Kumbhakarna (Jannu). Our members were Georg Rubin, Res Leibundgut, Christian von Almen, Bruno Rankwiler, Daniel Anker and I as leader. We reached Base Camp on the Yamatari Glacier at 4400 meters with about 30 porters on October 8. From October 10 to 15 we made acclimatization climbs on the neighboring hills. From October 16 to 19 we reconnoitered alpine-style as far as the “Boutoir” at 6300 meters on the French first-ascent route. Anker, Rubin and Rankwiler headed up on October 22 for a summit push and on October 25 Rankwiler and Anker reached the summit (7710 meters, 25,294 feet). Rubin had to wait at the last bivouac at 6900 meters because of a stomach upset. Leibundgut, von Almen and I set out on October 23, reached the summit on October 27 and descended that same day to the “Dentelle” at 6400 feet. We all climbed alpine-style without fixed ropes and artificial oxygen. The chief difficulties were wind and cold. The technical difficulties were less than we expected. The greatest were a 15-meter-high perpendicular ice wall at 5700 meters, powder snow on the “Boutoir,” cornices on the “Dentelle” and snow-covered rock at the beginning of the summit cone. We had bivouacked at 5300, 6200 and 6900 meters. We bought most of our food in Kathmandu.

Martin Fischer, Schweizer Alpen Club