Nanda Devi East

A very experienced team with the objective the first ascent of NE Ridge of Nanda Devi East, 7434m. A base camp was established at a height of 4275m at Bhital Gwar in the Lwan valley, and an advanced base at 5300m close to the starting col. Two of the party made progress along the ridge via a series of four camps, with the uppermost one at 6640m. From here made a dash for the summit with bivouac gear, and made good progress until they faced a 500m horizontal section of the ridge with steep snow flute on one side and overhanging mushrooms on the other. They decided to retreat from the high point of 6865m. They felt that with more stable snow conditions, an alternative line by-passing the fluted ridge could be feasible.