Saipal. Our plan had been to climb Saipal (23,079 feet) from the north, but we were prevented from starting from Pithorgarh because of the Inner Line. We had no other choice but to approach the mountain from the south, starting at Tanakpur on September 1. After passing through Silgarhi, Bajang and Chainpur, we reached Base Camp at 13,350 feet on the Saipal Glacier on September 27. Camp I at 15,600 feet was made on October 2. The camps above were established all on the south ridge: Camp II (19,350 feet) on October 8, Camp III (19,650 feet) on the 17th and Camp IV (21,150 feet) on the 20th. Deputy Leader Katsutoshi Hirabayashi and the Sherpa Sirdar, Pasang Phutar III, reached the summit on October 21. After the ascent, four members walked out via Talkot, Jumla, and Dailekh to Nepalganj, while two walked to Pokhara via Mugu, traveling west and south of Dhaulagiri. Aside from Hirabayashi the expedition was made up of Katsuichi Fukada, Tashiro Matsumura, Kazuo Sato, Keijiro Okada and myself as leader.

Kanji Kojima, Doshishi University Alpine Society