Kangchungtse Tragedy. Nobody knows if this French expedition put anyone on the summit of Kangchungtse or Makalu II or not. Four climbing members made a bid for the summit on November 1 but they turned back late in the afternoon when Denis Jeanvoine and Marcel Margaine had reached the Makalu La and the other two were about 100 meters below it. They returned to Camp III at 6700 meters for the night. The next morning two descended while leader Pierre Demolombe and Margaine remained in the high camp. They may have made summit attempts but no one has seen them since November 2. The last surviving members left Base Camp on November 9, leaving the cook, kitchen- boy and two porters to continue the search. They found nothing. A helicopter flight around the mountain gave no clues as to their fate.

Michael J. Cheney. Himalayan Club, and Elizabeth Hawley