Nilgiri Central. Our Matsuyama University Expedition was composed of Keizo Shigematsu, Jun’ichi Yuyama, Kohichi Sakata, Toshiro Hamada, Yasuo Tsuda, Dr. Toru Itano and me as leader. We flew by helicopter from Chhoya in the Kali Gandaki valley to Base Camp, as did the French Annapurna ski and the Austrian Fang expeditions, since porters refused to cross the Thulobugin Pass covered with snow. Base Camp was at 13,300 feet near the tongue of the Nilgiri Glacier not far from the Base Camp of expeditions on the north of Annapurna. We placed camps at 15,700 and 17,900 feet up the branch glacier between Nilgiri Central and South. This has two large, severe icefalls but above, its névé widens, enclosed by the southeast ridge of Nilgiri Central and the main ridge between Nilgiri Central and South. Our route to the névé was the same as that of the Japanese who climbed Nilgiri South in 1978. Our Camp III was placed on April 25 at 19,850 feet in a col above the névé on the southeast ridge. On April 30 Sakata and Tsuda reached the summit (22,769 feet) at 11:25, having climbed the southeast ridge to the main ridge south of the summit. They were supported by Yuyama, Hamada and me, who also got to the top on May 1 after a bivouac at the junction of the ridges.

Masaki Aoki, Japanese Alpine Club