Berlin Hindu Kush Expedition. On July 17 a heavily loaded Kombi-bus left West Berlin on a four-week trip through southern Europe and Asia for Afghanistan. Wolfgang von Hansemann, Dietrich Hasse, Johannes Winkler and I were off after a year and a half’s preparation. From Kabul, the Afghan capital, our caravan, with horses, drovers and a native interpreter, made a ten-day march up the Panjshir-Anjuman valley, deep into the heart of the unexplored Hindu Kush. With unreliable maps which had no altitudes or accurate valley patterns and with information from Harald Biller only about the southern part of the range, which he visited in 1959, our advance was adventuresome and uncertain. In the Dare-Sachi valley, some 20 miles from the Pakistani frontier, we erected our Base Camp at 13,500 feet at the foot of Koh-i-Bandakor (21,850 feet). After establishing three high camps and failing twice to reach the summit, on September 20 we made the first ascent of this peak, the highest which lies entirely within Afghanistan. We also succeeded in penetrating into the main chain of the southern Hindu Kush up the unexplored "Pagar” valley, south from Anjuman, where we made the first ascent of seven peaks between 16,500 and 19,500 feet. We also made meteorological and geological observations and sketch maps.

Siegbert Heine, Deutsche Alpenverein, Sektion Berlin