Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, is the third highest mountain in the world. It rises with an elevation of 8,586 m (28,169 ft) in a section of the Himalayas called Kangchenjunga Himal delimited in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak Chu and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River. The name Kangchenjunga translates "Five Treasures of Snow," referring to Kangchenjunga's five peaks. The Tibetan words are Kang (Snow) chen (Big) dzö (Treasury) nga (Five). The five treasures are Gold, Silver, Precious Stones, Grain, and Holy Scriptures.
The 1955 first ascent party included famed British rock ace Joe Brown, who climbed a 5.8 rock section on the ridge just below the summit. The two climbers, Brown and George Band, stopped just below the sacred summit itself, fulfilling a promise to the Maharaja of Sikkim to keep the summit undefiled by human feet. This tradition has been practiced by many of the climbers who have reached Kangchenjunga's summit. The following day, May 26, climbers Norman Hardie and Tony Streather made the mountain's second ascent.
Kanchenjunga is composed of rocks of Neoproterozoic (late Precambrian) to Ordovician age (i.e., about 445 million to 1 billion years old). The mountain and its glaciers receive heavy snow during the summer monsoon season and a lighter snowfall during the winter. The individual summits connect to neighbouring peaks by four main ridges, from which four glaciers flow—the Zemu (northeast), the Talung (southeast), the Yalung (southwest), and the Kanchenjunga (northwest).