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Top 10 Most Beautiful Mountains in China

(www.chinatouristmaps.com)
Updated: 2009-11-17 17:00

7. Chogori Peak in Xinjiang (喬戈里峰)

Chogori Peak, 8,611 meters in Yecheng County, Kashgar (Kashi) Region of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is a transliteration of the Tajik language, meaning ''high, great and magnificent.'' Internationally, it is better known as K2, which is the only major mountain in the world that has surveyor's notation as its common name (K stands for Karakoram, 2 means it was the second peak listed).

Chogori Peak stands on the Chinese-Pakistan border. It lies in the middle of the Karakoram Range. Its southern slopes are in Pakistan, and its northern face is part of Yecheng County in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. There is an abundance of mountaineering resources.

It is more difficult to climb the Karakoram Range from the northern slope than from the southern slope. It is even more difficult to climb Chogori. First of all, the dangerous slope with an average gradient of 45 degree, as if shaped by knives and axes, are covered with steep cliffs and sliding chutes arising from avalanches. The vertical height difference is 4,700 meters. It is the biggest vertical height difference among the peaks 8,000 meters above sea level in the world. The steep slope makes it extremely difficult to find safe places for setting up high-altitude camps. Because of its special landform and geomorphology, ropes have to be fixed along the whole route from the advance camp to the summit. The gradient is between 80 degree and 85 degree in some places, and there is almost nowhere for team members to rest.

Of all the 8,000 meters plus peaks, Chogori has the third highest death rate. The dangerous landform and changeable weather have caused a death rate as 30% in attempts on the summit. Since 1954, only 164 people have scaled the summit, and 49 others have been killed. This great peak is for expert climbers only. This is Chogori! In the eyes of the top-class mountaineers, it is the most beautiful peak; it is its matchless danger that seduces them. This is what the great Chogori means to the world's top-class mountaineers.

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