Nanga Parbat, Variant of the Schell Route. Our expedition was made up of Oscar Cadiach, Pere Benaiges, Narcís Serrat, Jordi Homs and me as leader. After delays caused by a blocked road, we finally arrived on July 4 at Base Camp at 3550 meters below the Rupal Face. On July 5 with 13 shepherds we climbed with loads to 5100 meters, the site of Camp I. There were no difficulties there. By the next day, with the help of six more shepherds, all our material was at Camp I. After three stormy days, we established Camp I on July 10. On the 12th and 13th we climbed first a gully constantly threatened by rockfall, fixing rope, and continued up gullies and snow slopes to 6150 meters, where the face ends and a ridge begins. This section between Camps I and II was the most difficult technically. A storm interrupted climbing until July 26. We set out again from Base Camp and climbed in moderately bad weather during the next few days. On July 29 Cadiach, Homs and I left Camp II, hoping to place Camp III at 7050 meters. The first 250 meters were of ice of 60° and then it became easier but with many crevasses hidden by the new snow. We got only to 6750 meters when a storm forced us to bivouac and then to descend. Homs fell sick and Serrat and Benaiges were not in good shape. Cadiach and I decided on August 3 to make an alpine-style attempt and set out from Camp I. The next day we climbed from Camp II to Camp III at 7050 meters in twelve hours. On August 5 we did not follow the Austrian Schell route above Camp III but used the Netherlander route of Naar, which we thought faster and surer. We traversed east, diagonaled up through great blocks to reach a couloir that took us to the col. We placed Camp IV at 7500 meters. The col gave access to the Diamir Face. On August 6 we made two rappels to reach a descending traverse to avoid rocky spurs that come down from the summit. We crossed, traversing upwards, the upper part of the Diamir Face to gain a couloir that ended below the summit pyramid. We camped in an afternoon storm at 7500 meters. On August 7 we set off early up the modestly inclined couloir that leads toward the summit, hampered by new snow and the altitude. A steep step at 7850 meters was followed by mixed terrain as the couloir spreads out and by a col at 8050 meters below the summit. We reached the summit (8125 meters, 26,660 feet) at 3:20 P.M. and were back at Camp V at nine P.M. On the descent we hoped to follow the Schell route. On the 8th we made two rappels and traversed. Thinking we had descended below the Austrian route, we ascended 70 meters to find ourselves cut off by huge blocks. We had to bivouac there in a storm at 7250 meters. In the morning we soon reached the ridge crest and saw our Camp III site 150 meters below us. The place the Austrians had crossed was also 100 meters below us. We rappelled and soon got to Camp III. We reached Camp II at 11:30 and after a long rest kept on, arriving at Base Camp at seven P.M.

Jordi MagriÑÁ, AAEEMI, Secció de Muntanya Valls, Spain