Nanga Parbat, Northwest Ridge Attempt and Tragedy. Our expedition, sponsored by the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, was international. The members were Harald Nevé, leader, and Richard Franzl, Austrians, Albrecht Baumgartner, Dr. Peter Forrer, Fredy Graf, Hans Howald and Marcel Rüedi, Swiss, Oswald Duba, Czech, and Sepp Brantner, Alice Zebrowski and I, deputy leader, Germans. Our objective was to climb the northwest ridge, the 1976 Hanns Schell route. We were in Base Camp in the Rupal valley on May 7. Like other expeditions, we suffered unusually miserable weather and heavy snowfall during the whole month of May. Despite this, we established camps and had Camp III at 22,300 feet by the end of May. While heading for Camp IV on June 4, Dr. Peter Forrer was swept by an avalanche to his death down the Rupal face. After this sad event, we gave up the expedition. Dr. Forrer who was so preeminent in mountain rescues fell victim to Nanga Parbat.

Hans Zebrowski, German living in Switzerland