Baltoro Kangri on Skis. Baltoro Kangri, formerly called the Golden Throne, has five distinct summits, the highest of which is 23,880 feet. It was climbed by Japanese in 1963 and 1976 from the Duke of Abruzzi Glacier via the prominent col to the east, Conway Col (20,669 feet). Our aim was to climb the mountain by the Japanese route and ski from the summit back to Advanced Base Camp. We were Dr. Peter Alston, Keith Geddes, Ian Gray, Phil Ham, Harry Rankin, Jess Stock and I as leader. We took 72 porters to Base Camp at 17,000 feet on the edge of the South Gasherbrum Glacier but used none above on our alpine- style ascent. Advanced Base was below Hidden Peak at the foot of slopes leading to Conway Saddle. We used snow caves higher. We were holed up for three days on the saddle in a blizzard. We found a route through the icefall above the saddle and made two more bivouac caves, the highest being at 22,500 feet. At two A.M. on June 6 we set off for the summit of Baltoro Kangri V (7260 meters, 23,819 feet), which we reached at two P.M. all except for Geddes, who had fallen ill on the ascent. Baltoro Kangri III, the highest summit, was avalanche prone and so was not climbed. Alston, Rankin and Stock skied from the summit to Advanced Base, which they reached at 9:30, the last two hours skiing in the dark. The others of us descended on foot, making another bivouac.

Brian Hall, Alpine Climbing Group