considering the height of the mountain, its remoteness, and the small size of the group. In addition, this peak was the highest summit reached by Americans until 1958 (though Americans had by that time climbed to higher non-summit points). The book written by the expedition members, Men Against The Clouds, remains a mountaineering classic. In May 1957 a Chinese mountaineering team claimed to have climbed Minya Konka via the Northwest Ridge route established by Moore and Burdsall. Six people reached the summit with limited climbing experience and primitive equipment, although four climbers died in the effort. For political reasons, this region of China was made inaccessible to foreign climbers after the 1930s. In 1980 the region was again opened to foreign expeditions. American Lance Owens was the first foreigner to receive permission from the People's Republic of China to lead a mountaineering expedition in China and Tibet, allowing him to climb Gongga Shan (Minya Konka) in 1980. This expedition opened the modern era of American climbing in China. The expedition, organized by Owens and sponsored by the American Alpine Club, attempted the still unclimbed and extremely technical west face of Minya Konka. Members of the expedition included Louis Reichardt, Andrew Harvard, Gary Bocarde, Jed Williamson, and Henry Barber. Deaths on the Mountain A large number of mountaineering deaths have occurred on Gongga Shan, which has deservedly earned a reputation as a difficult and dangerous mountain. While the first ascent route up the Northwest Ridge appears technically straightforward, it is plagued by avalanches due to the mountain's highly unpredictable weather. During the 1957 Chinese ascent of the peak, four of nine climbers died. In 1980 an American climber died in an avalanche on the Northwest Ridge route. In an unsuccessful 1981 attempt on the peak, eight Japanese climbers died in a fall. As of 1999, more climbers had died trying to climb the mountain than had reached the summit. In 2003, The SummitPost reported the mountain had been successfully climbed only eight times. In total, 22 climbers had reached the summit and 16 climbers had died in the effort. (These statistics may not take into account the four Chinese climbers killed in the 1957 expedition.) The Himalayan Index lists five ascents of Gongga Shan between 1982 and 2002, and about seven unsuccessful attempts. There have been several attempts in years since then, which are unlisted in this index. In October 2017,