Two Japanese alpinists have arrived in Nepal to take on one of the Himalaya's remaining unsolved problems: Gangapurna West, a 7,140m summit on the Annapurna massif that has never been climbed.
Hidesuke Taneishi and Tetsu Hashimoto are aiming for a first ascent of the peak, which marks the western end of Gangapurna, a 7,455m mountain sitting on the Annapurna ridge between Annapurna I and Annapurna III — home to some of the most serious high-altitude terrain in the world.
The mountain has an interesting backstory. Nepal's government opened it to climbers in 2014 and renamed it Lachenal Peak, in honour of Louis Lachenal, the French pioneer who made the first ascent of Annapurna itself in 1950. Despite more than a decade of being open for business, nobody has reached the top. Two teams have tried: a Korean expedition led by Kim Chang-ho via the south face in 2016, and Italians Simon Messner (son of the legendary Reinhold) and Phillip Pruenster, who attempted the north face in 2017. Both walked away empty-handed, which tells you something about the difficulty on offer.
Taneishi brings serious credentials to this attempt. He was nominated for a Piolet d'Or — mountaineering's highest honour — last year after climbing a direct route up the sheer north face of 6,652m Pholesobi Peak, also in Nepal, together with Hiroki Yamamoto.
The timing fits a broader pattern: as the autumn climbing season gets underway, experienced alpinists are flying into Nepal less for the famous trade routes and more for unclimbed summits and new lines on lesser-known peaks. For the trekking regions around Annapurna, it's a reminder that even in one of the most visited corners of the Himalaya, there's still genuine exploration to be done.
Why should a regular traveller care? If you're trekking the Annapurna Circuit or heading up to the Annapurna Base Camp sanctuary, you'll actually be walking beneath these giants — Gangapurna and its neighbours tower over the Manang valley, and the peak is visible from high points along the route. Watching modern-day first ascents happen above trails you can hike yourself is part of what makes this region special. And with Nepal continuing to open previously off-limits peaks to climbers each year, the area keeps adding reasons to return.