For political reasons, this region of China was inaccessible to foreign climbers after the 1930s. In 1980 the region was again opened to foreign expeditions. Lance Owens received first permission from the People's Republic of China to lead an American 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.