Fast Facts About Nanga Parbat - 9th Highest Mountain Nanga Parbat: 9th Highest Mountain in the World Fast Facts About Nanga Parbat Nanga Parbat, 9th-highest mountain in the world, is also one of the most dangerous and difficult of the 8,000-meter peaks to successfully climb. Photograph copyright Yasir Nisar/Getty Images Elevation: 26,658 feet (8,125 meters) Prominence: 15,118 feet (4,608 meters) Location: Pakistan, Asia Coordinates: 35.2375 N / 74.589167 W First Ascent: Solo ascent by Hermann Buhl (Austria), July 3, 1953 FAST FACTS Nanga Parbat means "Naked Mountain" in Urdu. The name the locals call the peak is Diamir, which translates to "king of mountains." 9th Highest Mountain in World Nanga Parbat is the 9th highest mountain and the 14th most prominent mountain in the world.

The mountain lies at the western end of the Himalayan Range in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of northern Pakistan . It has three major faces--Diamir, Rakhiot, and Rupal. Rupal Face: Highest in World The Rupal Face on the mountain's southern flank is considered the world's highest mountain face, rising 15,090 feet (4,600 meters) from its base to the icy summit of Nanga Parbat. Albert Mummery described the wall: "The astounding difficulties of the southern face may be realized by the fact that the gigantic rock-ridges, the dangers of the hanging glacier and the steep ice of the north-west face-one of the most terri­fying faces of a mountain I have ever seen-are preferable to the south face." continue reading below our video 10 Best Teams in the History of Baseball The Killer Mountain Nanga Parbat is considered the second hardest 8,000-meter peak after K2 , the second highest peak in the world, as well as one of the most dangerous.

After 31 people died attempting to climb Nanga Parbat before it's 1953 first ascent, it was nicknamed the "Killer Mountain." Nanga Parbat is the third-most dangerous 8,000-meter peak with a death rate of 22.3% of climbers dying on the mountain. As of 2012 there are at least 68 climber deaths on Nanga Parbat. 1895: Mummery's Tragic Attempt First attempt to climb Nanga Parbat was in 1895 by Alfred Mummery's group , which reached at elevation of 6,100 meters on the Diamir Face. Mummery and two Gurkha climbers died in an avalanche while doing a reconnaissance of the Rakhiot Face, ending the expedition. 1953: First Ascent Solo by Hermann Buhl The first ascent of Nanga Parbat was a solo climb by the legendary Austrian climber Hermann Buhl on July 3, 1953.

Buhl, after his companions turned back, reached the summit at seven o'clock in the evening and was forced to bivouac standing up on a narrow ledge, dozing fitfully with his hand clasping a lone handhold . After a calm windless night, he descended the next day without his ice axe , which he inadvertently left on the summit and with only one crampon , reaching high camp at seven in the evening after a 40-hour climb. Buhl also climbed without extra oxygen and is the only person to make the first ascent of an 8,000-meter peak solo. Buhl's route up the Rakhiot Flank or East Ridge has been repeated only once, in 1971 by Ivan Fiala and Michael Orolin. 1970: Tragedy on the Rupal Face The towering Rupal Face was climbed by Italian Reinhold Messner , one of the greatest Himalayan climbers, and his brother Günther Messner in 1970, doing the third ascent of Nanga Parbat. While the pair was descending the back side of Nanga Parbat, Günther was killed in an avalanche.

His remains were found on the Diamir Face in 2005. Messner Solos Nanga Parbat In 1978 Reinhold Messner , the first person to climb the Seven Summits solo-climbed the Diamir Face--the first complete solo ascent of the mountain since Herman Buhl only soloed the upper part of his route. In 1984 French climber Lilliane Barrard is the first woman to summit Nanga Parbet. 2005: Alpine Style on Rupal Face In 2005, Americans Vince Anderson and Steve House climb the Central Pillar of the Rupal Face in five days and then took two days to descend. Their alpine-style ascent is one the boldest Himalayan ascents to date. Steve House Quote from 2005 "Summit day was physically one of the hardest days I have ever had in the mountains. We had climbed for five days with very limited chance for recovery. Fortunately the weather was perfect.

But I was not sure that we would succeed until we arrived just below the south summit at over 8,000 meters and could see the last easy meters to the top." Steve House on the first ascent of the Rupal Face Central Pillar in 2005. 2013: Terrorist Attack Kills 11 An attack on June 23, 2013 at Nanga Parbat's Base Camp by 15 to 20 Taliban terrorists dressed as Gilgit paramilitary officers killed ten climbers, including a Lithuanian, three Ukrainians, two Slovakians, two Chinese, and a Chinese-American and Nepali as well as a Sherpa guide, and a Pakistani cook, totaling 11 victims. The militants came in the night, rousing the climbers from their tents, then tying them up, taking their money and shooting them. Nanga Parbat Nanga Parbat in Mountains and Peaks 11 Jul 2015 This is the 9th highest peak in the world. The literal meaning of this peak is “ naked mountain ”. The etymological root of this mountain is in Sanskrit.

It is derived from the words: “nanga’” meaning naked or bare and “parvat” meaning mountain. Due to its bare rugged structure it is being named so. It is also known as the Killer Mountain. It has been one of the deadliest mountains to climb so far and thus the name. It is not only very high and rugged but also intense and dangerous with its differing peak surroundings. The overall terrain is quite rugged. The western anchor to the Himalayas, this mountain is one of the highest peaks being one of the eight thousanders coming from the Himalayas. The Indus River lies in the right south of this range. It is located in the Astore District. The North of Pakistan in Kashmir is area being taken over by the mountain peak. Right at the north of it is the Karakoram ranges. The straight shooting high vertical limit of the range is one of the main features of this range. The local terrains dissipate in non-uniform directions in different ways. The south of the Nanga Parbat is the one of the highest mountain faces of the world as relief. This Rupal Face rises about 4,600m above the base feet. The north of the complex is quite gently sloping.

The Rakhiot Flank rises well above 7,000m right from the Indus River slope. It is just 27km away from the general elevation of ten greatly elevating points of the Earth. The entire structure surrounding this mountain is quite complex and have several unpredictable elevations. The core is that of a long riding ridge that moves more towards the south west and north east. The ridge is quite enormous with bulking blocks of ice and rock. The 3 main faces from this complex chain are Diamir face, Rakhiot face and Rupal. The southwestern part is also the main ridge which can also be called the Mazeno Wall. These happen to be some of the subsidiary peaks. The main curve to the ridge is the Rakhiot Peak ridge which is about 7,070 metres high. The massive Rupal Face is right above the main mountain peak, leading the way to the north. There are many subsidiary peaks as well as ridges coming out of this main mountain. The North peak also heads for the main summit and there is a beautiful glacier awaiting, right ahead across the shepherds’ village named Latbo. This glacier is also known as Latbo.

