The North Face

Mount Kailash Trek, Tibetan Plateau

In 1985 legendary mountaineer Reinhold Messner was awarded a permit to climb Mt. Kailash, that is considered sacred to several religions: Ayyavazhi branch of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and the ancient Bon religion of Tibet. Messner decided not to deconsecrate the summit, which has never been attained by human beings. Later, in 2001 a Spanish team planned to climb it and managed to get permission from the Chinese authorities. They intended to "broadcast a message of peace" from the summit and draw attention to environmental degradation. However, strong public disapproval and protest showed them, that it wasn't a good idea. Doug Scott, a British climber and the president of the Alpine Club, said. "Once the sanctity is destroyed, it'll be gone forever". Reinhold Messner agreed. "If we conquer this mountain, then we conquer something in people's souls," he said. "I would suggest they go and climb something a little harder. Kailas is not so high and not so hard." Officially Kailash hasn't been scaled till now, even though tourism here is growing significantly.