Bhrikuti Unclimbed? After considerable effort, the Austrian Himalayan Society got permission to enter the restricted Mustang area to attempt Bhrikuti, the highest of the Damodar Himal. (See A.A.J., 1983, page 246 for details.) Since it was said to be an unclimbed peak, they were amazed to hear that a Japanese- Nepalese expedition had just climbed the peak in the pre-monsoon period. (See A.A.J., 1983, page 245.) Rudolf Weber of the Austrian expedition has sent me a report parts of which I summarize here: “After our ascents, for which we actually did not have permission, our liaison officer certified that we had climbed Bhrikuti. That caused false press reports. We were also able to establish that the Japanese-Nepalese expedition in the spring, like ours, did not reach the summit of Bhrikuti but was certified by their liaison officer to have done so. The Japanese Base Camp was 100 meters below our camp. Following a ridge, the Japanese reached only a very much lower subsidiary summit, ‘Japan Peak.’ I feel that the report that on May 18, 19 and 21, 1982 eight Japanese and two Nepalese reached the summit of Bhrikuti requires correction.”

Józef Nyka, Editor, Taternik, Poland