Yalung Kang

Yalung Kang
Yalungkar, Kangchenjunga West
Yalung Kang (leftmost peak) from the south face of the Kangchenjunga massif
Highest point
Elevation	8,505 m (27,904 ft)[1]
Prominence	135 m (443 ft)[1]
Parent peak	Kangchenjunga
Isolation	1.16 km (0.72 mi)[1]
Listing	List of mountains in Nepal
Coordinates	27°42′19″N 88°08′09″E / 27.705298°N 88.135968°E / 27.705298; 88.135968[1]
Geography
Yalung Kang Taplejung District, Koshi Province, Nepal
15km 10miles Nepal Pakistan India China 45 42 41 40 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1    The major peaks (not mountains) above 7,500 m (24,600 ft) height in Himalayas, rank identified in Himalayas alone (not the world).[2] The map may help give context to Yalung Kang with more detail and zooming on click through. Legend： 1：Mount Everest,  2：Kangchenjunga,  3：Lhotse,  4：Yalung Kang, Kanchenjunga West,  5：Makalu,  6：Kangchenjunga South,  7：Kangchenjunga Central,  8：Cho Oyu,  9：Dhaulagiri,  10：Manaslu (Kutang),  11：Nanga Parbat (Diamer) ,  12：Annapurna,  13：Shishapangma (Shishasbangma, Xixiabangma),  14：Manaslu East,  15：Annapurna East Peak,  16： Gyachung Kang,  17：Annapurna II ,  18：Tenzing Peak (Ngojumba Kang, Ngozumpa Kang, Ngojumba Ri),  19：Kangbachen,  20：Himalchuli (Himal Chuli),  21：Ngadi Chuli (Peak 29, Dakura, Dakum, Dunapurna),  22：Nuptse (Nubtse),  23：Nanda Devi,  24：Chomo Lonzo (Chomolonzo, Chomolönzo, Chomo Lönzo, Jomolönzo, Lhamalangcho),  25：Namcha Barwa (Namchabarwa),  26：Zemu Kang (Zemu Gap Peak),  27：Kamet,  28：Dhaulagiri II,  29：Ngojumba Kang II,  30：Dhaulagiri III,  31：Kumbhakarna Mountain (Mount Kumbhakarna, Jannu),  32：Gurla Mandhata (Naimona'nyi, Namu Nan) ,  33：Hillary Peak (Ngojumba Kang III),  34：Molamenqing (Phola Gangchen),  35：Dhaulagiri IV,  36：Annapurna Fang,  37：Silver Crag,  38：Kangbachen Southwest,  39：Gangkhar Puensum (Gangkar Punsum),  40：Annapurna III,  41：Himalchuli West,  42：Annapurna IV,  43：Kula Kangri,  44：Liankang Kangri (Gangkhar Puensum North, Liangkang Kangri),  45：Ngadi Chuli South
Parent range	Himalayas
Climbing
First ascent	May 14,1973 by Yutaka Ageta and Takao Matsuda

Yalung Kang (Yalungkar or alternatively Kangchenjunga West) is a 8,505 m high minor summit of the Kangchenjunga massif found in the Himalayan range.

The peak lies 1.16 km (0.72 mi) west of Kanchenjunga's main summit in Taplejung, Nepal.^[1] The mountain range continues west to the final subsidiary peak of the massif, Kangbachen.^[3]

While Yalung Kang has long been recognized by geographers to be over 8,000 m, there has been hesitation to consider Yalung Kang the 15th eight-thousander.^[4] At 8,505 m (27,904 ft) high, Yalung Kang would be the fifth highest mountain on earth if it were an independent peak, only eleven meters shorter than Lhotse.^[1]

In 2014, Nepal officially recognized Yalung Kang as an independent peak and opened it for climbing.^[5]

Despite Nepal's recognition, the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) refuses to recognize Yalung Kang as an independent peak.^[6] Its lack of recognition as an independent peak has led Yalung Kang to be scarcely climbed when compared to Kangchenjunga's central summit.

As of 2024, there have been only 22 recorded expeditions to Yalung Kang, compared to 201 on Kanchenjunga, according to the Himalayan Database.^[7] 12 of these have had successful summits, and five expeditions have experienced a fatality (22%), making it the most dangerous of the Kangchenjunga peaks.