Yalung Kang. Our plan was to climb both Yalung Kang and Annapurna during the same stay in Nepal. For Yalung Kang our team was composed of Laurence de la Ferrière, Jean Coudray, Gérard Bretin, Anselme Baud, Jacky Pêche and me as leader. We wanted to make the climb without high-altitude porters, without supplementary oxygen and with as few ropes as possible. We also wanted to buy all our food in Nepal. We left Kathmandu on August 28 and established Base Camp on September 14 at 5200 meters. We found there a Polish expedition climbing the direct southwest face of Yalung Kang and Roger Marshall making a solo climb of Kangchenjunga. Ascending the southwest side, we placed Camps I and II at 6200 and 7200 meters on September 18 and 23. On October 5 Laurence de la Ferrière, Jacky Pêche and I set up Camp III at 7800 meters at the foot of the final couloir. On October 8, Coudray reached the summit from Camp II. On the 9th Bretin got to 8400 meters and on the 10th Baud got to the top. Laurence de la Ferrière and I made an attempt but were driven back by bad weather. After waiting several days, we reached the upper camp despite fresh snow. We set out from Camp III early on October 20 and got to the summit at four P.M. Laurence de la Ferrière set an altitude record for French women and made the first female ascent of the peak. It would also seem to be an altitude record for a couple. We returned to Base Camp on October 21.

Bernard Muller, Groupe de Haute Montagne