Gasherbrum I (Hidden Peak) Attempt. We were Dr. Dave Bong, Gary Le Moine, Richard Soaper and Ethan Van Matre, lead team, and Jonell Geller, Bill and Dana Isherwood and I, support team. We reached the 17,400-foot Gasherbrum Base Camp at the confluence of the Abruzzi and South Gasherbrum Glaciers on July 3 after eleven days with absolutely no porter problems, using the well known Baltoro approach. No porters carried beyond Base Camp. In the ensuing weeks we had established Camp I at the top of the first icefall by July 13 as the lead team worked higher on the route. Camp II, near the base of the west ridge of Gasherbrum I, was occupied on July 21 after unscheduled rest days due to bad weather. Camp III on the Gasherbrum La between Gasherbrums I and II was first reached on July 18 but not occupied until July 24. On July 27, after waiting out two days of bad weather in Camp III, the lead team made an alpine-style push for the Messner-Habeler high camp on the north ridge of Gasherbrum I, but after eight hours of battling thigh-deep snow over unstable, down-sloping slabby rock to 22,700 feet, they realized they were less then halfway to their goal. Insufficient food remained on the mountain to support a second attempt and so the route was cleaned and all members were back in Base by July 29. Looking back with 20/20 hindsight, I see three errors: (1) all members should have come back to Base after stocking Camp III before the alpine-style summit push, (2) all available food should have been loaded into the camps rather than only enough for one attempt, and (3) one can never be too careful about party selection.

Robert a. Wilson