Ogre III, first ascent. Thomas Huber, Urs Stöcker, and Iwan Wolf made the first ascent of Ogre III, the ca 6800m West Summit of Ogre II (6960m), now considered a distinct top. The Swiss-German team first inspected the approach on June 13, finding the glacier difficult (some short ice steps of 80 degrees) with dangerous seracs. Fresh snowfall kept them away for a few days but on the 20th they were ready for an all-out attempt. Carrying 28 kg sacs they reached the top of the 1000-meter-high snow/ice couloir (60 degrees maximum), which leads to the base of the very steep southeast pillar at ca 6000m. Unfortunately, they were more or less immediately forced to retreat in a storm. The next attempt saw five pitches fixed up the initial diedre in the steep rock pillar. The first three of these gave sustained climbing at VI and A2 with a section of A3, while the fourth, at V and AI, involved a pendulum. Not having enough food or gas for a summit attempt, the three descended to base camp.

Leaving at 2:00 a.m. on the 30th, the three reached the top of the couloir and their already established 6000m camp at 8:30 a.m., then jumared to their high point and fixed four more pitches (all free with difficulties up to VII). This put them at around 6400m and they returned to camp. The following morning, July 1, they had reached the top of their ropes by 5:00 a.m. The upper section of the pillar included an 80-meter chimney and some very difficult mixed climbing, which led to the final, small, snow-domed top of the West Summit or Ogre III. The climbers reached the highest point at 2 p.m. and spent a further five hours descending to their 6000m camp in a snowstorm.

MountainINFO, High Mountain Sports 233