The Andean Expedition of the Bavarian Friends of Nature (Naturfreunde) consisted of Herbert Ziegenhardt, Josef Knott, Dr. Ekkehart Otto, Peter Borutzki, Hans Bichlmeier, Peter Schleyer, Manfred Zimmer and me as leader. We were away from Germany from May 11 to August 26. Our first area of operations was northwest of Condoriri, in the Cordillera Real. We explored the Kharta-Kkota, Negruni and Linco valleys and made sketch maps of them with the Chepaka and Negruni massifs. Base Camp was at 15,250 feet near the head of the Linco valley 2½ miles northwest of Condoriri. We made the following first ascents in the Chepaka group. (BAE = Bavarian Andean Expedition.) BAE 2 (17,586 feet) via west face and south ridge on May 25 by R. Knott, Borutzki; BAE 4 (17,225 feet) via southeast side and BAE 5 (17,881 feet) via southeast ridge on May 27 by Otto, Zimmer; BAE 6 (17,586 feet) via west face and BAE 7 (17,553 feet) via south ridge on May 28 by Otto, Zimmer; BAE 7 also climbed via west face and north ridge on May 28 by J. Knott, Schleyer; BAE 8 (17,389 feet) via southeast ridge on May 29 by Ziegenhardt, Borutzki; BAE 9 (16,995 feet) via northwest ridge on May 30 by R. Knott, Borutzki; BAE 10 (17,356 feet) via west side and north ridge by Otto, Zimmer; and BAE 11 (17,290 feet) via west face on June 3 by J. and R. Knott. In the Negruni group we climbed BAE 1 (17,881 feet) via east face and northeast ridge on May 25 by Schleyer, Bichlmeier; BAE 3 (17,704 feet) via south face and southwest ridge on May 25 by J. Knott, Ziegenhardt; BAE 12 (17,520 feet) via northeast ridge on June 3 by Schleyer, Borutzki; BAE 13 (17,940 feet) via southeast ridge and BAE 14 (17,881 feet) via east ridge on June 3 by Otto, Zimmer; BAE 15 (17,711 feet) via west side and BAE 16 (17,750 feet) via west side on June 4 by Otto, Zimmer; BAE 17 (17,586 feet) via south-southeast ridge on June 7 by J. Knott, Schleyer; BAE 18 (17,192 feet) via north face and BAE 19 (17,422 feet) via northwest ridge on June 8 by J. Knott, Schleyer; BAE 20 (17,454 feet) via southeast ridge, BAE 21 (17,930 feet) via east ridge, BAE 22 (17,904 feet) via southeast ridge and BAE 23 (17,802 feet) via southeast ridge on June 8 by Otto, R. Knott; BAE 24 (17,192 feet) via south ridge and BAE 25 (17,323 feet) via northwest ridge on June 9 by J. Knott, Schleyer. On May 31 Josef Knott, Schleyer, Ziegenhardt and Bichlmeier moved camp to 16,500 feet below the northwest face of 18,531-foot Condoriri, the Bolivian Matterhorn. On June 1 the first two made the first ascent of the northwest ridge, a difficult climb; they descended the northwest face. Meanwhile Ziegenhardt and Bichlmeier ascended the previously climbed southwest ridge. Otto and Zimmer made the second ascent of the northwest ridge on June 10. From June 15 to 19 J. Knott, Otto, Schleyer and Zimmer succeeded in climbing the 1½-mile-long south ridge of Huayna Potosí (19,996 feet). Meanwhile Ziegenhardt, Borutzki and I were establishing a camp on the normal route, the east spur, for them to use on the descent. Dr. Otto described the climb thus: “By noon we were under the south ridge and climbing the glacier that led to the first marked upswing of the ridge. The ridge began as rock and we had to lose altitude before we got to the second upswing. We regained the altitude in deep new snow. Then we climbed many rope- lengths on hard snow and ice along the sharp knife-edge. At 18,375 feet we bivouacked. Next morning we have not been underway for half an hour when we are covered by thick mist and in a cold wind. Though we can hardly see from man to man, we don’t lose our way on the sharp ridge. We overcome one steep pitch after another. Often the ridge is so steep that we have to go out on the face. Crevasses and bare ice have to be crossed. Finally at one P.M. we stand on the south summit. We can only guess at the direction of the summit and have to bivouac 150 feet below the south summit in a schrund at 19,350 feet.” In slightly better weather they followed the knife-edge to the main summit. With visibility of only 100 feet, the descent through crevasses and icefall was difficult. We were next active in the Araca group of the Quimsa Cruz. (See also A.A.J., 1969, 16:2, pp. 281-284.) We explored the Pajonal valley, east of Yunque. We made the following ascents. Yunque (17,717 feet) via east ridge and BAE 27 (17,192 feet) via west ridge on June 30 by R. and J. Knott, Zimmer, Otto, Schleyer, Borutzki, Ziegenhardt; Agujón (17,389 feet) to within 50 feet of the summit via southwest ice face and southeast ridge on July 3 by Otto, Zimmer, J. Knott, Schleyer, Ziegenhardt, Borutski; “Torreni de Catalina” (17,323 feet) via south side on July 4 by Otto, Zimmer; BAE 29 (17,192 feet) via west ridge and BAE 30 (17,225 feet) via west ridge on July 5 by Schleyer, Ziegenhardt. From July 9 to 12 Otto, Ziegenhardt, Schleyer and Zimmer made the second ascent of the northwest ridge of the north peak of Illimani and traversed from there over the central peak to the highest (south) peak (21,201 feet), the first time the traverse had been done thus. They bivouacked at 16,725, 20,350 and 16,400 feet. They descended the west spur and western slope. (We report with great regret that Herr Rudolf Knott was tragically killed in an automobile accident on November 20 - Editor.)

Rudolf Knott, Bayerische Naturfreunde