Gangkhar Puensum ( dz, གངས་དཀར་སྤུན་གསུམ་, translit=Kangkar Punsum, alternatively, Gangkar Punsum or Gankar Punzum) is the highest

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

and the

highest unclimbed mountain An unclimbed mountain is a mountain peak that has yet to be climbed to the top. Determining which unclimbed peak is highest is often a matter of controversy. In some parts of the world, surveying and mapping are still unreliable. There are no co ...

in the world, with an elevation of and a

prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

of . Its name means "White Peak of the Three Spiritual Brothers" in Dzongkha. Gangkhar Puensum lies on the border between Bhutan and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. After Bhutan was opened for mountaineering in 1983 there were four expeditions that resulted in failed summit attempts in 1985 and 1986. In 1999, a Japanese expedition successfully climbed

Liankang Kangri Liangkang Kangri (also known as ''Gangkhar Puensum North'' and ''Liankang Kangri'') is a mountain peak in the Himalayas on the border between Bhutan and China, as well as at the southeastern end of territory claimed by both countries. Liangkang Kan ...

, a subsidiary peak (not an independent mountain), separated from the main peak by a long ridge to the north-northwest. Since 2003, mountaineering has been banned in Bhutan.

History

The elevation of Gangkhar Puensum was first measured in 1922 but, until recent years, maps of the region were not at all accurate and the mountain was shown in different locations and with markedly different heights. Indeed, because of inadequate mapping, the first team to attempt the summit was unable to find the mountain at all. The book of the 1986 British expedition gives the mountain's height as and states that Gangkhar Puensum is completely inside Bhutan, whereas the nearby

Kula Kangri Kula Kangri is claimed by many authorities to be the highest mountain in Bhutan but this is disputed by others, who claim that Kula Kangri is wholly in Tibet. The first ascent was by a combined Japanese and Chinese team in 1986. The mountain is p ...

is completely inside Tibet. Kula Kangri, 7,554 metres, is a separate mountain to the northeast which was first climbed in 1986. It is variously mapped and described as being in Tibet or Bhutan. Since 1994, climbing of mountains in Bhutan higher than has been prohibited out of respect for local spiritual beliefs, and since 2003 mountaineering has been forbidden completely. In 1998 a Japanese expedition secured permission from the Chinese Mountaineering Association to climb the mountain, but permission was withdrawn because of a political issue with Bhutan. Instead, in 1999, the team set off from Tibet and successfully climbed the 7,535-metre subsidiary peak

(also known as Gangkhar Puensum North). Unlike most maps, the expedition's report shows this summit as being in Tibet and the China–Bhutan border is shown crossing the summit of Gangkhar Puensum, described as "the highest peak in Bhutan", at 7,570 metres. As the ban is unlikely to be lifted anytime soon, Gangkhar Puensum is likely to remain unclimbed.

History

See also

References

Further reading