Lhotse Shar

Lhotse Shar is a subsidiary mountain of Lhotse, at 8,383 m (27,503 ft) high. It was first climbed by Sepp Mayerl and Rolf Walter on 12 May 1970.

Lhotse Shar
Lhotse Shar in 2014
Highest point
Elevation	8,383 m (27,503 ft)
Prominence	86 m (282 ft)
Parent peak	Lhotse
Isolation	0.62 km (0.39 mi)
Listing	Eight-thousander
Coordinates	27°57′30″N 86°56′36″E
Geography
Lhotse Shar Location in Nepal
Location	Nepal (Khumbu) China (Tibet Autonomous Region)
Parent range	Mahalangur Himal
Climbing
First ascent	12 May 1970

Climbing routes and dangers

Lhotse Shar forms the eastern highpoint of Lhotse’s central ridge, far from the main summit's standard route of ascent via the Reiss Couloir. As the ridge and Lhotse's central summits are themselves extremely difficult climbs, a traverse to the Shar along the main ridge is impractical and prospective climbers must instead ascend Lhotse’s huge vertical rise from outside the Western Cwm. Most opt for the southeastern flank of the Shar itself, or the most direct route, up Lhotse's South Face.

The steep pyramid of the Shar inevitably forces climbers across exposed rock bands and avalanche-prone slopes in all directions, and these routes have consequently seen many fatalities; indeed, of Lhotse's documented deaths as of 2021, a third (11 of 31) have occurred on Lhotse Shar. It has the highest fatality rate of all principal or secondary eight-thousander summits – for every two people who summit the mountain, one person dies attempting to.^[1] The mountain's extreme height further compounds the danger: At 8,383 meters above sea level, it is 292 meters (958 feet) higher than Annapurna I Main, the next-deadliest summit of the eight-thousanders, and well into the Death zone, greatly increasing the risk of altitude sickness for climbers.

Incidents

• On 27 April 1980, Nicolas Jaeger was seen for the last time at 8,200 metres (26,900 ft) altitude on Lhotse Shar, and is presumed dead. Jaeger was attempting a traverse from the Shar to Lhotse Main.^[2]

• 27 September 1987 saw the single deadliest day on Lhotse Shar, as four Spanish climbers fell 1,500 meters to their deaths in an avalanche. The partial recovery of the team's remains by British climbers Alan and Adrian Burgess is recounted in Jon Krakauer's 1990 compendium Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains.^[3]

References

1. "Lhotse Shar 8400 metres". EverestNews. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
2. Buffet, Charlie (20 March 2005). "Nicolas Jaeger au pays de l'oxygène rare" (in French). Le Monde. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
3. Eiger Dreams