Mana Northwest Attempt and Ascent of P 6687. Unclimbed Mana Northwest (7092 meters, 23,270 feet) lies northwest of Mana and south of Kamet on the ridge which connects the two. Our four-member team from Bombay, P.B. Bodhane, Subhas Kharde, Anil Chavan and I as leader, attempted it from the east via the Purbi Kamet Glacier. Bodhane fell ill and had to leave. We placed three camps on the glacier, at 5000, 5300 and 5600 meters. On June 18, we set up Camp IV at 6200 meters on the northeast face of Mana Northwest. On June 21, Kharde and high-altitude porter Jagat Singh climbed a gently rising ridge and then up through séracs toward the summit of Mana Northwest. At 6900 meters, Kharde felt giddy from dehydration and the altitude and they had to return. That same day, Chavan and I established Camp V at 6450 meters. On June 22, we two set out in cold and wind but soon had to retreat to avoid frostbite. The next day, we again started but after three hours of climbing it began to snow hard. Two hours later, we turned back at about 6800 meters. On June 25, Kharde, Jagat Singh and I set out for P 6687 (21,940 feet) which lies between Mana Northwest and Kamet. I was slow and returned to camp, but the other two completed the first ascent of the peak.

Arun Samant, Holiday Hikers’ Club, Bombay