Nature
PUBLISHED
Humans are exploratory creatures, so you might think that if there's a pretty tall mountain out there, at some point someone will have climbed to the top of it to show the mountain gods who is boss.
But at around 7,570 meters (24,840 feet), Gangkhar Puensum is an impressive mountain, and as far as we can tell nobody has ever seen the summit up close.
The world's highest mountain is of course Mount Everest, with its peak being the highest there is above sea level. Despite countless deaths, and frozen bodies lining the trail, 7,563 different people have climbed to the top of its 8,848.86 meters (29,032 feet) summit.
Then there is Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano in Hawai'i. With a peak sitting 4,207 meters (13,803 feet) above sea level, it is not the highest mountain in the world, but it is the tallest. Its base reaches down deep into the Pacific Ocean, making the mountain 10,210 meters (33,500 feet) from base to peak – and making Everest look like a hill.
This too has been summited. So why not Gangkhar Puensum?
Well, some have attempted it in the past. Between 1983 and 1994, teams of Japanese, Australian, and British climbers tried their luck, but all turned back before they reached 7,000 meters (22,965 feet). The British team ended up being evacuated via helicopter after strong winds put a stop to their attempt.
But it's not just treacherous conditions that stop people from the attempt, with climbing the mountain now being banned altogether.
The mountain lies on the border of China and Bhutan, with the majority of it – and the summit – lying on the Bhutanese side. In 1994, Bhutan took the decision to prohibit people from climbing Gangkhar Puensum, and other mountains in the region that are over 6,000 meters (19,685 feet), for a few reasons.
The first was the most obvious one: somebody is going to get killed. There is a distinct lack of rescue services in the area to deal with climbers who find themselves in trouble.
Gangkhar Puensum, which translates to White Peak of the Three Spiritual Brothers, also holds spiritual meaning for locals who follow the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, believing the peaks to be home to yul lha, or guardian deities. Disturbing these deities, for instance by trampling around on their home, is believed to have negative consequences for the region.
Though not the reason behind the ban, which was extended to all climbing within Bhutan in 2003, the mountain is also connected with rumors of the Migoi, more commonly known as the "yeti", and thunder dragons known as Druk, which feature on the national flag.
In 1998, despite the ban, a team of Japanese climbers attempted to reach the summit by approaching it from the Tibetan side, with China claiming that the peak actually lies on their side of the border.
The team were forced to abandon their attempt, however, after protests from Bhutan, though the details remain sketchy.
"I cannot disclose an inside story behind the sudden cancellation," mountaineer Tamotsu Nakamura reportedly said of the decision.
"I write only that the reason why the permit was withdrawn was because of a political issue with [the] Bhutan government."
Instead, they sumitted Liangkang Kangri, known as Gangkhar Puensum North, where they could at least get a view of the peak.
“[W]e could see the long knife-edged ridge stretching toward the summit of Gankarpunzum," Tsuguyasu Itami wrote of the experience. "It looked very serious, especially below the summit.”
Until rescue infrastructure is in place, and the ban is lifted, this is the closest view we will get of the highest unclimbed mountain in the world.
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