Location: Pakistan, Asia
First Ascent: Hermann Buhl (Austria), July 3, 1953
Fast Facts:
- Nanga Parbet means “Naked Mountain” in Urdu.
- The Rupal Face on its south flank is the world’s tallest face, rising 15,000 feet from base to summit.
- First attempt was in 1895 by Alfred Mummery’s group, which reached 6,100 meters up the Diamir Face.
- First ascent was solo by legendary Austrian climber Hermann Buhl in 1953, who, after his companions turned back, reached the summit in the evening and was forced to bivouac standing up. He also climbed without extra oxygen and is the only person to make the first ascent of an 8,000-meter peak solo. His route has been repeated only once.
- The Rupal Face was climbed by brothers Reinhold and Günther Messner in 1970, but descending the back side Günther was killed by avalanche.
- In 1978 Reinhold Messner solo-climbed the Diamir Face—the first complete solo ascent of the mountain (Buhl only soloed the upper part of his route).
- In 1984 French climber Lilliane Barrard is the first woman to summit Nanga Parbet.
- In 2005 Americans Vince Anderson and Steve House climb the Central Pillar of the Rupal Face in five days and then two days to descend. Their alpine-style ascent is one the boldest Himalayan ascents to date.
- It’s the 2nd hardest 8,000-meter peak after K2. After 31 people died attempting to climb Nanga Parbet, it was nicknamed the “Killer Mountain”.
- “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.
