Ama Dablam, North Ridge. On October 21 Francis Chaud, Yvan Estienne, Jean-François Magnificat, Raymond Renaud, Marc Salomez, Bruno Solemieux and I reached the summit of Ama Dablam by the north ridge. On the 22nd it was the turn of Bernard Charbonnel, Gérard Estienne and Jean-Marie Flandin. On October 23 Claude Belli, Michel Drapier, Daniel Colot and Daniel Bovero went to the top. While we were leaving Base Camp on the 25th we learned that Peter Hillary’s expedition on the southeast face had suffered a death and given up. Our north ridge was extremely delicate and difficult with enormous overhanging cornices which we could not avoid. Moreover the soft snow was of bad quality, except for the final 1000 feet, and rendered progress dangerous. We were on the mountain for twenty days and placed Camps I, II and III at 18,875, 19,- 700 and 20,825 feet. We saw vestiges of the campsites at 18,875 and 19,700 feet, of the 1959 English expedition on which Fraser and Harris perished. The unsettled weather turned good during the last week. It was a lovely climb, airy, sustained, almost entirely on ice except for a few vertical rock walls.

Louis Audoubert, Club Alpin Français