Kunyang Chhish, Hispar. In June and July Julian Fisher, Mark Lowe, Keith Milne, Mike Sheldrake and I made the second ascent of Kunyang Chhish (7852 meters, 25,761 feet). The mountain was climbed in 1971 by Poles via its south ridge. There had also been seven unsuccessful attempts. Our objective was the north ridge, which starts at 6900 meters and is reached by climbing the 2100-meter-high northwest spur. Two previous British expeditions led by Dave Wilkinson failed to get beyond 6900 meters due to bad weather and snow; a Japanese expedition in 1987 ended when a member died in an avalanche below Camp III. We were blessed with excellent weather from the first day of the walk-in on June 10 until the establishment of Camp III at 6700 meters. Following a short period of bad weather, with the exception of Sheldrake, we returned to our high point. Unfortunately, Fisher developed a serious infection and I accompanied him off the mountain, leaving Milne and Lowe to continue up the ridge. They established three further camps on the north ridge at 6980, 7150 and 7350 meters. They made a lightweight dash to the summit on July 13. Lack of time prevented anyone else from attempting a second ascent. Technical difficulty was generally moderate, with sections of ice up to 70° and a tricky bergschrund near the summit, which had to be soloed.

Andrew Wingfield, The Lemmings, England