Himalaya is the worlds most highest mountain range. It ranges apx. 2500 km long bow, where it's widets point is in the west (apx. 200km) and highest in the east (up to 8848m). The name means "the snows housing". The mountain range stretches from the Indus valley in the west to the Brahmaputras valley in the east. The mountain range makes up an unaccessible and mythlogical barrier between the Indienflatlands and Central Asias high plateau.

Himalaya has 14 peaks above 8000 meters. Several of the highest peaks - Mt.Everest, Kanchenjunga, Makalu and Annapurna are located in Nepal.Advanced alpinists consider these peaks as the greatest challenges. The difference in elevation between the Indus valley and Nagna Parbat in the northwest, which is only a few kilometers from there, is 7000 meters, and further out east the elevation difference is almost 8000 meters of a stretch no more than 100 km.

Broad Peak

The Baltoro glacier

The over hanging risk for avalanches, and suprise snowstorms along with the extreme thin air all attempts have a risk factor... Besides all of the peaks there are about 300 glaciers in the area. More about the glaciers...

Alpinists

Until World War 2 the record for climbers was 8570 m and the highest mountain to be climbed was Nanda Devi (7816m). Following the war Nepal opened its borders, and attempts on Himalaya from the easier south entrence could be done. Annapurna (8078m) was reached for the first time by the frenchman Herzog and Lacenal 1950 and the unaccessible Nanga Parbat (8126m) was reached by the Austrian Buhl 1953. The same year New Zeelander Hillary and Nepalier Tenzig following several attempts reached Mt. Everest (8848m). Kancgenjunga (8598m) was reached 1955 and Dhaulagiri (8170m) 1960. The worlds second highest mountain, Mount Goldwin Austin or K2 (8611m) in Karakoram, was ascended 1954 by the Italien expedition. More on the massivet Karakoram...

Gasherbrum III Trango Tower

The Himalaya moutain ranges

Himalaya is part of a system of parallell mountain ranges. This chain developed during the kritera and tretiar era. Time has produced a mountain range torn apart by deep and narrow valleys. From Transhimalaya in Tibet, Himalaya is divided by the elongated valleys where the rivers Indus and Brahmaputra connect. Even the river Gagnes has its origins in the Himalayas.

The large mountain chain creates a sharp border between climates, the tropical Indien, the heavily percipitated monsun climate and the dry and wintery Central Asian area. The snow level lies between 4500 and 6000m, forest area at apx. 1000m lower. Below the main chain the mountains are covered by forest and are made up of steep formations. On the percipitative southside tropical plants grow along with sub-tropical rain forests up to about 2500m height. Further up forests with birch, oak and different pine-forest. In these areas exist a rich wild life where such animals as leopards, tigers and elephants can be found. The north-side which gives very little percipitation exists mainly of desert or steppe.

It is only the higher portions of Himalaya that have a genuine alpine character. This distinct ice region rises 3000 - 4000m above the front part of Himalaya. In this fantastic mountain range some of the worlds highest mountains can be found, where no less than 14 of them are 8000m or higher and apx. 30 of them above 7600m. A common feature amoungst these mountains are the 2000-3000m peaks, along with high ice covered walls that are vertically shaped into the valleys. A known example of one of the walls is the Lhotse-Nuptse wall.
More on the "14 giants"...

Precipitation

The moisturous tropical air masses from the Indien Ocean releases its precipitation on Himalayas southern slopes. Even though the winter is a very dry period, an average of 6000 mm rain is measured per year. This causes the south side of Himalaya to be one of the worlds rainiest and most populated areas in the world. Intensive farming is the main occupation. The northern slope in contrast to the southern slopes which exists of rain forests one can find wintery dry steppe which is not vey populated at all.

The People

Himalaya is not very populated. The mountain people live on agriculture and stock-farming. In the higher mountain ranges they regularly move the stock between different pastures. I these isolated areas the myth of the "snow man" still exists. On the slopes of Himalaya towards India several well known resorts such as Simla and Darjeeling exist, here one can escape from the burning hot flatlands.

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