Attempts to climb this mountain have been one of the greatest challenges to all climbers. Back in 1895, Albert F. Mummery had led an expedition with the Diamir West Face to be reached first in mind. However on the way two of their Gurkha companions died right on the reconnoitering route to Rakhiot Face. The Nanga Parbat became one of the most famed foci for Germans who were interested in the Himalayan expedition. This called for many German mountaineers to be coming here to volunteer. They even had made attempt to climb Mount Everest and make attempts from here since only the British had access to the pathway from Tibet at that time. Most of the initial German efforts failed. Paul Bauer led an expedition to Kanchenjungha through this way. He led two expeditions consecutively in the years 1930 and 1931. The party faced the dire constraints of the steep ridges, long and narrow pathways as well as greater expedition ways to the Everest. The expeditions however could not make much progress also considering the limited aid in mountain climbing that was present at that time. K2 became one of the hardest to climb mountains.

The remoteness of its location and the steep pathways to it made it quite the ordeal of a lifetime for the mountaineers to even reach its base. With Kanchenjungha and K2 being so difficult it can be understood that Nanga Parvat stood quite out of the way for most climbers. Though the Germans took the chance they had few chances to be successful. Photo by PakPositive The very 1st German attempt to Nanga Parvat was led by the team of Willy Merkl in 1932. This was one of the greatest German American expeditions that included German as well as American climbers. Among the main climbers there was Rand Herron, an American, Herbert Kunigk and Fritz Wiessner, who were German. This expedition turned out to be poorly planned and thus could not be successful enough. While the group had really strong climbers there was not enough detailed planning for Himalayan conquering experience. The number of porters for the expedition really turned out to be inadequate and thus this hindered the progression of the team. The team made it to the Rakhiot Peak however and established great feasibility to this route.

share Nanga Parbat - Climbolt Scuba Diving Nanga Parbat is the ninth largest peak in the world and second highest in Pakistan, after K2. The literal meaning of Nanga Parbat in English is ‘The Naked Mountain’. The height of the peak is 8,126 meters above the sea level. It is on the western side of the Himalaya range around which you can see the mighty Indus River before it leads to the lower areas of Pakistan. The western end of the Karakoram Range is not too far from the peak. The peak is situated in the Gilgit-Baltistan and it is known as one of the most scenic places in the world. The peak is covered with snow all around the year. It is the second mountain after K2 which has never been climbed during the winter season because of extreme weather situation in the area. However, unlike the K2, reaching its base camp is quite easy as it requires mountaineers just about a couple of hours of trekking from the Fairy Meadows area which is the last known village before the base camp. The Nanga Parbat peak is ranked amongst those 8000ers which is very difficult to climb because of its intensely steep gradient.

There were several deaths reported of the mountaineers in the mid 20th century and for this reason, the mountain is also famously known as ‘The Killer Mountain’. The first attempt in climbing the mountain was made in 1895 which just went till 7000 meters and was called off due to the deaths of a couple of mountaineers in the group. However, the first successful ascent to the peak came as late as in the year 1953 by Hermann Buhl, an Austrian mountaineer along with his team. This success came after a lot of failed attempts where a number of mountaineers died. Above shown is a shot of the mountain taken from Fairy Meadows, the Raikot (Rakhiot) Face on the northern side is quite imposing. Nanga Parbat : definition of Nanga Parbat and synonyms of Nanga Parbat (English) Easiest route Diamir (West Face) Nanga Parbat (literally, Naked Mountain), Urdu : ننگا پربت [nəŋɡaː pərbət̪] ) is the ninth highest mountain on Earth .

Located in Pakistan , Nanga Parbat is one of the eight-thousanders , with a summit elevation of 8,126 meters (26,660 ft). Nanga Parbat translates to "Naked Mountain" in English ; parbat deriving from the Sanskrit word parvata (पर्वत) meaning "mountain, rock", and nanga from the Sanskrit nagna (नग्न) meaning "naked". [2] Known as the "Killer Mountain", Nanga Parbat was one of the deadliest of the eight-thousanders for climbers in the first half of the twentieth century; since that time it has been less so, though still an extremely serious climb. It is also an immense, dramatic peak that rises far above its surrounding terrain. Contents 11 External links Location Nanga Parbat forms the western anchor of the Himalayan Range and is the westernmost eight-thousander . It lies just south of the Indus River in the Diamer District of Gilgit–Baltistan in Pakistan. Not far to the north is the western end of the Karakoram range. Notable features Nanga Parbat has tremendous vertical relief over local terrain in all directions.

To the south, Nanga Parbat boasts what is often referred to as the highest mountain face in the world: the Rupal Face rises 4,600 m (15,000 ft) above its base. To the north, the complex, somewhat more gently sloped Rakhiot Flank rises 7,000 m (23,000 ft) from the Indus River valley to the summit in just 25 km (16 mi), one of the 10 greatest elevation gains in so short a distance on Earth.[ citation needed ] Nanga Parbat is one of only two peaks on Earth that rank in the top twenty of both the highest mountains in the world, and the most prominent peaks in the world, ranking ninth and fourteenth respectively. The other being Mount Everest , which is first on both lists. Layout of the mountain Nanga Parbat Rakhiot Face The core of Nanga Parbat is a long ridge trending southwest–northeast. The ridge is an enormous bulk of ice and rock. It has three faces, Diamir face, Rakhiot and Rupal.

The southwestern portion of this main ridge is known as the Mazeno Wall, and has a number of subsidiary peaks. In the other direction, the main ridge arcs northeast at Rakhiot Peak (7,070 m / 23,196 ft). The south/southeast side of the mountain is dominated by the massive Rupal Face, noted above. The north/northwest side of the mountain, leading to the Indus, is more complex. It is split into the Diamir (west) face and the Rakhiot (north) face by a long ridge. There are a number of subsidiary summits, including North Peak (7,816 m / 25,643 ft) some 3 km north of the main summit. Near the base of the Rupal Face is a beautiful glacial lake called Latbo, above a seasonal shepherds' village of the same name. Climbing history Nanga Parbat from Deosai Early attempts Climbing attempts started very early on Nanga Parbat. In 1895 Albert F.

