Santa Cruz, Southwest Face and West Ridge. Jean-Marc Lang, Bruno Douillet and I climbed the southwest face and upper west ridge of Santa Cruz. (This route coincided with Wells’ only in the very upper part.— Editor.) On August 4 we started up the left side of the face, which averages 70°. We bivouacked halfway up below the rock bands, some 1500 feet up. The next morning we traversed left toward the west ridge and followed up the ridge to the summit, which we reached at two P.M. We rappelled down the entire face from ice screws, bivouacking on the descent at the same place where we had slept on the ascent. It took four hours to reach there. I froze my feet in a pair of plastic boots and have had part of my right foot amputated. On August 25 Lang soloed Huascarán, taking only 15 hours from the edge of the snow to the summit and back.

Pascal Sombardier, Montagnes-Magazine, Grenoble, France