Bhrigupanth. Bhrigupanth (6772 meters, 22,220 feet) was climbed by an Indian team from Pune via the south face, the route of the first ascent in 1980 by the American women’s team led by Arlene Blum, though it was different above Camp III, where we opted for a rock route. We placed Base Camp (at Kedar Tal), Advance Base and Camps I, II and III at 15,000, 16,100, 18,300, 20,000 and 21,300 feet on August 3, 7, 11, 20 and 22. On August 26, Dr. Suhas Mate, Mohan Patel, Ms. Chandraprabha Aitwal, Sange Dorje and Sange Sherpa reached the summit. Miland Pote, Vasant Karle, Anwar Mudarris, Sanjay Katti and I climbed the peak on the 28th, followed on the 30th by Sanjay Kadam, Ms. Kumari Sujata, Nima Sherpa and Pasang Sherpa. I suffered a head injury (a depressed skull fracture in the right front-parietal region) when I was caught in heavy rockfall on the way from Camp I to II. I recovered to lead the first summit attempt on August 23 and got to the top on the 28th. (A two-man British team led by Robert Blackburne failed to climb Bhrigupanth because of poor snow conditions.)

D.T. Kulkarni, Sports and Research Foundation, India