Interesting the Wikipedia page has a slightly different take on the story, where a promise to the King kept them from scaling to the top of the peak.
> The only confirmed attempt was in 1957 by a British team led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Roberts. Climbers Wilfrid Noyce and A. D. M. Cox climbed to within 150 m (492 ft) of the summit via the north ridge, to an approximate altitude of 22,793 ft (6,947 m). Adhering to the word of honor given to the then King Mahendra, Noyce and his team descended without stepping on to the summit - thus publishing the only climbing record of the mountain a year later
> There have been reports of a New Zealand climber, Bill Denz, making a successful yet illegal attempt to the summit in the early 1980s.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machapuchare
Both could be true, they may have made a promise they planned to break but poor weather forced them down. The king may have discovered their plans too, which would help explain why further treks were banned.
I'm currently about halfway through and it chronicles a trek through the Nepalese mountains very close to here, in search of the blue sheep. An interesting, introspective story.
One more spectacular mountain, Mount Kailash[1] which is sacred to four religions also hasn't been climbed till now.
Though despite being sacred, PRC government had given permission to a team to climb which they later denied. Reinhold Messner had this to say about climbing it.
"If we conquer this mountain, then we conquer something in people's souls. I would suggest they go and climb something a little harder. Kailas is not so high and not so hard."
I really hope people respect that tradition and put aside the need to “conquer” nature. I worry that as these traditions and ancient cultures die out as modern homogeneity erases them, people will lose that sense of respect for what came before and break those unspoken rules.
I was privileged to trek a portion of the Annapurna circuit in 2003, it's spectacular in person. The view of Machupuchare from Tatopani (or maybe it was Ghandruk?) was incredible.
Nepal is a wonderful country to visit, the people were very kind and welcoming. They are facing complex political and economic challenges these days.
It really is an incredible country. I was there in 2007/2008 and it was really politically in chaos. I think a lot of going back once the pandemic is over.
I saw it from Pokhara on a trek, and it's a lovely bit of romanticism to think that there is a summit left on earth that is unconquered by choice, at least for a while. It humanizes the mountains, and it's a fun story to hear from the guides.
There are lots of unclimbed peaks. Below is link to the most prominent 16 in BC, not an remote local. Getting your name on a first assent isn't especially difficult. The real issue is the logistics of getting to the bottom of the mountain rather than the top.
When I was there, clouds due to monsoon season kept it hidden in Pokhara. About a week later I was in Ghorepani and while sitting in a tea house having lunch, the owner came running in all excited. Leading us outside, there it was... one of the most magnificent things I have ever experienced. The view only lasted about 5 minutes before clouds rolled back in and obscured it.
Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world with an altitude of 8,586 m has been climbed several times but never to the actual summit. The British expedition that climbed the mountain in 1955 had made a promise to the local rulers to stop short of the summit. All climbers that have climbed the mountain since then have followed this tradition.
I've been to Machhapuchhare base camp. You can see the mountain from further out on the way up, and when you turn a corner several days later right up close. It's easily one of the more beautiful peaks in the Himalayas.
> The only confirmed attempt was in 1957 by a British team led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Roberts. Climbers Wilfrid Noyce and A. D. M. Cox climbed to within 150 m (492 ft) of the summit via the north ridge, to an approximate altitude of 22,793 ft (6,947 m). Adhering to the word of honor given to the then King Mahendra, Noyce and his team descended without stepping on to the summit - thus publishing the only climbing record of the mountain a year later
> There have been reports of a New Zealand climber, Bill Denz, making a successful yet illegal attempt to the summit in the early 1980s. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machapuchare