Hushe Valley, Karakoram. The Royal Air Force Karakoram Expedition consisted of twelve British members, Squadron Leader John Sims, deputy leader, Robin Wilkinson, Derek Bottomer, Peter Nichols, Christopher Jonson, Norman Ridley, John Jones, doctor, Courtney Shaw Close, Mervyn Hughes, Peter Addis, James Aitken and myself as leader, together with three Pakistanis, Squadron Leader Shah Khan, Flight Lieutenant Beg and Saib Shah of the Pakistani Survey. We prepared to map the Hushe valley and climb what was already not climbed in the area. Of course the main peak excluding Masherbrum was K6. The Austrian party under Erich Waschak had already looked at the Kondus approach and declared it impossible. Clinch had seen it from the north and said the same thing, though we did check up on this, and we fully agreed. That left the Ngamah valley and the south approach, but the latter was such a long way from Hushe that we did not try it. We started off therefore on the Ngamah, but after about four days we decided that we were not a strong enough party and not being prepared to spend all our time here, went elsewhere. There is a possible route, though menaced by hanging glaciers, but it lands you up on the western peak with a long traverse on top before you reach the eastern and highest summit. We left a survey party on the Chogolisa Glacier to map its north and south branches, the Chundogero (also written as Gondokhoro) and Masherbrum Glaciers. They were to join the rest of us later on the Aling Glacier. The Aling has an impressive icefall, which had been ascended only by the U. S. Consul from Rawalpindi (?) who went two days up. We put our Base Camp at the foot and spent nearly a month there. We got Base Camp established on July 13 and unfortunately the weather broke on the 16th settling down into periods of three days of bad weather and four or five of good. This considerably cramped our style and forced us to abandon two of the more ambitious projects involving difficult icefalls. However, we did manage to climb two peaks of about 20,000 feet, Sceptre and Mitre (This is not the famous Mitre peak which lies beside the Baltoro just south of Concordia.—Editor.), and two between 21,500 and 22,000 feet, which we called Hunchback and Atwa Peak. The survey results should be excellent. We set up about 35 stations, from each of which a round of theodolite bearings was taken, together with 360° panoramas, both drawn and photographed. The survey photos are almost 100 per cent successful. I am not altogether sure that I should advise the Hushe as a location for future expeditions. The mountains, as a whole, are incredibly difficult, resembling the aiguilles of Chamonix on a much bigger scale. The Aling is almost climbed out as far as the easier peaks are concerned, as we presume is the Chogolisa by the Harvard party of 1955. K6 still has its uncertainties. Probably the Apo Brok, a valley leading west from Kande, offers the best ground for a small expedition.

A. J. M. Smyth, Alpine Club