Huascarán Norte, Northeast Ridge. Our expedition included Simon Feigelson, Michel Février, Raymond Coene, Andrzej Mroz, Jean François Porret and me as leader. Tragically Mroz was killed climbing a few days before our departure and was replaced by a Polish friend of his, Marek Glogoczowski. We established Base Camp at the Llanganuco Lakes on July 15 and Camp I at the foot of the Leprince-Ringuet Glacier. In the next two weeks we prepared the route up the ice gully that leads to the northeast ridge with 2500 feet of rope. On August 8 we were joined by Pyreneans who were also in the Llanganuco: Patrice de Bellefon, Louis Audubert, Yves Erpeldinger and Philippe Sol. The latter set up Camp II on the ridge and fixed another 600 feet of rope above the camp. The final attack started on August 13 when Février and Porret set out from Camp I to continue route preparations up the rocky spur above Camp II. On August 14 Coene, Glogoczowski and I joined them in Camp II. On the 15th we all headed, alpine-style, for the summit, which we reached on August 18 at two P.M. We descended the normal (Garganta) route with another bivouac. The Pyreneans left Camp II on August 18 and got to the summit on the 21st. Above Camp II the snow and ice ridge was defended by four rock steps with several pitches of UIAA V. However the chief technical difficulties were on ice and snow. Compared to the 1966 French climb on the north face, our route was of comparable difficulty, but theirs was on rock and ours on ice.

Jean FrÉhel, Groupe de Haute Montagne, CAF