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Duff - 21 Oct 81

Arrived BC (16,700 feet) 26 Sept. Then 4 days of storm. Nisbet got sick [altitude] on about 1 Oct and down to Pheriche and back to BC only.

1 Oct went to have a look for 4 days, picked our line of climb and started up. Adrian dropped out when looked too hard for him. 5 Oct remaining 2 started serious climb and went up ridge in very hard technical climb. 10 Oct got to point at 22,000 feet just above where Canadian's buttress joins ridge. Looked another 7 days to reach summit but not enough fuel. 17 day's round trip. Could have gone done and gotten more "but kind of climb you want to do once," besides starting to get windy. Descended on 11 Oct in one day to BC (thought would have taken several days).

No accident or frostbite.
West Ridge impossible to fix ropes on it in sections: knife-edge snow.
Want to book Nuptse for spring 1983 by same route.
Definitely need 4 climbers. Climbing figuring 15 days round trip, so party of 6.
BC about at Gorak Shep.
Try alpine-style.

Food and gas dump on plateau at bout 22,000 feet below steep section to summit. 18-20 days KTM to BC. Acclaim and recon period of 4-5 days.

4-5 days to make dump; down to BC for 4-5 days rest. Want to climb to unclimbed West Summit to Main Summit and down Scott route into Cwm. Very long and somewhat speculative route and this delay not helping things. Delay waiting for 2 others members to arrive in Nepal.

No Sherpas above BC.
No oxygen at all.


Duff - 10 Aug 81

Leave KTM tomorrow. Route on West Ridge leads first to NW Summit, which Japanese climbed and thence to West Summit and (25,790 feet) and Main summit and down into Cwm.