Gangkhar Puensum (Dzongkha: གངས་དཀར་སྤུན་གསུམ་ Kangkar Punsum, alternatively, Gangkar Punsum or Gankar Punzum) is the highest mountain in Bhutan and the highest unclimbed mountain in the world, with an elevation of 7,570 metres (24,836 ft) and a prominence of 2,995 metres (9,826 ft).[1] Its name means "White Peak of the Three Spiritual Brothers" in Dzongkha.[2]

Gangkhar Puensum
Summit of Gangkhar Puensum
Highest point
Elevation	7,570 m (24,840 ft)[1] Ranked 40th
Prominence	2,995 m (9,826 ft)[1] Ranked 92nd
Isolation	228 km (142 mi)
Listing	Country high point Ultra
Coordinates	28°02′54″N 90°27′15″E[1]
Naming
Native name	གངས་དཀར་སྤུན་གསུམ་ (Dzongkha)
Geography
Gangkhar Puensum Location of Gangkhar Puensum on a map of Bhutan, at the border with Tibet
Location	Bhutan–China border
Parent range	Himalaya
Climbing
First ascent	Unclimbed

Gangkhar Puensum lies on the border between Bhutan and Tibet, China.[3] After Bhutan was opened for mountaineering in 1983 there were four expeditions that resulted in failed summit attempts in 1985 and 1986.[4] In 1999, a Japanese expedition successfully climbed Liankang Kangri, a 7,535 metres (24,721 ft) subsidiary peak (not an independent mountain), separated from the main peak by a 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long ridge to the north-northwest.

Since 2003, mountaineering has been banned in Bhutan.[5]

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.[4]

The book of the 1986 British expedition gives the mountain's height as 7,550 metres (24,770 ft) and states that Gangkhar Puensum is completely inside Bhutan, whereas the nearby Kula Kangri is completely inside Tibet. Kula Kangri, 7,554 metres, is a separate mountain 30 km to the northeast which was first climbed in 1986.[4] It is variously mapped and described as being in Tibet or Bhutan.

Since 1994, climbing of mountains in Bhutan higher than 6,000 metres has been prohibited out of respect for local spiritual beliefs,[6] and since 2003 mountaineering has been forbidden completely.[5]

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expedition secured permission from the Chinese Mountaineering Association to climb the mountain, but permission was withdrawn because of a political issue with Bhutan.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 Liankang Kangri (also known as Gangkhar Puensum North).[7]

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.[8]

As the ban is unlikely to be lifted anytime soon, Gangkhar Puensum is likely to remain unclimbed.[9]

See also

• Mountains of Bhutan
• List of elevation extremes by country

References

Further reading

• Footnote included on the Peaklist page
• Kangkar Punsum and Kula Kangri
• Nirvana Expeditions photograph of the mountain (visual site, flora and fauna).

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