Bethartoli Himal. An Italian expedition made the first ascent of Bethartoli Himal (20,840 feet), which had been unsuccessfully attempted at least four times. We climbed the previously unattempted north ridge. Traveling light, we approached the mountain up the Trisuli Nala and placed Base Camp at 14,100 feet on the moraine at the foot of the basin below the northeast face. Camp I was at 16,400 feet below the face. Camps II and III were at 17,750 and 19,000 feet on the north ridge. On September 17 Cesare Cesa Bianchi, Maurizio Maggi and I set out from Camp III for the summit. The technical difficulties were in the first third of the ridge. We first fixed a rope up a steep, icy knife-edge and another on a rock tower of rotten rock. From there to the summit, we had to climb the ridge, keeping between the huge cornices that overhang the northeast face and the steep slope on the right. We arrived on top at one P.M., followed an hour later by the other two members, Marco Tedeschi and Gianluigi Landreani, who had ascended from Camp II.

Renato Moro, Club Alpino Italiano