The world’s highest unclimbed mountain
Wednesday 11 November 2020
SMA News – Mountains
Hiding in the Western Karakoram on the Batura Wall — a massive ridge of 7,000-meter peaks looming above one of the world’s largest non-polar glaciers — Muchu Chhish has foiled all attempts by sporadic expeditions to reach its elusive crest over the last few decades.
The barely visited peak (also known as Batura V) has held its own double-asterisked distinction as the highest unclimbed mountain for several years now.
*Another Asian peak, 7,570-meter Gangkhar Puensum, remains the actual highest unclimbed mountain on Earth at present, but its location in Bhutan (where mountaineering has been prohibited since 2003) means this off-limits summit is respectfully withdrawn from worldly contention.
**There’s a debatable point that Muchu Chhish is technically a secondary peak (or “subpeak”). According to National Geographic, most geologists define a mountain as an independent landform exceeding 300 meters (about 1,000 feet) above its surrounding area.
