Nanga Parbat, Diamir Face. The Bavarian-Austrian Nanga Parbat Expedition was composed of Austrians Peter Wörgötter, deputy leader, Oswald Gassier and Hans Hirschbichler and Germans Joachim Labisch and me as leader. Our objective had been to make the first ascent of the Mummery Rib on the Diamir Face. The weather was so bad this year that we decided to reconnoiter the new route to the rib but not to attempt it. We turned instead to the 1962 German route on the Diamir Face, where we set up Camps I and II, along with another German expedition, at the spots used by the climbers on the first ascent. Camp III was placed at 6400 meters on the Kinshofer Icefield. Wörgötter fell into the rope in the upper part of the Sigi Löw Ice Couloir and because of his heavy pack seriously dislocated his shoulder. Since there was no doctor to reduce the dislocation, he had to fly home immediately. He was accompanied by Labisch. On August 5, Hirschbichler and Gasser climbed to Camp I and the next day to Camp II, where they experienced a severe earthquake, which brought giant avalanches off all slopes. They continued on the day after to Camp III and on the 8th to the Bazhin Basin where at 7300 meters they spent the night in the tent of the other German expedition. In the basin they used short skis, a real advantage in the highly crevassed area. On August 9, they skied to the foot of the summit trapazoid. They climbed a couloir to the left-hand ridge and a foresummit. Hirschbichler had to quit, but Gassier reached the summit at two P.M. After a night in Camp IV, they descended to Base Camp the next day.

Heinrich Koch, Deutsches Institut für Auslandforschung