shivling is a 6543 m high mountain in the northern Indian part of the Himalayas. It lies in the Gangotri Group ( Garhwal Himalaya ) in the state of Uttarakhand. The distinctive shape resembles a steep pyramid, reminiscent of the Matterhorn Valais, which is why the mountain is also known as Matterhorn Peak. Due to its wild form, combined with the high difficulty of ascent, the Shivling is a popular destination among mountaineers.

Geography

The Shivling is located west of the Gangotri Glacier, opposite the Bhagirathi group. To the north rises to around 4000 meters of the " sacred river " Bhagirathi, which is the largest tributary of the Ganges. The designated with Gomukh glacier snout of the Gangotri Glacier is considered Ganges source and target point of a well-known and frequently committed pilgrimage. About this coming from Gangotri Pilgrimage, the base camp is reached. Immediately to the west is the 6450 m high Meru, to the west of the 6772 m high Briguapanth. To the northwest is the dreigipflige Manda Group ( 6568 m).

The Shivling is made of three sides of steep cliffs, only the west side is to form shallow enough to Firnflanken. These are highly fissured by seracs. He has a twin summit.

The saddle height is 850 meters.

Name

The name of the Shivlings refers to the Hindu god Shiva. The Shivling is a symbol of the creative power of Shiva. The shape of the mountain reminds, especially from the north, to a Linga, a symbol that is closely related to Shiva in conjunction.

In its first ascent of the neighboring Bhagirati III, the British Colin Kirkus and Charles Warren called the Shivling after its steep pyramid-like shape for the first time Matterhorn Peak.

Climbing history

Under Hindu pilgrims the Shivling is known for his distinctive appearance and visibility of the sacred source of the Ganges. In the West he was known as the Matterhorn peak after the British expedition in 1933 on the adjacent Bhagirati III. 1938 was a German expedition led by R. Schwarzgruber on adjacent mountains go. Due to the steepness of the many seracs and reported this to " no feasible routes " on the Shivling. In the following years no Erstbesteigungsversuchen have survived.

It was only on June 3, 1974, the Shivling from the Indians Laxman Singh the Dorje Sherpa, Pemba Tharkay, Pasang Tsering and Ang Tharkay on the west wall and the west ridge was first climbed. The ridge leads to a col between the twin peaks and from there via a couloir to the main summit. This expedition was a venture of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. This increase could be repeated until 1980. Today he is regarded as " Normal ", the route leads through steep and dangerous Séraczonen and is not always accessible. 1980, the north ridge was first climbed by a Japanese expedition.

The East Ridge in 1981, first climbed by an international expedition team, including Doug Scott in 13 days. Here, over 60 cable lengths (up to VI. Difficulty) partially with Bigwalltechnik and technical climbing (A3 ) had to be overcome. This ascent is now regarded as "alpine feat and a milestone in the history of the mountain. "

In the 1980s, further expeditions on the south pillar, the south-east and by the north wall were successful. The German Thomas Huber and the Swiss Iwan Wolf could erstbegehen 2000 direct north pillar ( VII./A4 ). For this commission of the Piolet d'Or received the two, probably the most important reward for exceptional performance in extreme mountain sports. In May 2012, was carried out by the Russians Valery Rosow the first base jump from the top, which represented at that time the second highest BASE jump from a mountain. Today, over ten routes diverse character lead to the summit.