Kangtega Attempt. Akemi Maeda, Hiroyuki Aoki and I left Lukla on April 1 for Base Camp at 4800 meters on the east side of Kangtega, where we arrived on the 4th. Maeda lost consciousness from mountain sickness and so we carried her down to Tangnag. Aoki and I were back in Base Camp on April 9. On the 10th, we headed for an ice wall on the south face alpine-style with five days of food. On April 11, we bivouacked at 5200 meters on the lower part of the Kangtega Glacier and on the 12th in the center of the ice wall at 5800 meters. When we reached 6100 meters on April 13, we were confronted with a 10-meter-wide crevasse and were distressed by falling ice blocks. We returned to our 5200-meter bivouac, where it stormed all day. Snowslides down the ice wall were frequent. When by April 18 the weather was still bad, we gave up the attempt.

Koji Murakami, Orio Alpine Club, Japan