Austrian climbers Hansjörg Auer, Alex Blümel, and David Lama attempted one of the great unclimbed prizes of the Nepal Himalaya, the southeast pillar of Annapurna III (7,555m), in early May. They approached base camp by helicopter, and after three acclimatization trips on the east ridge, reaching a high point of 6,000m, they made an alpine-style attempt on the pillar. The weather was poor and the temperatures low, and under the circumstances they found the climbing quite demanding, sometimes having to resort to aid. They made their third bivouac at around 6,550m and received a bad forecast that night. Next day they retreated, and heavy snowfall prevented any further attempts. They feel they may have reached the same point, or perhaps slightly higher, than Nick Colton and Tim Leach did during the first attempt on this line in 1981.

– Lindsay Griffin