Name this mountain

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George Bell

Trad climber
Colorado
Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 14, 2013 - 01:02pm PT
I am trying to identify these mountains. This photograph was taken in 1955 by my father, George Bell. The label on the negative is "Peaks near Ama Dablam". This is a huge hint, but I still have not been able to identify these peaks. Does anyone know for sure?

-George Bell Jr.

Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Feb 14, 2013 - 01:14pm PT
It's been 11 minutes; I'm disappointed.
I say it is Alpamayito.
Jerry Dodrill

climber
Sebastopol
Feb 14, 2013 - 01:29pm PT
Fluting looks more like the Andes than Himalayan
sharperblue

Mountain climber
oakland, california
Feb 14, 2013 - 01:31pm PT
def not the Blanca or Huayhuash. looks like Thamersku from the SE
rockermike

Trad climber
Berkeley
Feb 14, 2013 - 01:32pm PT
yea, sure looks like Andes to me....
michael feldman

Mountain climber
millburn, nj
Feb 14, 2013 - 01:33pm PT
Having climbed Alpamayo, it sure looks like it from the upper part. However, the glaciated lower portion does not look familiar. The ridge on Alpamayo is also totally different (shorter). The nail in the Alpamayo coffin is that it is nowhere near Ama Dablam - about a world away. Pretty nonetheless!
George Bell

Trad climber
Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 14, 2013 - 01:38pm PT
I always assumed it was Peru, too. The label is on an envelope, and it is possible the negative was placed in the wrong envelope. It is likely to be a rather obscure peak. It is not Alpamayo.

Also, since it was taken more than 50 years ago the glacier may have changed significantly from this photo.
ydpl8s

Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
Feb 14, 2013 - 01:42pm PT
Google sharperblue's Thamersku, could be......
McHale's Navy

Trad climber
Panorama City, California & living in Seattle
Feb 14, 2013 - 02:33pm PT
Putting my money on Baruntse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Baruntse_wp.jpg

The main summit would be off to the right out of Bell's photo.
sharperblue

Mountain climber
oakland, california
Feb 14, 2013 - 02:39pm PT
if you haven't already, d/l Google Earth and search for 'Thamersku' and 'Ama Dablam' and futz around for a bit; you'll be able to find the mountain for sure with a bit of searching. Then attaching a name to it shouldn't be that much harder
wbw

Trad climber
'cross the great divide
Feb 14, 2013 - 02:42pm PT
The Peruvian style flutings suggest Chacaraju. Summit ridge looks similar too. Although, with glacial melting it is a lot rockier now than that picture shows.

Definitely not Alpamayo. I wonder if that itty bitty peak in the background, left of the main peak in the picture could be Artesonraju. If said peak is Chacaraju, Arteson would be in that approximate location, me thinks.
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Feb 14, 2013 - 03:06pm PT
The mtn. in question must have a name. Every thing has its name.

I can't go with the Ama Dablam, whole Asian thing. The photo is simply too reminiscent of the Sierra Blanca; as has been said, it could be. The flutings are so distinctive of the Andes in general.

The face in the photo must be a north face in the southern hemissphere it this is in southern South America, that is, below the equator. If that is the case, then the photo must have been shot from the east of the peak(s) in the photo.

Eric Shipton would suggest going and looking for yourself. But that's just Shipton. And an armchair suggestion, so forget it.

The name(s) will turn up, there can be no doubt.

edit: My bad. They are not the Sierra Blanca: it's Cordillera Blanca.

sharperblue

Mountain climber
oakland, california
Feb 14, 2013 - 03:16pm PT
with respect, Mouse, that ain't Peru, or anywhere in SA. That's Nepal for sure, which - along with enormous swathes of Tibet - is decked in plenty of huge Andes-esque flutings on 6500-7000m peaks

That looks like Ama Dablam's summit poking through in the far background btw the notch in the summit of the peak in question. the distinctive slope before the notch is what gives Thamersku it's sig, with the much higher Dablam to the North, which is why I thunked this might be Thamersku. Not so sure now. Again, GEarth knows; keep looking
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Feb 14, 2013 - 03:23pm PT
Flute Thing from 1967, about when the photo might have been shot. With respect, some of you probably liked this back in that year and following.
Flute Thing by the Blues Proj.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rlmK1IFAc8
wbw

Trad climber
'cross the great divide
Feb 14, 2013 - 03:45pm PT
def not the Blanca or Huayhuash. looks like Thamersku from the SE

What in the picture makes you so sure?
zBrown

Ice climber
chingadero de chula vista
Feb 14, 2013 - 03:46pm PT
call it Mt. George Bell - it's appropriate.


geo_nutt

Trad climber
the big bang
Feb 14, 2013 - 04:01pm PT
I would sort of agree with Baruntse, I think it is actually the peak/ridge between the two... Don't know the name. If you turn around and look the other direction you will be facing the very tall face of lohtse. I got some pictures that look very similar I'll see if I can't dig them up and post them.
George Bell

Trad climber
Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 14, 2013 - 04:44pm PT
Thanks for all the help! I am doing a lot of google image searches. One peak between Ama Dablam and Baruntse is called "Amphu Laptsa Peak" (named after the pass), which has several summits.

