A few years ago this writer got one of his all-time mountain thrills by being a member of the first group of outsiders ever to make this superb trek to 24,734-foot Gangkhar Puensum, the highest unclimbed mountain on earth (and likely to remain so; the Bhutanese have declared it inviolate out of respect to its holy character).

We begin in the Bumthangian village of Dhur, the winter home of the yak herders whose elegant migratory path we follow to the great peak. We trek through dense evergreen forests, up into a magnificent green and gold tundra valley, cross the 15,700-foot Thole La, and follow the Chamkar River’s course to its icy beginnings below the stunning south wall of Gangkhar and its satellites. Our president, Jim Sano, who led that first trek with me, calls it “an absolute jewel, with wonderfully varied scenery, from rich forests to soaring alpine vistas.”