According to the Sichuan Mountaineering Management Regulations, climbing peaks above 3,500 meters requires forming a mountaineering team that meets national licensing conditions. An application must be submitted to the sports administrative department of the city (or prefecture) where the peak is located at least 10 working days in advance. Upon approval, the department must notify the county-level sports administrative department and peak management agency within three working days.

Notable Expeditions

1920s: American explorer Joseph Rock mistakenly measured its elevation as 9,210 meters.

1932: Americans Terris Moore and Richard Burdsall made the first successful ascent of Mount Gongga.

June 13, 1957: Six members of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions Mountaineering Team (predecessor of the Chinese Mountaineering Team) reached the summit. Tragically, three died in a descent accident, and another perished in an avalanche during the climb.

1980: An American team was hit by an avalanche, resulting in one fatality.

1981: A Japanese team suffered a mass fall along the northeast ridge, killing eight climbers.

1982:

l Americans D. Coffield and D. Kelley summited.

l Japanese climbers Suehro Ohara and Hiroshi Matsuda were caught in an avalanche just 50 meters from the summit. Ohara died, but Matsuda miraculously survived after 19 days of endurance.

l In September, another Japanese climber, Takeshi Nakatani, died of altitude sickness.

1983: A Swiss team of three reached the summit, but one died in a fall during descent.

1984:

l Germans Heinz Zembsch, Gerhard Schmatz, and Hans Engl successfully summited.

l A Japanese team was struck by an avalanche while attempting the northeast ridge.

1997: A Japanese team achieved the first successful ascent via the east face, traversing the north and northwest ridges—also marking the first springtime summit.

1998: A South Korean team of three became the first to summit via the dangerous northeast ridge, though one climber died. Previous ascents had all used the northwest ridge.

2002: French climbers Antoine and Laurent summited via the traditional northwest ridge route on the west face.

October 2016: A Czech team attempted but failed to summit.

September 16, 2017: The Czech team returned and, after a determined effort, summited at 3:00 PM on October 7.

2018: Chinese climbers Li Zongli and Tong Haijun from the Free Summit team successfully ascended via the north face and northeast ridge.

Statistics (as of October 2017)

Total successful summits: 32 climbers from various countries (only 10 recorded expeditions).

Fatalities: 21 deaths.

Fatality-to-summit ratio: 65.5%, far exceeding that of Mount Everest and all 14 other 8,000-meter peaks.

Mount Gongga remains one of the world's most treacherous and deadly peaks for mountaineers.