Alpinist X has a mt. profile story on Ama Dablam. I'm going to look at all the photos in it tonight ...
George Bell

Trad climber
Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 14, 2013 - 05:07pm PT
Using Google Earth, I have found it! Check out the attached Google Earth images! The highest peak in the center of my dad's photo has a distinctive triangular buttress and a summit snow cap. These features can also be identified in the Google Earth screen shots.

This peak is immediately S of Ama Dablam. I don't know if it has a name yet. If you follow the ridge to the right out of the picture, it looks like a higher summit is reached ...


wbw

Trad climber
'cross the great divide
Feb 14, 2013 - 05:25pm PT
Wow! That face has gotten waaaay gnarly in the last 58 years.
geo_nutt

Trad climber
the big bang
Feb 14, 2013 - 05:25pm PT
Not the ridge I was thinking of (i was thinking directly to the east) but definitely looks like you found the right one in google earth. What an amazing tool that is! The fluting in the area around Ama dablam is quite spectacular. Glad you found what you were looking for.

Cheers!

George Bell

Trad climber
Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 14, 2013 - 05:44pm PT
Here is the photo as reproduced by Google Earth, as close as I can get, anyway. The lighting is not right, even with changing the sunlight setting and current date. Viewpoint is still a little high, the background peaks should not be visible.

The higher summit to the right is visible (cut off in the photo).

Google Earth is great for this!


Thanks, guys!
S.Leeper

Social climber
somewhere that doesnt have anything over 90'
Feb 14, 2013 - 06:05pm PT
fascinating to see the same mountain 50 years later
Crump

Social climber
Lakewood, CO
Feb 14, 2013 - 06:06pm PT
Backside of ERock for sure! When we had snow once...
matty

Trad climber
under the sea
Feb 14, 2013 - 06:42pm PT
WOW pretty cool, thought it was peru for sure, but what do I know...not much.
McHale's Navy

Trad climber
Panorama City, California & living in Seattle
Feb 14, 2013 - 07:10pm PT
Good detective work with Google! I was mostly going off memories of this photo I have that Scott Fischer took of Wes Krause on Baruntse.
harryhotdog

Social climber
north vancouver, B.C.
Feb 14, 2013 - 09:10pm PT
I believe this peak is just west of Baruntse on the way into Island peak.
Sheets

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Feb 14, 2013 - 10:42pm PT

It is pretty fascinating to look at mountains separated in time.

George, what's funny is that I read K2: The Savage Mountain at about the same time I was reading a couple of your father's papers on neutron transport. Didn't put it together until later that it was the same guy. Pretty impressive guy.
George Bell

Trad climber
Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 15, 2013 - 05:09pm PT
Yes, my dad was pretty amazing. Too bad he is no longer with us.

The peak in the photo has no official name that I have found, it is the easternmost peak of Malangphutang (also spelled Malangphulang), 27deg48'58.18", 86deg53'20.85'. On one map it's height was identified as 6439m (21,125'). The main summit of Malangphutang is the "higher peak to the right", 6573m.

The photograph was taken from near Mingbo La looking south.
zBrown

Ice climber
chingadero de chula vista
Feb 15, 2013 - 05:15pm PT
The peak in the photo has no official name that I have found

Like I said Mr. George Bell, has a nice ring to it!
George Bell

Trad climber
Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 15, 2013 - 06:15pm PT
Nope. I think it was Charles Bell who climbed the Willis Wall. My dad is the George Bell of K2 fame!
Conrad

climber
Feb 15, 2013 - 08:03pm PT
Greetings George,

Nice image and what a "cool" thread. As you have noted, this is the peak SE of the Mingbo La (Pass) near Ama Dablam. I recognized it from the work I have been doing on behalf of the Extreme Ice Survey and Jim Balog. We have a time lapse camera that has been observing the Nare Glacier on the South side of Ama Dablam.


The peak appears to be the right in this image.


This image, courtesy of Barry Bishop is from the first ascent of Ama Dablam in '61. We used this as a location to study the Nare Glacier.



This image is from May of 2010.


sharperblue

Mountain climber
oakland, california
Feb 19, 2013 - 07:50pm PT
^^^^^^
Thanks for posting those pics, and thanks for the entire Chasing Ice production/Jim Balog's and all involved's work - an amazing and beautiful documentary
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