Lhotse Shar. Our expedition was composed of Guy Donzey, Dr. Xavier Bigard, Pierre Royer, Lionel Mailly, Yves Tedeschi, Eric Gramond, Philippe Renard, Robert Flematti, Daniel Semblanet, French, Nima Norbu, Nepalese, and Rajeev Sharma, Indian. We climbed the southwest ridge to 7200 meters and then the southeast ridge to the summit. Base Camp was established at the foot of the south face on April 12. On April 15 Camp I was placed at 5800 meters on the little col between the southwest ridge and Island Peak. Camps II and III were set up on April 27 and May 1 at 6200 and 7000 meters. We had planned for a Camp IV at 7600 meters, but weather conditions prevented this. On May 20 Tedeschi, Sherpa Senge, Royer and I set out from Camp III. Royer and I turned back at 7600 meters because we began to suffer from frostbite. Senge stopped at 8250 meters. Tedeschi reached the summit of Lhotse Shar at ten A.M., having been climbing for ten hours. He did not continue on the traverse to Lhotse as had been the original hope. The climbing was mainly on ice. On May 8 Gramond and I flew with a two-place parapente from Camp III at 7000 meters to the Lhotse Shar Glacier at 5300 meters.

Alain Estève, Captain, Groupe Militaire de Haute Montagne