Oriol Baró and Marc Toralles (Spain) completed what’s likely the second ascent and first alpine-style ascent of the northeast ridge of Huantsán (6,395m). The two climbed the 1,700-meter route from June 4–8, finding mostly snow and ice, with sections of rock. Baró described long sections of poorly protected climbing and frightening aid using snow pickets. They rated the route ED+. The pair descended mostly the same way, making occasional detours onto the north face, with 20 rappels and downclimbing. They returned to the base on June 9.

The northeast ridge was the object of intense focus in the early 1970s, with attempts in 1971 and 1973 and the first ascent in 1974. (This formation has been described as the east ridge in previous AAJs; it faces generally east-northeast.) In 1973 a French team fixed ropes extensively on the ridge and climbed to around 6,000 meters. A year later the French were back, and they encountered an international expedition with the same goal. The two teams, totaling 20 people, joined forces and sieged the ridge using 7,000 feet of fixed rope and four camps. On August 17, Marc Batard and Michel Parmentier reached the top, followed by five other climbers over the next several days. A month earlier, an American team had attempted the same route, climbing mostly alpine style, with Bill Lahr and Rick Ridgeway reaching a point just 150 meters below the top.

– Dougald MacDonald, with information from Desnivel and the AAJ