Gasherbrum II. As in previous years, a large number of expeditions had Gasherbrum II (8035 meters, 26,362 feet) as their objective. Only three of them reached the summit. A six-member Swiss expedition was led by Nicole Niquille, the only woman of the group. Having followed the standard route, on June 28 Philippe Menu, Félix Thurlir, Christian Haymoz and Pakistani porter Ali Mohammad reached the summit. During the descent, Menu and Thurlir had a fall toward the Chinese slope, fortunately without serious consequences. A South Korean expedition succeeded in placing four on the summit by the standard route. On July 19, climbing-leader Kim Chang-Seon, ahead of his companions, got to the summit alone, followed a few hours later by three others. A second South Korean expedition, led by Han Sang-Kook, also made the ascent. On July 20, the summit was reached by five climbers. An eight-member American expedition was led by David Mention, who had to return home in the early stages of the expedition. The rest of the team left Base Camp on June 23 after two of their members had reached the site of Camp IV at 7500 meters. An eight-member international expedition led by Adrian Burgess (a Briton living in the United States) included his American sister-in-law Sarah Rogers, Briton Paul Moores, Swedes Mikael Reuterswärd, Oscar Kihlborg and Johan Lagne, and Catalan women Magda Nos and Monica Verge. During the early stages of the attempt, Moores fell into a deep crevasse in the icefall and was held precariously at the end of the rope by Burgess; he suffered injuries to his leg. Later, on June 18, Kihlborg and Lagne reached a high point of 7800 meters. On June 28, Moores and an Austrian of Studer’s group managed to get to 7700 meters. The expedition was left first by the three Swedes and then by Moores and Monica Verge. A last attempt by Burgess ended at Camp II. The three remaining climbers left Base Camp on July 15. An Austrian expedition led by Wilfried Studer had to give up its attempt on July 13. As mentioned above, one of its members reached 7700 meters with Moores. Four Americans led by Dave McNally got to Camp III at 7000 meters. Eleven French climbers led by Jean-Pierre Fedéle had to give up their attempt at 7500 meters on August 18 because of bad weather conditions they had encountered since their arrival at Base Camp a month earlier.

Xavier Eguskitza, Pyrenaica, Bilbao, Spain