Batura and Nanga Parbat. On May 29 our Austrian expedition began a four-day approach from Aliabad in the Hunza valley over the 18-mile-long Muchiohul Glacier to Base Camp at 13,215 feet at the southern foot of Batura. We were to climb a new route left of the only other ascent of Batura, the German climb of 1976. From June 2 to 15, despite bad weather, we set up Camps I, II and III at 16,400, 19,350 and 22,000 feet. For health reasons, half of our group had to leave the region. Camp III, at the foot of the most difficult part, the summit wall, was regained after bad weather on June 23. We fixed rope on a 650-foot steep step. We bivouacked without tents at 23,625 feet in a crevasse below the second step. On June 25 we fixed 500 feet of rope on the second step, much of which was deep in loose snow. Franz Tschismarov, Pred Pressl, Gerhard Lunger and I reached the summit (7785 meters, 25,551 feet) at five P.M. We returned to our last bivouac. We descended on the 26th to Camp II. The next day Tschismarov broke his ankle below Camp I during the descent but got to Base Camp under his own power. After the Batura expedition, Pressl and I went to Nanga Parbat to climb the Kinshofer (Schell) route on the Rupal side. In eight days, including two storm-bound ones, we climbed the peak. I got to the summit on July 17. Pressl turned back 500 feet from the summit because of frostbitten feet suffered on Batura and retinal hemorrhages. We were back in Base Camp on July 19.

edi Koblmüller, Alpine Schule Ober-Österreich