Xixabangma, one of the world’s highest mountains, reaching an elevation of 26,286 feet (8,012 metres) above sea level. It rises in the Himalayas in the southern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, southwestern China, near the Nepal border. The Trisuli River cuts a gorge to the west of the mountain, forming an important trade route. The glacier- and snow-covered peak was first scaled by a Chinese expedition in 1964. Gosainthan is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning “place of God,” while the Tibetan name, Shisha Pangma, means “range above the grassy plain.”