This November, Kenton Cool (UK), Ian Parnell (UK) and John Varco (USA) climbed the South West Ridge of Annapurna III (7555m). They took seven days to climb the line and three days to descend, having acclimatised on the ridge by climbing 1/4 of the way up, before descending to prepare for an alpine-style ascent. Although there were some fixed ropes on the lower section, left from a previous attempt by a Slovenian team, they only used these to descend. The ridge was not technically difficult, but it was very loose with rock of 'talcum power' consistency. There was one technical crux low down on rock and some steeper (Scottish 5 or 6) ice at c6,200m. The team benefited from 5 weeks of perfect weather (1 day of snow). There were some cultural differences concerning culinary choices (the Brits coming from the "starve to win" camp), but overall, the team got on well and found that climbing in a three was the best option for this route, providing 'down time' for each member.