Changabang

Changabang is a tower of pale granite in the Garhwal Himalaya, a 6,864-metre peak whose gleaming walls above the Nanda Devi sanctuary have inspired some of the boldest climbing in the range. Its shining rock earned it a near-mythical status among alpinists of the 1970s and 1980s.

The mountain is a hard alpine rock and mixed objective, with steep granite faces and icy buttresses that have hosted landmark ascents, including committing lightweight lines on its west wall. Routes are long, cold and technical, in the upper alpine to expedition grades, blending free and aid rock climbing with serious ice; the peak's history is a roll-call of influential Himalayan climbers. It remains firmly expert terrain.

The climbing seasons are the pre- and post-monsoon, broadly May to June and September to October, when weather windows allow the mixed faces to come into condition away from monsoon snowfall.

Access lies through the Rishi gorge toward the inner Nanda Devi region, a strictly protected and logistically difficult approach requiring special permits and careful planning. The remoteness and sanctity of the area add to the peak's aura.

The 1976 west-wall ascent by Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker became one of the most celebrated feats in mountaineering literature, a small-team epic on vertical granite that helped define modern alpine-style Himalayan climbing. For alpinists steeped in that history, Changabang stands as a symbol of the era when small teams pushed hard new routes on the range's most beautiful rock, and it continues to reward those willing to commit to its demanding walls.