Gasherbrum IV Tragedy. A Japanese expedition failed to climb Gasherbrum IV (7925 meters, 26,000 feet) by its west face. On July 7 all five members were carrying loads from Camp I to Camp II. At 20,000 feet a huge sérac collapsed above them. Shigetoshi Tada was unhurt and Tomoyoshi Usaka had his leg broken. The fixed rope broke and leader Koichi Takebe, Hiroyuki Shirasawa and Hirokazu Nishioka fell to their deaths. Tada managed to get Usaka back down to Camp I. Help was given by Austrians on Gasherbrum II and Japanese on Hidden Peak. More details are found in Iwa To Yuki N° 84 on page 106.