Mummery led an expedition to the peak, and reached almost 7,000 m (23,000 ft) on the Diamir (West) Face, but Mummery and two Gurkha companions later died reconnoitering the Rakhiot Face. In the 1930s, Nanga Parbat became the focus of German interest in the Himalaya. The German mountaineers were unable to attempt Mount Everest , as only the British had access to Tibet . Initially German efforts focused on Kanchenjunga , to which Paul Bauer led two expeditions in 1930 and 1931, but with its long ridges and steep faces Kanchenjunga was more difficult than Everest and neither expedition made much progress. K2 was known to be harder still, and its remoteness meant that even reaching its base would be a major undertaking. Nanga Parbat was therefore the highest mountain accessible to Germans which they seemed to have a chance of climbing. [3] Approaching Nanga Parbat Base Camp The first German expedition to Nanga Parbat was led by Willy Merkl in 1932.

It is sometimes referred to as a German-American expedition, as the eight climbers included Rand Herron, an American, and Fritz Wiessner , who would become an American citizen the following year. While the team were all strong climbers, none had Himalayan experience, and poor planning (particularly an inadequate number of porters ), coupled with bad weather, prevented the team progressing far beyond the Rakhiot Peak , reached by Peter Aschenbrenner and Herbert Kunigk, but they did establish the feasibility of a route via Rakhiot Peak and the main ridge. [4] Merkl led another expedition in 1934, which was better prepared and financed with the full backing of the new Nazi government. Early in the expedition Alfred Drexel died, probably of high altitude pulmonary edema ,. [5] The Tyrolean climbers Peter Aschenbrenner and Erwin Schneider reached an estimated height of (7,895 m / 25,900 ft) on July 6, but were forced to return because of worsening weather. On July 7 they and 14 others were trapped by a ferocious storm at 7,480 m (24,540 ft).

During the desperate retreat that followed, three famous German mountaineers, Uli Wieland , Willo Welzenbach and Merkl himself, and six Sherpas died of exhaustion, exposure and altitude sickness, and several more suffered severe frostbite . The last survivor to reach safety, Ang Tsering , did so having spent seven days battling through the storm. [6] It has been said that the disaster, "for sheer protracted agony, has no parallel in climbing annals." [7] In 1937, Karl Wien led another expedition to the mountain, following the same route as Merkl's expeditions had done. Progress was made, but more slowly than before due to heavy snowfall. Some time around the 14th of June seven Germans and nine Sherpas, almost the entire team, were at Camp IV below Rakhiot Peak when it was overwhelmed by an avalanche . All sixteen men died instantly in what remains the worst single disaster to occur on an 8000 m peak .

[8] The Germans returned in 1938 led by Paul Bauer, but the expedition was plagued by bad weather, and Bauer, mindful of the previous disasters, ordered the party down before the Silver Saddle was reached. [9] The following year a small four man expedition, including Heinrich Harrer , explored the Diamir Face with the aim of finding an easier route. They concluded that the face was a viable route, but the Second World War intervened and the four men were interned in India. [10] Harrer's escape and subsequent travels became the subject of his book Seven Years in Tibet . First ascent Southwest aspect of the Rupal Face At 4,100 m (13,450 ft), near the Rakhiot Base Camp View from Latobo village. For a sense of scale, notice a 4-man yellow tent, dwarfed by the peak, near the bottom right. Just above the tent is a large white building. Nanga Parbat was first climbed, via the Rakhiot Flank (East Ridge), on July 3, 1953 by Austrian climber Hermann Buhl , [11] a member of a German - Austrian team.

The expedition was organized by the half-brother of Willy Merkl, Karl Herrligkoffer from Munich , while the expedition leader was Peter Aschenbrenner from Innsbruck , who had participated in the 1932 and 1934 attempts. By the time of this expedition, 31 people had already died on the mountain. [12] The final push for the summit was dramatic: Buhl continued alone, after his companions had turned back, and arrived at 7 p.m.; the climbing being harder and more time consuming than he had anticipated. His descent was slowed when he lost a crampon . Caught by darkness, he was forced to bivouac standing upright on a narrow ledge, holding a small handhold with one hand. Exhausted, he dozed occasionally, but managed to maintain his balance. He was also very fortunate to have a calm night, so he was not subjected to wind chill . He finally reached his high camp at 7 p.m. the next day, 40 hours after setting out.

[13] The ascent was made without oxygen, and Buhl is the only man to have made the first ascent of an 8000 m peak alone. Subsequent attempts and ascents The second ascent of Nanga Parbat was via the Diamir Face, in 1962, by Germans Toni Kinshofer , S. Lِw , and A. Mannhardt . The route is now the "standard route" on the mountain. The Kinshofer route does not ascend the middle of the Diamir Face, which is threatened by avalanches from massive hanging glaciers. Instead it climbs a buttress on the left side of the face. In 1970 the brothers Günther and Reinhold Messner made the third ascent of the mountain and the first ascent of the Rupal Face. They were unable to descend by their original route, and instead descended by the Diamir Face, making the first traverse of the mountain. Unfortunately Günther was killed in an avalanche on the Diamir Face. (Messner's account of this incident has been disputed.

In 2005 Günther's remains were found on the Diamir Face.) In 1971 Ivan Fiala and Michael Orolin summited Nanga Parbat via Buhl's 1953 route while other expedition members climbed the SE peak (7,600 m / 24,925 ft) above the Silbersattel and the foresummit (7,850 m / 25,760 ft) above the Bazhin Gap. In 1978 Reinhold Messner returned to the Diamir Face and achieved the first completely solo ascent (i.e. always solo above Base Camp) of an 8,000 m peak. In 1984 the French climber Lilliane Barrard became the first woman to climb Nanga Parbat, along with her husband Maurice Barrard .

In 1985, Jerzy Kukuczka , Zygmunt Heinrich, Slawomir Lobodzinski (all Polish) and Carlos Carsolio (Mexico) climbed a bold line up the Southeast Pillar (or Polish Spur) on the right-hand side of the Rupal Face, reaching the summit July 13. It was Kukuczka's 9th 8000m summit. [14] Also in 1985, a Polish women's team climbed the peak via the 1962 German Diamir Face route. Wanda Rutkiewicz , Krystyna Palmowska and Anna Czerwinska reached the summit on July 15. [14] "Modern" superalpinism was brought to Nanga Parbat in 1988 with an unsuccessful attempt or two on the Rupal Face by Barry Blanchard , Mark Twight, Ward Robinson and Kevin Doyle.

