Dhaulagiri, Pear Route Attempt, 1979. (Further and more accurate details of the Polish Gdynia-Gdansk expedition.) Expedition equipment was lost in a fire in Karachi during shipment, delaying matters. Base Camp was set up on September 1, 1979 at 15,100 feet on the Mayangdi Glacier. The “Pear” route was attempted, where previously the Argentines had failed. Camps I and II were established at 18,375 and 19,700 feet on September 5 and 14. Camp III at 22,000 feet was placed on September 28 on the lower edge of the Pear and Camp IV on October 1 at 24,275 feet above it. The route up the Pear was on the right, not the left as before. On October 12 Waclaw Otreba solo and on October 13, 1979 Walenty Fiut and Wojciech Kurtyka made summit attempts, reaching the ridge at 25,500 feet, but high winds and snowfall turned them back. From September 29 to October 3 Kurtyka and Fiut made an alpine-style attempt on the difficult and dangerous east face, getting to 20,350 feet, where bad weather prevented further progress. American Alpine Club member, Alex Bertulis, also took part.

Józef Nyka, Editor, Taternik, Poland