Fraile Grande, El Altar Group. The Italian Dr. Marino Tremonti has now completed his fourth expedition to the Altar group, two of which were in 1972. With Ferdinando Gaspard, Claudio Zardini, Armando Perron and Sergio Lorenzi, he attempted the Monja Grande in the middle of the year. They were stormbound for 18 days, from June 28 to July 15, in Camp II some 1300 feet below the top and eventually had to give up the attempt. Dr. Tremonti with Armando Perron and Lorenzo Lorenzi returned in late November. They quickly set up Camps I and II, the latter at the foot of the Fraile Grande (c. 5200 meters or 17,061 feet). On the first good day the two guides made a fruitless reconnaissance of the east-northeast ridge. On December 1 all three attacked the northeast ridge, which had three vertical steps and unconsolidated mushrooms of ice. After extremely difficult snow and ice climbing, they completed the first ascent.