Gashebrum I (Hidden Peak) and Tragedy. Every expedition set up its Base Camp on the Gasherbrum Glacier on the western side of the peak because the southern approaches from the Abruzzi Glacier were banned by the military in view of the Indo-Pakistani conflict on the nearby Siachen Glacier. Swiss led by Paul Tschanz made an attempt from the Gasherbrum La in June. They got to within 20 meters of the summit before giving up in high winds. Three Japanese men and a woman under the leadership of Osamu Shimizu started an ascent, following a line to the left of the Messner route. In cooperation with a French group, they set up Camp III at 7000 meters. Then, on August 2, the leader and Kiyoshi Wakutsu reached the summit after a very long climb from Camp III. The French, led by Alain Cokkinos, had been preparing the route to the same Camp III. They set up a Camp IV at 7400 meters. Dr. Christine Janin, Antoine Barthélémy and German Joswig Reinmar got to the top on August 3. Christine Janin is the second woman to climb Hidden Peak. This was her second 8000er; she climbed Gasherbrum II in 1981. A Swiss commercial expedition of six, organized by Stefan Wömer, climbed the north spur via the Gasherbrum La. The summit was reached on August 18 by German Gerhard Schmatz, German Andreas Bührer, and Austrians Manfred Lorenz and Karl Köllemann. During the descent, Bührer slipped at 7000 meters and fell to his death. It was Schmatz’s third 8000er and Lorenz’s second.

Xavier Eguskitza, Pyrenaica, Bilbao, Spain