British West Sichuan

The objective of this team was Haizi Shan (5,833m) which lies in an area of West Sichuan not previously visited by British climbers and never officially attempted by anyone. From Chengdu, their approach was by Landcruiser, first on a dual carriageway, but then on ever deteriorating surfaces. At base camp, they were surrounded by hoards of local people searching for 'worm grass' a sort of fungus reputed to have magical healing and aphrodisiac properties. After a few days' acclimatisation, they started climbing at the far left of the NW face, and established Camp 1 at 4,405m. From here, their route led via a long ridge to the N summit (c5,71Om) which was reached by Cohen and Isherwood. Although much of the long traverse to the main summit was also climbed, it was slow going, time running out with 250m still to go and an estimated 4 to 6 hours needed to reach it and return.