[15] 2005 saw a resurgence of lightweight, alpine-style attempts on the Rupal Face: - In August 2005, Pakistani military helicopters rescued Slovenian mountaineer Tomaž Humar , who was stuck under a narrow ice ledge at 5,900 m (19,400 ft) for six days. It is believed to be one of the few successful rescues carried out at such high altitude. [16] - In September 2005, Vince Anderson and Steve House did an extremely lightweight, fast ascent of a new, direct route on the face, earning high praise from the climbing community. [17] On the 17th or 18 July 2006, José Antonio Delgado Sucre from Venezuela died a few days after making the summit, where he was caught by bad weather for 6 days and was unable to make his way down. He was the only Venezuelan climber, and one of the few Latin Americans, to have reached the summit of five eight-thousanders .

[18] Part of the expedition and the rescue efforts at base camp were captured on video as José Antonio Delgado Sucre was the subject of a pilot for a mountaineering television series. [18] Explorart Films, the production company, later developed the project into a feature documentary film called Beyond the Summit, which was scheduled to be released theatrically in South America in January 2008. [19] On July 15, 2008, Italian alpinist Karl Unterkircher fell into a crevasse during an attempt to open, with Walter Nones and Simon Kehrer, a new route to the top. Unterkircher died, but Simon Kehrer and Walter Nones were rescued by the Pakistani army. [20] On July 12, 2009, after reaching the top of Nanga Parbat, South Korean climber Go Mi-Young fell off a cliff on the descent in bad weather in her race to be the first woman to climb the 14 of the worlds highest peaks (the Eight Thousanders).

[21] Nanga Parbat has not yet been climbed in winter, as of March 2012. References in popular culture Books In the first chapter of Mistress of Mistresses , by E.R. Eddison , the narrator compares his now deceased compatriot, Lessingham, to Nanga Parbat in a descriptive passage: "I remember, years later, his describing to me the effect of the sudden view you get of Nanga Parbat from one of those Kashmir valleys; you have been riding for hours among quiet richly wooded scenery, winding up along the side of some kind of gorge, with nothing very big to look at, just lush, leafy, pussy-cat country of steep hillsides and waterfalls; then suddenly you come round a corner where the view opens up the valley, and you are almost struck senseless by the blinding splendour of that vast face of ice-hung precipices and soaring ridges, sixteen thousand feet from top to toe, filling a whole quarter of the heavens at a distance of, I suppose, only a dozen miles.

And now, whenever I call to mind my first sight of Lessingham in that little daleside church so many years ago, I think of Nanga Parbat." ( Mistress of Mistresses , 1935, p.2-3) Movies Nanga Parbat (2010) A movie by Joseph Vilsmaier about the tragic expedition by the two Messner brothers in 1970, on which Reinhold Messner 's younger brother Günther died. [22] Nearby peaks A short history of Nanga Parbat, the Naked German Mountain – Mark Horrell “I could no longer stand upright; I was but the wreck of a human being.

So I crawled slowly forward on all fours, drawing imperceptibly nearer to that rocky spur, towards which I was struggling with such grim doubts.” Hermann Buhl, Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage With the news last week that Sandy Allan (the Scottish climber, not the world’s tallest woman) and Rick Allen (likewise the Scottish climber, not the one-armed drummer from Def Leppard) have completed the Mazeno Ridge on Nanga Parbat (8125m), the longest continuous ridge on any 8000 metre peak, I was reminded of the colourful history of this giant mountain in Pakistan, the most westerly of the 8000ers, once considered to be a German mountain, and now at least temporarily dressed in tartan. Nanga Parbat (8125m), the 9th highest mountain in the world, from the Karakoram Highway north of Chilas The name Nanga Parbat translates from Sankrit as Naked Mountain due to its isolation from the rest of the Karakoram range (don’t worry, this post is about a naked mountain, not naked Germans – the title was just to grab your attention).

Compared with other Himalayan peaks which were only starting to be explored towards the end of the 19th century, it tasted climbing blood early in its history. The Briton Albert Mummery, one of the great alpine climbers of his day, died there with his two Gurkha porters Ragobir Thapa and Goman Singh in 1895. Mummery had no conception of the scale of Himalayan peaks and the effects of extreme altitude, and despite numerous retreats due to exhaustion, continued treating the climb in the same way he treated his alpine climbs, believing he could hop over a difficult ridge in a matter of hours like he could in the Swiss Alps. When the scramble to climb 8000m peaks began in the 1930s, European nations decided to share the mountains between themselves in a gentlemanly way. K2, which was first attempted seriously by the Duke of Abruzzi in 1909, became an Italian mountain (note: mad magician Aleister Crowley’s attempt in 1902 isn’t considered serious enough). Everest, which was explored by George Mallory and co. in the 1920s, was a British mountain.

Two disastrous expeditions in the 1930s, which claimed 26 lives between them, cemented Nanga Parbat’s place as a German mountain. Karl Herligkoffer, half-brother of one of the casualties, said this about the retreat of the 16 members of the German team from Camp 8 on Nanga Parbat on 8 July 1934: “for sheer protracted agony [it] has no parallel in mountaineering history“. The two strongest climbers, Peter Aschenbrenner and Erwin Schneider, unroped from the party and were safely back in Camp 4 the same day, where they assured the climbers waiting for them the rest of the team would arrive any moment. As German history goes, this statement proved to be about as accurate as when Neville Chamberlain said he expected Herr Hitler would treat the Czech people fairly. The Mazeno Ridge and summit of Nanga Parbat (Photo: Doug Scott) The Sherpas they had unroped from, Pasang, Nima Dorje and Pinzo Norbu, in fact made it no further than Camp 7, where they spent the night with no food and drink and just one sleeping bag between them.

Expedition leader Willy Merkl, Willo Welzenbach, Ulrich Wieland and their eight Sherpas hadn’t done quite as well as that, and were spending the night in a bivouac somewhere below Camp 8. Nima Norbu died there, and was the first of many to go. Three of the Sherpas, Ang Tsering, Gaylay and Dakshi, decided to stay there another night while the rest of the team descended. Wieland died a few metres short of Camp 7, where Merkl and Welzenbach spent the night after sending the four Sherpas, Kitar, Pasang Kikuli, Nima Tashi and Da Thundup, on to Camp 6. The four got lost and spent the next night in a snow cave. Unbeknown to them, Pasang, Nima Dorje and Pinzo Norbu, were sleeping not far away in another snow cave after losing their way in the whiteout. The seven Sherpas met up on the traverse of Rakhiot Peak, where Nima Dorje and Nima Tashi died on the fixed ropes just above Camp 5. Pinzo Norbu also died a few feet short of the tents.

