Annapurna II Attempt. Rob Collister and I planned a two-man ascent of Annapurna II (26,041 feet) from Pisang in the Manang valley. We placed Base Camp at 17,000 feet directly below the north face of Annapurna II, hoping to find a new and fairly direct route to the summit. The face was, however, considerably steeper and more dangerous than we had expected, and we could find no reasonable alternative to the original route climbed by Colonel Jimmy Roberts’ party in 1960. This ascends the northwest spur and passes over the shoulder of Annapurna IV to reach Annapurna II. We left Base Camp on September 26, carrying a light tent, food and fuel for up to ten days. With starting loads of more than 50 pounds, we made slow progress although the route was straightforward. We reached 23,000 feet on the shoulder of Annapurna IV after four days but had to descend from that point in bad weather and with dangerous snow conditions. We were back in Base Camp on October 2.

Richard J. Isherwood, Alpine Club