Gangkhar Puensum: The Highest Unclimbed Mountain in the World

With the progress of time Man has been able to set its foot to some of the most remote and harshest corners of this world. But there still remains some regions which are yet unconquered and uncharted. 

One among such is the elusive mountain Gangkhar Puensum. With an elevation of 7, 570 meters it is the tallest mountain of Bhutan, a part of which lies on the Tibetan side.

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Every major attempt to scale this mountain has been thwarted by the Bhutanese government owing to lack of rescue facilities/services at such remote locations and also due to local pressure who strongly believe that the highest peaks of this mountain are sacred and home to holy spirits. As such these peaks should not be permitted to be visited by any outsider.

In spite of such hurdles and resistance by the local population, several expeditions have been realized. But to utter surprise none of them could ever accomplish the feat. Many reasons have been cited for these failures. Apart from local pressure and non-availability of permit to scale this mountain from the Bhutanese government, many expedition teams have accorded their failure to reasons like suddenly encountering an impassable terrain, poorly equipped team or even sudden abnormal changes in the weather conditions. It seems as if the mountains itself did not want it to be climbed. 

In 1998, a Japanese climbing team set out to explore the uncharted mountain from the Chinese side. They were able to reach the top of one of the three peaks – LiankangKangri but later a border dispute caused China to withdraw its permission, thereby blocking the Japanese team’s bid to climb the whole mountain. 

Many mysteries surround these mountains. Yeti (an elusive mysterious hominoid like creature supposed to be living in the Himalayas), ghostly apparitions, strange lights, magnetic anomalies, and unexplained disappearances have all been reported from Gangkhar Puensum.

In spite of all attempts to conquer it, Gangkhar Puensum still remains the world’s highest unclimbed mountain till date.

Post Written By - Manash Hazarika