Saipal Traverse. After having pitched their second high camp on October 5, but not sleeping there, the Spanish expedition, led by Joaquim Prunés, waited at Base Camp for the next eleven days for constant heavy snowfall to cease. On October 18, climbing resumed up the west ridge and on October 22, six members went to the summit via this ridge. They were the team’s only Frenchman Serge Benêt and Francesc Dalmases, Jorge Agullo, Miquel Llonch, Narcis Serrat and Francesc Zapater. Meanwhile another party made a series of three bivouacs on the southwest face and on October 24 Antonio Bros and Jorge Angeles gained the summit and descended to Camp III on the west ridge route. On October 25 the southwest-face summiters waited in Camp III while Frederic Parera went solo to the top and rejoined them, whereupon all went down to Base Camp along the ridge that same day.

Michael J. Cheney, Himalayan Club, and Elizabeth Hawley