The name Eric Shipton's party who were on their way to explore the Barun Gorge gave Island Peak to the mountain in 1952. Seen from above Dingboche the mountain does indeed resemble an island in a sea of ice. In 1983 it was renamed Imja Tse, although for most people the descriptive name of Island Peak seems to have been retained.
The mountain was first climbed in 1953 by a very prestigious team in preparation for the ascent of Everest. They were Charles Evans, Alf Gregory, Charles Wylie and Tenzing Norgay, with seven Sherpas who were trying out the new fangled oxygen sets; as practice, of course, for loftier things. Fortunately, this did not set a precedent and most people seem able to climb it without bottled air. Seen from the moraines between Pheriche and Dingboche the mountain doesn't look too impressive, dwarfed as it is by one of the largest mountain faces in the world; the South Face of Lhotse. However, on close inspection it reveals itself an interesting and attractive summit with a highly glaciated West Face rising from the Lhotse Glacier. The mountain itself is really an extension of the South Ridge of Lhotse Shar and is separated from it by a small col. Above this gap, rising to the south, is a classically beautiful ridge leading to the summit of lmja Tse. The continuation of this ridge, descending south-west, provides part of the normal route of ascent and leads in turn to the South Summit, seen capping the rocky west facet of the mountain when viewed from near Chhukhung.
As well as providing an enjoyable climb the peak also provides some of the most striking scenery in the Khumbu. If the peak can be likened to an island in a glacial sea, then the mainland forms a semicircle of cliffs that rise in the north to the rugged summits of Nuptse (7,879m) Lhotse (8,501m), Lhotse Middle Peak (8,410m), as yet still unclimbed and Lhotse Shar (8,383m). To the east, rising above the frozen waves of the Lhotse Shar Glacier, is Cho Polu (6,734m), beyond which can be seen the red granite mass of Makalu (8,475m). To the south of the Imja Glacier the icy flutings of Baruntse (7,720m) and the Amphu peaks lead the eye to the lofty pinnacle of Ama Dablam (6,856m) which is like a giant sea-stack guarding the entrance to the glacial bay in which the Island Peak stands.
