Gasherbrum I (Hidden Peak). Our commercial expedition led by
G asherbrum I (H idden Peak). O ur com m ercial expedition led by Briton Jonathan Pratt and me from the U nited States consisted o f eleven clim bers, of whom six reached the sum m it, and six trekkers, one o f w hom got to 6500 meters. We were o f six nationalities. The norm al south-facing route on G asherbrum I is closed due to the Pakistani-Indian war. The north couloir, which we clim bed, is a slash o f snow cut into the rocky north face, w hich allows passage from the 6400-m eter G asherbrum La to the upper snow fields at 7000
m eters. A bove the La, a snow slope turns to 40° rock, then narrow s to a rocky, snow -choked couloir o f 50° betw een jag g ed cliffs, in w hich we fixed 700 m eters o f rope. A fter 500 m eters, the chute w idens into a 40° snow slope and ascends to a shoulder on the north ridge, w here we placed Cam p III at 7400 m eters. From C am p III to the sum m it, a w ide 40° snow slope with interspersed rock ridges runs to 7900 m eters and then steepens to 50° loose rock with deep snow. On A ugust 4, Pratt, Frenchm en Jean-M ichel M eunier and Frank Lévy and Sw iss M arkus Staehelin clim bed to the sum m it. From A ugust 8 to 11, Briton Dr. Andrew C ollins and I w ere storm -bound at C am p III but on A ugust 12, we also reached the top. Two other sum m it attem pts failed in bad weather. Pratt and C ollins were the first British clim bers to ascend G asherbrum I . Pratt, Staehelin and Lévy participated in an all-night rescue to save the life o f Nail D ervisević , a Bosnian clim ber who suffered a stroke that paralyzed his left side. The victim was dragged from Cam p II on G asherbrum II on a m ake-shift sled m ade from tw o blue barrels. He had lain in his tent for three days before our m em bers could get to him. We tried to scrub the m ountain squeaky clean, extending our efforts to all cam ps on G asherbrum I and to C am ps I and II on G asherbrum II as well as to Base Camp. D
a n ie l
L
ee
M
azur
m eters. A bove the La, a snow slope turns to 40° rock, then narrow s to a rocky, snow -choked couloir o f 50° betw een jag g ed cliffs, in w hich we fixed 700 m eters o f rope. A fter 500 m eters, the chute w idens into a 40° snow slope and ascends to a shoulder on the north ridge, w here we placed Cam p III at 7400 m eters. From C am p III to the sum m it, a w ide 40° snow slope with interspersed rock ridges runs to 7900 m eters and then steepens to 50° loose rock with deep snow. On A ugust 4, Pratt, Frenchm en Jean-M ichel M eunier and Frank Lévy and Sw iss M arkus Staehelin clim bed to the sum m it. From A ugust 8 to 11, Briton Dr. Andrew C ollins and I w ere storm -bound at C am p III but on A ugust 12, we also reached the top. Two other sum m it attem pts failed in bad weather. Pratt and C ollins were the first British clim bers to ascend G asherbrum I . Pratt, Staehelin and Lévy participated in an all-night rescue to save the life o f Nail D ervisević , a Bosnian clim ber who suffered a stroke that paralyzed his left side. The victim was dragged from Cam p II on G asherbrum II on a m ake-shift sled m ade from tw o blue barrels. He had lain in his tent for three days before our m em bers could get to him. We tried to scrub the m ountain squeaky clean, extending our efforts to all cam ps on G asherbrum I and to C am ps I and II on G asherbrum II as well as to Base Camp. D
a n ie l
L
ee
M
azur
