Easiest route rock/snow/ice climb First ascent 10 May 1960 Listing Ultra-prominent peak Parent ranges Gurans Himal, Himalayas | Elevation 7,132 m Prominence 2,040 m Mountain range Himalayas, Gurans Himal | |
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Location Darchula district, Northwestern Nepal Similar Saipal, Kanjiroba, Ngadi Chuli, Chamlang, Jongsong Peak | ||
Api is the highest peak in the Yoka Pahar Section of Gurans Himal, part of the Himalayas in the extreme northwest corner of Nepal, near the borders of Tibet. It is a little-known peak in a rarely visited part of the Himalayas, but it rises dramatically over the low surrounding terrain.
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Map of Api, Byash 10100, Nepal
Notable features
Although low in elevation among the major mountains of Nepal, Api is exceptional in its rise above local terrain; the surrounding valleys are significantly lower than those surrounding most higher Himalayan peaks.
Api peak's south face rises 3,300m (10,826 ft) above its base.
Climbing history
The Api region was visited by Westerners in 1899, 1905, and 1936, but the peak was not attempted until 1953 on a visit by W. H. Murray a Scottish Mountaineer with John Tyson. This attempt was unsuccessful, as was another, by Italians, in 1954 which resulted in the death of two expedition members.
The first ascent of Api occurred in 1960. The Doshisha Alpine Society of Japan successfully completed the Northwest Face route attempted by the 1954 party.
In 1980 a British Army Mountaineering Association expedition made an attempt to climb the peak by the south face reaching within a few hundred meters of the summit.
December 24, 1983 Polish climbers Tadeusz Piotrowski and Andrzej BieluĊ made the first winter ascent.
The Himalayan Index lists three more ascents of the peak, in 1978, 1996 and 2001.