In the late afternoon of July 10, Pasang, Kitar, Pasang Kikuli and Da Thundup staggered into the relative safety of Camp 4, two days after Aschenbrenner and Schneider had said they would be just a few minutes. Up above them all was not well. Dakshi had died in the bivouac above Camp 7, and Ang Tsering and Gaylay continued their descent on 11th, reaching Camp 7 and finding Merkl and Welzenbach clinging onto life there. All four remained in Camp 7 on 12th while the Sherpas tried to persuade their leaders to continue, as it didn’t look like anyone was going to come and rescue them. Welzenbach died that night, and the other three left the next morning, but at a saddle in the Rakhiot ridge Merkl collapsed. Ang Tsering continued onward to try and get help, eventually reaching Camp 4 and safety, but Gaylay stayed with his master, and the pair of them died some time on the 15th or 16th, more than a week into the retreat.

If anything Herligkoffer’s description of their descent is rather too understated. The disaster which struck the German team in 1937 was more straightforward. A huge avalanche at Camp 4 wiped the entire team of sixteen out while they slept, a slightly kinder way to go than Merkl’s team in 1934. Rick Allen and Sandy Allan on the Mazeno Ridge (Photo: Cathy O’Dowd) Not all early German attempts on Nanga Parbat were tragic failures though. Its eventual first ascent in 1953 by Hermann Buhl is one of the greatest feats of endurance in the history of mountaineering. He set out alone, without bottled oxygen, at 2.30am on 3rd July, with 1200 metres of ascent and about 6½ horizontal kilometres to traverse. He reached the summit 16½ hours later, at 7pm. Without enough daylight to descend, he spent the night standing on a ledge with his ski sticks in one hand, and grabbing onto a small hold with the other, then continued at dawn.

Emaciated and hallucinating from exhaustion, he finally staggered into camp at 7pm on 4th July, more than 40 hours after he set out. And I thought my 18 hour summit day on Everest was a long one. While perhaps not so historically epic, Allan and Allen’s completion of the Mazeno Ridge to the summit last week is no mean achievement, and is likely to be the mountaineering highlight of 2012, certainly on the 8000ers. The ridge spans 15 horizontal kilometres, climbing from around 5300m to the summit at 8125m, and crosses no fewer than eight peaks over 7000m. The great Doug Scott made three attempts to traverse it, including with Sandy Allan in 1992, and with Rick Allen and the Australian Andrew Lock in 1995. Allan and Allen set off on 2nd July with the South African Cathy O’Dowd, Sherpas Lhakpa Nuru, Lhakpa Rangduk and Lhakpa Zatok, and eight days’ supply of food, which they managed to stretch to ten.

They traversed the ridge to the Mazeno Col and made their first summit attempt on 12th, but ran out of time and returned to the col, where Allan and Allen rested while the other four descended via the Diamir Face. The two Scotsmen made a second attempt and reached the summit on 15th. They then completed a full traverse of the mountain by descending via the normal (Kinshofer) route, reaching base camp on the 19th. Nanga Parbat from the Fairy Meadow (Photo: Atif Gulzar) By chance I’ve crossed Sandy Allan’s path twice in my own mountaineering career. In 2003 he was part of a team of guides who led a group of us up Gran Paradiso in Italy. At the time I found him a bit of a prickly character, but I bumped into him again in 2010 when Mark Dickson and I were attempting Baruntse in Nepal independently. On that occasion he appeared in our dining tent and introduced himself, and was extremely friendly and helpful, giving us some good advice about conditions on the mountain from the perspective of his own more experienced eye.

Mark and I ran out of time on Baruntse and had to leave to catch our flight out of Lukla, but Sandy reached the summit with his clients a couple of days after we left. Whatever impressions I may have had of him, his and Rick Allen’s achievement on Nanga Parbat deserves full respect. Nanga Parbat’s isolation means that all ascents must start from a much lower altitude than other 8000m peaks. The Polish climber Jerzy Kukuczka described it as the only mountain which is climbed through all four seasons, from baking summer at its base to minus 40º at the summit, and Willy Merkl, the leader who died in the 1934 tragedy, named his fantastically pastoral 1932 campsite the Marchenwiese, or Fairy Meadow, a name that remains to this day. I’d like to climb another 8000m peak, but it won’t be Nanga Parbat. We spent some time with Andrew Lock at Base Camp on Everest this year. Andrew attempted the Mazeno Ridge with Rick Allen in 1995, and reached the summit by the normal route in 1998.

He eventually became the 18th person to climb all fourteen 8000ers in 2009, and decided to retire from 8000m peaks after this year’s Everest expedition. We asked him whether he would miss it. “There’s two mountains I won’t miss climbing,” he replied. “Annapurna and Nanga Parbat.” To receive my weekly blog post about mountains and occasional info about new releases, join my mailing list and get a free ebook . Share this post Nanga Parbat : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost Nanga Parbat massif from the air Nanga Parbat has three faces with three long ridges dividing these. The Diamir (West) face is by far the most popular face attempted by teams with a minority attempting the huge Rupal (south face). The Rakhiot (north) face has received sporadic attempts over the decades with only two routes completed. Between the vast faces are three extensive ridges. The Mazeno Ridge divides the Diamir and Rupal Faces and is described below.

Between the Rupal and Rakhiot faces is a long ridge that descends to Siberzacken then to Rakhiot Peak, and the Chongra Peaks. Dividing the Diamir and Rakhiot Faces is a ridge that descends a short distance from the main summit to Nanga Parbat North then continues to descend to Ganalo Peak.

The Rupal (South) Face South South East Spur (Messner Route) First Ascent: Reinhold Messner, Gunther Messner, Peter Scholz and Felix Kuen, 1970 Upper South West Ridge (Schell Route) First Ascent: Gimpel, Schauer, Schell and Sturm, 1976 South East Pillar First Ascent: Zygmunt Heinrich, Jerzy Kukuczka, Carlos Carsolio and Slavomir Lobodzinski, 1982 Direct South –East Face Unclimbed; Steve house and Bruce Miller reached c.7550m in 2004 Direct South East Face - Central Pillar First Ascent: Steve House & Vince Anderson, 2005 Grade: 5.9, M5 X, WI4 South Face Direct Unclimbed; Attempted by Tomaž Humar in 2005; Reached 6300m The Diamir (West) Face Unclimbed; Mummery reached 6100m in 1895. Route never attempted since.

