A party of leader Mike Ward and Barry Bishop, Mike Gill and Wally Romanes made the first ascent to the summit of Ama Dablam on 13 March, starting on 11 March. Hillary had expected just a preliminary look at what looked to be an impossibility difficult challenge; he was surprised, but wondered if the Nepalese government would have a problem about (lack of) permission to climb. The difficult section, the vertical rock of the first step, had been investigated on 24 and 25 March. In 1979 Peter Hillary's party was climbing the face when they were struck by an ice avalanche.