Highest unclimbed mountain

The highest unclimbed mountain in a particular region or in the world is often a matter of controversy. In some parts of the world surveying and mapping are still not reliable, and there aren't any comprehensive records of the routes of explorers, mountaineers and local inhabitants.

A virgin peak is a mountain that has not yet been climbed by any mountaineer so far. Many virgin peaks exist due to the mountain being unreachable, through political instability or geographic isolation.

Any particular mountain, in addition to its highest point, will also have subsidiary "tops". Generally, a subjective view is taken of what is a mountain and what is a top. The horizontal distance between main peak and top, the difference in height, the topographic prominence of the top, as well as the general topography, all come into consideration. Although objective criteria have been proposed for distinguishing "peaks" from "tops" (a prominence of 610 m, 2,000 feet is one definition), there is no widely agreed standard.

The Peakware World Mountain Encyclopedia has a list of unclimbed 7000 m Himalayan peaks which includes tops. The list is somewhat out-of-date: for example Lhotse Middle, 8430 m, was first climbed in spring 2001. Another list is provided on the Explorersweb website using a prominence cutoff of 500 m.

It is difficult to determine whether or not a peak has been climbed. Archaeological excavations in the Andes have shown that humans have travelled up to 6,739 metres (22,110 ft) in pre-historic time . As such, it is impossible to absolutely ascertain whether any peak is truly unclimbed. However, it is possible to make a good guess, especially since some high peaks in the Greater Ranges are so remote that they were unknown to local inhabitants when first sighted by European explorers. Machhapuchhare (6,993 metres) is a big mountain that has not verifiably been climbed to the highest point as it is off limits for religious reasons.

The mountain most widely claimed to be the highest unclimbed mountain in the world in terms of elevation is Gangkhar Puensum, 7570 m (24,836 feet). It is in Bhutan, on or near the border with China. In Bhutan, the climbing of mountains higher than 6,000 metres has been prohibited since 1994. The rationale is based on a combination of:

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