Khatang Attempt. Our 6-man, 3-woman expedition, which I led, attempted to ascend Khatang’s (6782 meters, 22,250 feet) northeast ridge, by which Japanese in 1982 and Swiss in 1987 had climbed the peak. We established Base Camp in the Lumding Kharka and Advance Base (Camp I) below the glacier lake at 4050 and 4800 meters on October 1 and 3. The ascent to Camp II at 5600 meters, which we reached on October 6, was up the side of the icefall that descended from the northeast ridge, where we fixed four ropes. In the next days, we fixed rope on the steep rock step nearly to the col. The sharp ridge offered mixed climbing, where we fixed rope to 6350 meters. On October 18, Rudolf Laier, Alfred Leitenstorfer and Frau Marion Emmert set up Camp III in a crevasse at 6350 meters. On October 19, Leitenstorfer climbed to 6400 meters. There were still several steep steps on the ice ridge covered with snow mushrooms to overcome. Although the ridge from 6600 meters appeared to be broader, we decided with such snow conditions that we did not have enough time to complete the climb and gave up.

Peter Ripplinger, Deutscher Alpenverein