Yalung Kang, South Face. A Polish team was led by Tadeusz Karolczak. They had no Sherpas and a low-altitude porters’ strike delayed their arrival at the Yalung Glacier. They set up Base Camp, and Camps I and II at 5200, 6250 and 6700 meters on September 3, 14 and 20 respectively. Their objective was a new route directly up the south face. They had to climb a 1500-meter-high technically difficult rock-and-ice buttress in the center of the virgin south face; this ended at 8100 meters. Camps III and IV at 7450 and 7800 meters were on the face. They worked out the route on several nearly vertical steps and faces. Ropes were fixed. At 8000 meters there was a vertical step of UIAA difficulty V. Karolczak and Wojciech Wroz left Camp IV on October 7 and reached the summit after six arduous hours without oxygen. They descended via the snow couloirs and French camps. On October 10, Leszek Cichy and Przemslaw Piasecki reached the summit.

Józef Nyka, Editor, Taternik, Poland