Thamserku

A 6,608-metre peak in the Khumbu region of Nepal, dominating the southern skyline above Namche Bazaar. Thamserku and its neighbour Kangtega together form the wall of peaks that trekkers see on the second day of the walk to Everest base camp. The mountain has a distinctive double-summit profile — a long ridge punctuated by two near-equal high points — that makes it instantly identifiable from any viewpoint in the lower Khumbu.

The first ascent was made in 1964 by a New Zealand expedition led by Lynn Crawford, climbing the Southwest Ridge. The summit team was Crawford, Pete Farrell, and the Sherpas Phu Dorje and Dawa Tenzing. The route involved sustained ice climbing on the upper ridge and remained the only completed ascent of the mountain for over a decade. The peak has since been climbed by several routes, but never become a popular objective. Most years, no commercial expeditions attempt it.

The technical difficulty of Thamserku is comparable to Cholatse — sustained alpine climbing at moderate altitude with no easy way up. What separates the two is approach. Thamserku's base is reached by leaving the standard Everest trail and trekking into less-travelled valleys. The mountain receives perhaps a handful of summit attempts per year. The summit ridge is exposed to weather from the south and is rarely climbed in storm conditions.

For Sherpa families in the lower Khumbu, Thamserku is the mountain that fills the southern view from the front door. It is the daily mountain — the peak that catches the first morning sun, the peak whose shadow tells the time. The climbing community has not given Thamserku the attention it has given Ama Dablam. The mountain is not less for that.