Descent: Reinhold Messner, 1970 First Ascent: Toni Kinshofer, Siegfried Löw and Anderl Mannhardt, 1962 First solo ascent: Krzysztof Wielicki First Ski Descent: Hans Kammerlander, Diego Wellig, 1990 Kinshofer Route Photos Near Bezhin Gap with summit pyramid in background Diamir Face First Ascent: Reinhold Messner, solo, 1978 Czech Route First Ascent: Andrej Belica, Joseph Just, Marian Zatko, Juraj Zatko, 1978 (to north summit) North-East Face First Ascent: Reinhold Messner, Hubert Messner, Hanspete Eisendle, Wolfgang Tomaseth climbed to 7500m where their route met the 1978 Czech Route 'Tom and Martina' Route First Ascent: Jean Christophe Lafaille, 2003 The Rakhiot (North) Face Rakhiot Glacier and East Ridge First Ascent: Hermann Buhl, 1953 Japanese Route First Ascent: Hiroshi Sakai, Yukio Yabe

, Takeshi Akiyama, 1996 Rakhiot Face - Pilar Val Fiemme Unclimbed.

Attempted once in 1988 by an Italian team Nanga Parbat massif from Fairy Meadows The Mazeno Ridge Unclimbed; attempts made in 1979, 1992, 1993, 1995 and 2004. All the Mazeno Peaks have been traversed however nobody has continued to Nanga Parbat’s summit. More About the First Ascent Buhl on the Summit The first summit in 1953 by Hermann Buhl was from the north via the Rakhiot Glacier and East Ridge. Buhl formed part of a large German-Austrian expedition led by Dr Karl Herrligkoffer (although leadership was transferred to Peter Aschenbrenner upon reaching base camp) that was wracked by disorganisation. Sherpas from Nepal never arrived and there was a drastic shortage of high altitude porters that severely limited the siege attempt with higher camps never formed. Bad weather, altitude sickness and porter strikes had led to many members (including Buhl’s most regular climbing partner Kuno Reiner) throwing in the towel and descending to base camp.

When four climbers Otto Kempter, Walter Frauenberger, Hans Ertl and Hermann Buhl made a last push for the summit from camp III (20125ft) with a small elite of high altitude porters they had been under persistent orders from base camp to abandon their attempt and descend immediately - to which they firmly refused. Beyond camp IV (22000ft) only the younger Kempter and Buhl continued as Camp V (22640ft) had never been properly established and there was only one small tent pitched. On summit day Buhl left ahead of Kempter who did not rise for the appointed 2.30am departure. Kempter eventually followed one hour after but never caught up and soon turned around leaving Buhl the task of climbing solo to the summit. Buhl reached the summit (without bottled oxygen) at 7.30pm shortly before sunset after 17 hours of climbing. Having only descended a short distance before nightfall he was forced to bivouac in the open at 26000ft until sunrise, which he amazingly survived. This was the highest ever bivi at the time.

Next morning he continued his descent arriving at camp V 41 hours after his departure exhausted, feet frostbitten and suffering wild hallucinations. Three days later he reached base camp by which time many of the party had already packed up and left. The only other expedition to repeat Buhl's route were a Czech team in 1971. Having been pinned in camp IV on Rakhiot Peak for three weeks the team were able to make camps V and VI. From camp VI on the Silbersattel Ivan Fiala and Michael Orolin reached the main summit while other members reached the southeast peak (7600m / 24925 ft) above the Silbersattal and the foresummit (7850m / 25760 ft) above the Bazhin Gap. Memoral at the Rakhiot BC First Ascent of the Rupal Face The 4th Face of Nanga Parbat - Reinhold Messner The first ascent of the Rupal Face was as much of an epic as the first ascent from the North side by Hermann Buhl.

Having sieged the mountain via the South-South-East Spur, Reinhold and Günther Messner climbed to the summit from camp V at 7200m (23625 ft). After leaving camp at 3am they reached the summit by 5pm via the Merkl couloir (named after one of Germany's most famous climbers who died on Nanga Parbat in the 1950s). The pair then descended and bivouacked just above the Merkl couloir at 7925m (26000 ft). Günther's conditions was rapidly deteriorating and rather than risk descending the couloir, where there was no fixed rope, the pair decided to descend the Diamir Face. They reached 6250m (20500 ft) by nightfall on the Mummery Rib. The following day they continued their descent with Reinhold continuing ahead. After waiting for some time for his brother he backtracked to fin him only to discover he had been buried by an avalanche. After hours of searching, Reinhold continued his descent to the Diamir valley.

Messner's account of this incident involving his brother's death was disputed by some, casting a further shadow over the climb's achievement. In 2005 however, Günther's remains were found on the Diamir Face, corroborating Reinhold's story. The day after the Messners' ascent Peter Scholz and Felix Kuen reached the summit via the same route. With the pair having part fixed ropes in the Merkl couloir they descended back to camp V. More info on the 1970 ascent ExWeb Messner brothers' special: Remains found at Nanga Parbat suspected Asian The Central Pillar In 2005 Steve House and Vince Anderson made what is arguably one of the greatest climbs in Himalayan mountaineering history when they completed a first ascent of the central pillar of the Rupal Face Alpine-style. They went on to win the Piolet d’Or that same year. They completed the climb in five days and took a further two days to descend down the Messner Route. The route was graded at US VII 5.9 M5 X WI4. This was actually Steve House’s Third attempt at Nanga Parbat.

His first attempt had been in 1990 when he was only 19 and part of a 19-member Slovenian expedition that successfully climbed the Schell Route. House unfortunately only reached c.6400m. His second attempt was with Bruce Miller in 2004 when they made a bold attempt at the Direct South East Face. The pair reached c.7550m before House’s altitude sickness forced a retreat. In 2005 House had planned to attempt the same route but then decided to follow the more direct Central Pillar during the climb amidst excellent weather. The Mazeno Ridge Nanga Parbat (L) & Mazeno Peak (R) The Mazeno ridge is the longest ridge on any 8000m mountain and includes eight 7000m peaks. Contrary to often incorrect information on the net, all the Mazeno peaks have now been climbed although nobody has managed to traverse the ridge and continue to the summit of Nanga Parbat. The best attempt to date was that by Doug Chabot and Steve Swenson in summer 2004.

