Mount Kun

About Mount Kun

• Mount Kun, with a height of 7077 meters, is the second-highest peak of the Nun Kun massif.
• The massif is located near Sankoo in the Suru valley, Kargil district, Ladakh.
• The twin peaks of Nun (7135 meters) and Kunare separated by a snow plateau that extends for around 4 kilometers.
• They are among the highest peaks in the Zanskar Range on the Indian side of the Line of Control.
• These two towering peaks and their satellites; Barmal, White Needle and Pinnacle Peak form a horseshoe above the Suru riveron the boarder of Kashmir and Zanskar.
• Mountaineering:
• The first person to climb the Kun peak was Italian mountaineer Mario Piacenza in the year 1913.
• However, it took 58 years for an Indian Army Expedition to successfully climb the mountain again.
• The climb to the summit is technically challenging and demands extensive knowledge of mountaineering techniques like using ice axes, roping up procedures, crampons, and jumar climbing. 

Key Facts about Zanskar Range:

• The Zanskar Range is situated in the Ladakh region of northern India.
• It lies to the north of the Great Himalayan Range and runs parallel to it.
• The range stretches for approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the western end of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to the eastern border of Ladakh with Tibet.
• It separates Ladakh from the valleys of Kashmir and the Chenab River on one end, and Kinnaur from Spiti in the Himachal Pradesh region.
• Elevation:
• The average height is about 6,000 m (19,700 ft).
• The highest peak in the Zanskar Range is Kamet, which is 7,756 meters (25,446 feet) high.
• Passes: Most important passes are Zojila, Shipki, Lipu Lekh (Lipulieke), and Mana.
• Rivers:
• Many rivers originatingin different branches of this rangeflow northward, and join the great Indus River.
• These rivers include Shingo River, Zanskar River, Hanle River, Suru River (Indus), and Khurna River.

Q1: What is an avalanche?

An avalanche is a rapid and often violent flow of snow, ice, and debris down a mountain or slope. It is a natural phenomenon that occurs when there is a disturbance in the stability of a snowpack on a steep terrain. Avalanches can vary in size and speed, ranging from small, relatively harmless slides to large and destructive ones.

Source: Army Jawan Killed, 3 Missing After Avalanche Hits Mount Kun In Ladakh