The major peaks (not mountains) above 7,500 m (24,600 ft) height in Himalayas, rank identified in Himalayas alone (not the world).[1] The map may help give context to Yalung Kang with more detail and zoomimg on click through.
The peak lies 1,11 km west of Kanchenjunga's main summit in Taplejung, Nepal. The mountain range continues west to the final subsidiary peak of the massif, Kangbachen.[2]
While Yalung Kang has long been recognized by geographers to be over 8,000 m, there has been hesitation to consider Yalung Kang the 15th eight-thousander.[3] At 8,505 m high, Yalung Kang would be the fifth highest mountain on earth if it were an independent peak, only eleven meters shorter than Lhotse.
In 2014, Nepal officially recognized Yalung Kang as an independent peak and opened it for climbing.[4]
Despite Nepal's recognition, the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) refuses to recognize Yalung Kang as an independent peak.[5] Its lack of recognition as an independent peak has led Yalung Kang to be scarcely climbed when compared to Kangchenjunga's central summit.
As of 2024, there have been only 22 recorded expeditions to Yalung Kang, compared to 201 on Kanchenjunga, according to the Himalayan Database.[6] 12 of these have had successful summits, and five expeditions have experienced a fatality (22%), making it the most dangerous of the Kangchenjunga peaks.