Trisul. Five Americans, Phillip Trimble, Bruce Carson, Dan Emmett, Frank Morgan, and Dutchman Hans Bruyntjes left Delhi on August 15, arriving in Lata on August 18, and at Trisul Base Camp (15,100 feet) on August 25. We moved to Camp I at 17,100 feet on August 29, to Camp II at 19,200 feet on September 1, and to Camp III at 20,800 feet on September 3. In very misty weather, the summit of Trisul (23,300 feet) was reached by the entire party on September 4 in six to seven hours from Camp III. Another snow peak a few hundred feet further along the summit ridge was observed during a partial clearing of the mist. Bruce Carson decided to walk over and investigate whether this point was higher and indeed the true summit of Trisul. Due to the heavy mist, he probably had not observed that the peak was severely corniced. When the mist cleared again in a few minutes, Bruce had disappeared, leaving only footsteps in the snow leading to the edge of the 3000-foot vertical south face of Trisul. Apparently, in the mist, he had wandered onto the huge cornince overhanging the south face and it had broken off. Carefully belayed, Hans Bruyntjes crawled over to the edge where the footsteps ended and saw only the vertical face below him. We did not have the equipment necessary to descend the face but did hope to approach it from the bottom the next day. However it snowed heavily that night and continued to storm for the next few days, making this unfeasible.

Arlene Blum