Masherbrum Southwest, Ascent and Tragedy. Masherbrum is a difficult mountain with two nearly equal summits. The main summit (7821 meters, 25,660 feet) has been climbed only once, by William Unsoeld, George Bell, Nicholas Clinch and Jawed Akhter in July of 1960. Other attempts have failed. The southwest summit (7806 meters, 25,610 feet), the highest virgin summit in the Karakoram, remained unclimbed. It was the target of the Polski Klub Górski Expedition, led by Piotr Mlotecki. The other members were Marek Malatynski, Zygmunt Andrzej Heinrich, Marek Fijalkowski, Janusz Lewandowski, Przemyslaw Nowacki, Grzegorz Siekierski, Jacek Szczygiel and Dr. Józef Bialobrodzki. Base Camp was established on the Sérac Glacier at 14,100 feet on August 13. Camp I was set at 17,400 feet on the 15th. Camp II was placed near the top of the Dome at 20,850 feet on August 19. The team then spent some days at Base Camp acclimatizing. After a period of bad weather, on September 14 Camp III was set at 21,500 feet and the next day, with the help of two porters and the West German solo climber Volker Stallbohm, Camp IV at 23,300 feet. On September 16 Heinrich, Malatynski and Nowacki set out from Camp IV toward the summit, climbing the steep southeast face in grueling soft sugar snow. The huge sérac barrier had changed its appearance since 1960. The trio climbed a difficult ice section and late in the afternoon arrived at the col between the two peaks. They slept the night in a snow hole. On September 17 the three started up the final southwest summit ridge, which was more difficult than anticipated. Cornices and gendarmes made the ascent hazardous. After seven hours, at 3:30 P.M. Heinrich, Malatynski and Nowacki reached the highest point, took pictures and rested for 40 minutes. The nearly perfect weather then turned cold with a strong wind. During the descent, halfway down the ridge, in the most demanding section technically, Malatynski found it nearly impossible to see. Then Malatynski and Nowacki made a 35-foot slip down the snow without suffering any injury. They all bivouacked where they were. Malatynski and Nowacki were exposed to the cold wind, while Heinrich stood on the lee side of the ridge. After a hard bivouac, in the morning he climbed to the opposite side of the ridge and found both of his companions dead. The weather became worse and worse. Heinrich left the bodies of his friends and descended the difficult section under frightful conditions. Then he descended the face. At about 24,600 feet he plunged down ice cliffs, falling 650 to 1000 feet, but fortunately was not seriously injured and reached Camp IV safely. Aware of the impossibility of burying the bodies, the expedition evacuated Base Camp on September 21.

Jozef Nyka, Editor, Taternik, Poland