Gangkhar Puensum: The forbidden mountain never climbed before

Many mountains or walls around the world are challenging for climbers, and there are still great unresolved mountaineering challenges. There is a mountain that has never been climbednot even by the most prominent in the area. 

This mountain is called Gangkhar Puensum and is 7,570 metres high.It ranks 45th on the list of the world's highest mountains. It is located on the border between Bhutan and Tibet.The Himalayas are located in the Himalayan mountain range on the Asian continent.

The story behind the Gangkhar Puensum

The Gangkhar Puensum is not only known for being an unmanned mountain, but also for its historical value for Bhutan and Tibet. 

Including The reason why no human being has been able to reach the top of it is because climbing it has been forbidden since 2004. This measure was taken as a measure to respect religious issues in the area. 

The word in the area is that around this mountain there are some spirits and if you enter there they could be disturbed.. The inhabitants also say that the higher you go, the more sacred the land is, the higher you go, the more respect you should have for it. 

Because it is so sacred to both countries, it is forbidden to climb its 7,570 metres on either side of the mountain. Also it should be noted that the mountain is a kind of reclamation zone.This makes it much more difficult for mountaineers to be allowed access. 

What is the political conflict between Bhutan, Tibet and China?

The border between Bhutan, Tibet, China and India lies in the eastern Himalayas; however, in this case only Bhutan and China are involved, two countries that for years have had a series of diplomatic conflicts. 

Problems between the two countries have not only made it impossible for mountaineers to get close to Gangkhar Puensum, but also go further with other spaces and landscapes. that are considered "perfect". 

This situation between the two countries has been going on for many years and is of course related to the war with China and the latter's conflicts with India. It is said that by that time many Tibetans migrated from China to BhutanThis was before that country decided to close the border. 

For 1998 the two countries signed an agreement providing for the maintenance of peace on the border.. By the same time, China recognised Bhutan as an independent nation. Despite this agreement, China later built roads in the area, and tensions between the two nations returned.

The construction of these roads began in 2017 and India intervened and stopped the work.India and Bhutan have always been allies. Experts comment that this situation could escalate into a war on the border of the three countries.

The American expedition that dared in 1985 and others

Although no one has managed to conquer the top of the mountain, it has been attempted. The first time was in 1985, when an expedition of Americans decided to start the journey.

What the historical record does say is that this expedition was made up of the renowned climbers John Roskelley and Yvon Chouinardwho were accompanied by Rick Ridgeway, Dan Emmett, Frank Morgan, Doug Tompkins, Gerry Roach and Phillip Trimble.

Although the expedition was prepared, they encountered a request from Bhutan that prevented the attempted climb. 

What they asked the group to do was to climb the east-southeast ridge, ascending it through the Chamkar Chu valley.This made it difficult to find a way to jump into the valley where they were allowed to start the ascent. 

But that was not the only attempt, in the same year the Japanese Michifumi Ohuchi accompanied by a group also tried. They did The south ridge, where they encountered problems that prevented them from continuing from an altitude of 6,880 metres.At that point one of the climbers - the well-known Tetsuya Kudo - suffered a pulmonary oedema.

The third attempt belonged to a group of Austrians who in 1986 They tried to continue along the southern ridge started by the Japanese. These managed to climb only 6,600 metres but had to give up because of the avalanches they had to face for 21 days. 

In the same year, the last known expedition departed from mountaineers from different countries -UK, USA and the Netherlands - and which was led by Steve Berry. These managed to climb 6,850 metres and had to stop due to strong winds along the route.The team was evacuated from the mountain in an Indian Army helicopter.

In 1998 a group of Japanese attempted to reach the summit of Gangkhar Puensum, They were able to get the Chinese government to give them permission to go up from their side of the border.However, in 1999, when the escalation was about to begin, his permit was revoked due to political conflicts with the neighbouring country..

Other mountains never climbed before

Although the Gangkhar Puensum is one of the most popular peaks never trodden by man, there are a couple of other mountains that are considered untouched. 

The first is the Labuche Kang East at 7,250 metres above sea level. It is located east of Shisha Pangma in Tibet. Although this mountain is not one of the highest, it has not yet been climbed, presumably because climbers find Shisha Pangma more interesting.

The other is Karjiang 7,221 metres high which is also on the Bhutanese border. It has a similar history to Gangkhar Puensum, several have tried to climb it and have recently been refused permission.