Trekking in Bhutan to gangkhar puensum

For all my hiking/trekking friends here, just came back from Bhutan. Fantastic weather so have some pics of my trek. Never saw anyone else there except nomadic communities (yak herders). Bhutan tightly controls who is there via permits/fees. On our trek there was 11 of us and only 19 total permits were issued this year for our trek. Gangkhar Puensum is the highest unclimbed mountain massif in the world (highest peak is over 24000 ft) and Bhutan does not allow climbing on any of their high mountains. We were not too high - around 12000 to 14500 with a higher pass at 16200. The trek follows a river that eventually merged with three rivers coming from the mountain. We took a different route back but everyday it was great scenery. I only wished we could have done more hiking each day (itinerary said 9-12 miles/day but it was avg only 7). I was really glad I brought my own sleeping bag (western mountaineering -25 degrees) as it got down to zero F and the people who used the Marmot bags provided were freezing. Also my new Rab down jacket (hydroponic down) was a dream and the envy of the other hikers.

If you want to go somewhere that isn’t overrun with tourists, where the trails are wild and open, lots of forests everywhere, this may be the place for you. I would love to do the Snowman Trek (reportedly the most difficult trek in the world) and Chomolhari Trek (which overlaps Snowman) in Bhutan now. Anyway enjoy the pics.