They managed a full 10km traverse of all the Mazeno peaks to the point where the ridge meets the Schell Route at 6940m. First ascents were made of Peak 7060m, Peak 7120m (Mazeno Peak), Peak 7100m and Peak 7070m. Illness and exhaustion forced them to descend. Previous attempts included that by Doug Scott in 1992 that climbed the first three peaks. Scott also attempted the ridge in 1993 and 1995 but got no higher. Wojciech Kurtyka and Erhard Loretan made an attempt in 1997. The Diamir Face Getting There Nanga Parbat is the most easily accessible of all 8000m mountains with base camps reachable in as little as two days from Gilgit. The north face is visible from the Karakoram highway which is the main artery between Islamabad and Rawalpindi to the south and the Chinese border to the north. Islamabad is the international gateway for those arriving by air.

Emirates also fly to Lahore and Peshawar however Islamabad is in close proximity to the start of the KKH and also has onward flights to Gilgit. Karachi in the south of Pakistan is sometimes cheaper to fly to but connecting Karachi to Islamabad flights cost around Rs50,000 meaning any saving is immediately lost. Step 1:Reaching Gilgit Nanga Parbat from the KKH PIA opperate daily flights between Islamabad and Gilgit the largest town in the Northern Areas. Seats sell quickly and it is advisable to book as far ahead as possible. Tickets can be booked online or at international or national PIA offices. Daily buses travel between Pir Wadhai bus station in Rawalpindi and Gilgit along the KKH. Buses pass through Mansehra (change here for Muzzafarabad and the Kaghan valley), Besham (change here if heading to/from Swat or Chitral) and the Indus Kohistan region and eventually Gilgit. The Northern Areas Transport Company (NATCO) is the largest company and has several services a day. Masherbrum Tours and the Silk Road Transport Company also run several buses.

Book seats early else you will have the joys of experiencing a night with no sleep on the back seat. The 573km trip takes atleast 14 hours. From China & the north Gilgit can also be reached from China with the trip from Kashgar to Sost taking 2 nights with an overnight stop in Tashkurgan. Hi-Ace vans travel between Sost and Gilgit throughout the day leaving as soon as they are full. There is now a direct bus between Tashkurgan and Gilgit, however, if travelling from China, it is better to buy a ticket to Sost only then take local transport to Gilgit as the international bus sits in the customs yard at Sost for a couple of hours while luggage is checked before continuing to Gilgit. The Chinese side of the KKH (called the "Sino-Pakistani Highway" by the Chinese" has been a distaster area for the last couple of years due to roadworks. Rather than repair small sections of road at a time as most countries do, the Chinese labour force likes to dig up great strectes at a time. The journey to the border therefore means a lot of off-road travel.

The road works have also unfortunately caused significant soil errosion either side of the road that will be irreversable. From Chitral Vehicles leave Chitral (in the Hindukush ) for Gilgit at least once a week, the journey taking about 16 hours by Land Cruiser. The road crosses the Shandur Pass (3,734m/12,251ft), which is passable for an even shorter period than the Lowari Pass. Otherwise Private Landcruisers can be hired for the journey which allows you to plan your own itinerary. From India A fortnightly bus service started on April 7th 2005 between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad however, it is not available to foreigners. Only Indians and Pakistanis can take the bus. For those crossing from India the border crossing of Wagah, east of Lahore, is still the main point of entry. Step 2:Reaching Base Camp Jeep track to Jhel The north face is reached via Fairly Meadows from the Raikot Bridge on the KKH. This is a large steel bridge that spans the Indus River.

Raikot is easy to reach from either Gilgit or Chilas as regular minivans ply the route between these towns. Jeeps are also easy to arrange in Gilgit. At Raikot though you will need to change to local Jeep transport as the Jeep track to Tato is a private road. The local Jeep monopoly means that the trip is not cheap. In 2007 the prices rose to 2000/3500Rs one-way/return. For the return leg you either need to agree a date to be picked up or wait in Tato for someone to come up the hill. The Jeep track has been widened in the last few years and is no longer the death trap that it used to be. From Tato walk to Fairy Meadows in a few hours along a broad, obvious path. Initially the incline is gentle but becomes steeper as you approach Fairy Meadows. During this climb the landscape transforms from an arid one to rich conifer forest. Those requiring porters should easily be able to sort something in Tato or Jhel.

The Raikot Face from Fairy Meadows Nanga Parbat from a village adjacent to Fairy Meadow Fairy Meadows Cottage From Fairy Meadows it is an easy day's walk to base camp via the village of Beyal. The way is easy to navigate, bearing south for the entirety. I managed it without a map (just the Lonely Planet trekking guidebook description). From Fairy Meadows the path initially hugs the edge of the terrace above the Raikot Glacier's terminus, overlooking the valley and glacier but soon moves away from it. The trail passes through chir pine and fur forest with a birch-lined stream for 30 minutes. The trail is braded in places but the paths soon meet up again. Beyal After approximately 90 minutes you arrive at Beyal (3500m). There's plenty of accommodation at Beyal however I found the setting of Fairy Meadows to pleasanter. Plus there wasn't the constant sound of chopping wood (Beyal was undergoing a 'construction boom' when I was there in 2006). From Beyal the trail becomes steeper and soon climbs to a large boulder aptly known as "View Point" (3667m).

From here there are great views of both the Nanga Parbat Massif and the Chongra peaks together with the vast broken glaciers that flow from their flanks. The Rakaposhi-Haramosh range is also visible in the distance to the North-east. Ignore the path that descends to the glacier from the boulder as this way is no longer used due to surges in the Ganalo Glacier. The route stays right and soon winds back and forth through birch trees to the top of the moraine. From here the path briefly flattens out before reaching the Ganalo Glacier. The way across the Ganalo Glacier is marked by cairns and no glacier experience is required for the crossing. The glacier is covered in scree and rubble and there is no chance of falling in any crevasses. If you do get lost, just look for the path ascending from the south side of the glacier and head for it. The base camp is just a short walk beyond the Ganalo Glacier. Views from Rakhiot Base Camp Rupal Face The West Side The trek to base camp begins at a village called Bunar which is approximately 12km west of Rakhiot Bridge.

