British Masherbrum Karakoram Expedition

This Anglo-Canadian team had the double objective of combining geological work round the Concordia area of the Baltoro Glacier with a reconnaissance of the formidable N face of Masherbrum. The extent of the geological work can be gauged by the fact that it took 8 porters to carry out 200kgs of rock samples. As for the mountaineering, Searle and Rex, after going as high as 6,500m on the Abruzzi ridge of K2, set up camp to attempt, not the N face itself of Masherbrum where Japanese had been engaged for three weeks, but the long E ridge of Masherbrum. Atrocious weather and frequent avalanches made their ascent to a point on the E ridge, W of the Masherbrum La hazardous. They considered that to continue along this ridge in these conditions would have taken weeks, but in good conditions, this 'most spectacular unclimbed ridge' might have gone. They rounded off a useful month in the Karakoram with a look at Gasherbrum and the Trango Towers.