From Bunar follow the Bunar valley south 12km to Halaley Bridge. From here the Diamir Valley ascends SE to the Diamir Glacier. Red Tape Visas A valid visa is required. Visas are NOT issued at the airport and must be obtained prior to arrival. Some embassies such as those in Central Asia are reluctant to issue visas and advise you to obtain them from your home country. A single-entry tourist visa is valid for 3 months from the date of arrival in pakistan and for 6 months from the date of issue. Some visas are only valid for 3 months from the date of issue so check if necessary when applying. Visa prices vary. Americans pay the most for their visa whilst Japanese get theirs free! Visa extensions and reentry stamps used to almost impossible to obtain however the process has become remarkably easier in the last few years. Gilgit DC is an obvious place to try. Permits Nanga Parbat is not in a restricted zone and no trekking permit is required. Climbing Royalties The Ministry of Tourism has decided to maintain the 50% reduction in mountaineering royalty fees for peaks above 6500m for 2009.

Royalties have been 50% now since 2002 with the intention of attracting more expeditions to Pakistan. Royalties per expedition are based on a party of 7. Persons additional to this number will be subject to an additional royalty fee. Current royalties are listed below for Nanaga Parbat and other peaks on the masif. No liaison officer is currently required! Royalties are only 5% for winter attempts! Peak Nanga Parbat the ninth highest of Eight thousanders Of Himalaya ~ Great Mountain Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Nanga Parbat is the ninth highest mountain on Earth and among the eight-thousanders with a summit elevation of 8,126 meters (26,660 ft). Nanga Parbat translates to "Naked Mountain" in English; parbat deriving from the Sanskrit word parvata meaning "mountain, rock", and nanga from the Sanskrit nagna meaning "naked". Known as the "Killer Mountain", Nanga Parbat was one of the deadliest of the eight-thousanders for climbers in the first half of the twentieth century; since that time it has been less so, though still an extremely serious climb.

It is also an immense, dramatic peak that rises far above its surrounding terrain. Location Nanga Parbat forms the western anchor of the Himalayan Range and is the westernmost eight-thousander. It lies just south of the Indus River in the Astore District of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan administered Kashmir. Not far to the north is the western end of the Karakoram range Notable features Nanga Parbat has tremendous vertical relief over local terrain in all directions. To the south, Nanga Parbat boasts what is often referred to as the highest mountain face in the world: the Rupal Face rises 4,600 m (15,000 ft) above its base. To the north, the complex, somewhat more gently sloped Rakhiot Flank rises 7,000 m (23,000 ft) from the Indus River valley to the summit in just 27 km (16.8 miles), one of the 10 greatest elevation gains in so short a distance on Earth.

Nanga Parbat is one of only two peaks on Earth that rank in the top twenty of both the highest mountains in the world, and the most prominent peaks in the world, ranking ninth and fourteenth respectively. The other being Mount Everest, which is first on both lists. Nanga Parbat - 8000er - 9th - Mtxplore by Kuba Bogdanski 13/04/2016 Nanga Parbat: The 8000ers / eight-thousanders are the only mountains with a death zone, where the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere is insufficient to sustain human life, therefore called the death zone. About 30% of the oxygen you find at sea level. They are all are located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges in China, India, Nepal and Pakistan and are the only mountains in the world over 8000 meters. Nanga Parbat is located in the Northern Areas of Pakistan and is the Western range of the Himalayas. It is the 9th highest mountain in the world and the 2nd highest in Pakistan after the mighty K2.

It is not part of the Karakoram Range as it is in the western extremity of Himalaya. It is separated from the Karakoram by the Indus River. Each week we will present each 8000ers, and the reason behind this is our fascination climbing all the mountains on this list, something that has only been accomplished by 34 legendary mountaineers to date. 3 Polish and 0 Norwegians have completed this achievement. Mtxplore will climb this mountain, but we have not set a date. It’s considered as a very difficult mountain to climb. Nanga Parbat – 9th highest mountain in the world Elevation: 8,126 meters (26,660ft) First winter ascent: February 26, 2016, by Simone Moro , Alex Txikon and Ali Sadpara Ascents: 335 Duration: 50 days Nanga Parbat, is in Sanskrit named “Naked Mountain” because some of its slopes are very steep that they do not have any vegetation or snow. According to the old local legend, Nanga Parbat is also called Diamir.

It is believed that the Queen of fairies lives there in a castle made of solid ice crystals and guarded by gigantic snow serpents and frogs. The earlier disasters in climbing this mountain are attributed to the displeasure of fairies. Nanga Parbat is not a single peak but consists of a 20 km long series of peaks and ridges. Its South Face known as the Rupal Face is 5000 meters high, while the North or Raikot Face is over 7000 meters from the summit to the river and forms one of the world’s deepest valleys. Nanga Parbat is known to be a notoriously difficult mountain to climb. A huge number of mountaineering deaths in the mid and early 20th century gave it the nickname “killer mountain”. Nanga Parbat is clearly the most easily accessible of all 8000 meter mountains with the base camp reachable in two days. The north face is visible from the Karakoram highway which is the main road between Islamabad and Rawalpindi to the south and the Chinese border to the north. You can find a list of Ascents, deaths and other statistics of the 8000ers here.

1953: First Ascent First ascent by Austrian Hermann Buhl via the East Ridge from the Rakhiot side. 1978: First Solo Reinhold Messner solos the right side of the Diamir Face. This was the first completely solo climb on the mountain and also the first in a modern Alpine style. 1984: First Woman French mountaineer Lilliane Barrard becomes the first woman to climb Nanga Parbat. 1990: First ski descent Austrian Hans Kammerlander and Swiss Diego Wellig makes the first ski descent. 2012: Mazeno Ridge Ascent Scottish mountaineers Sandy Allan and Rick Allen made the first ascent of Nanga Parbat via the 10 km-long Mazeno Ridge. 2016: First Winter Ascent In February 2016 the first winter ascent came by Simone Moro , Alex Txikon and Ali Sadpara . Now only K2 remains unclimbed in the winter of the 8000ers. Routes: Nanga Parbat has 3 faces with 3 long ridges dividing these.

The Diamir face is by easily the most popular face attempted by teams and the least popular is the huge Rupal (south face). The Rakhiot (north) face has received occasional attempts over the decades with only 2 routes completed. Between the vast faces there are 3 extensive ridges. The Mazeno Ridge divides the Diamir and Rupal Faces. Between the Rupal and Rakhiot faces there is a long ridge that descends to Siberzacken and then to Rakhiot Peak, and the Chongra Peaks. Dividing the Diamir and Rakhiot Faces is a ridge that descends into a short distance from the main summit to Nanga Parbat North then continues to descend into Ganalo Peak. Nanga Parbat Camps: This is how the camps are normally placed up on the mountain. Location

Question: Nanga Parbat, meaning 'naked mountain', the 9th highest in the world, is part of which mountain range?
Answer: Himalayas