Nanga Parbat: the naked mountain

A short history

The numbers around this mountain are hard to hold in your head. The Rupal face on the south side rises about 4,600 metres from its base and is frequently described as the highest mountain face in the world. On the other side, the Rakhiot flank gains 7,000 metres from the Indus valley in 25 horizontal kilometres — one of the greatest elevation gains over that short a distance anywhere on the planet. It ranks fourteenth in the world for prominence.

Its other name is the Killer Mountain, earned in the 1930s. A German expedition in 1934 lost ten climbers to storms high on the mountain. In 1937 an avalanche killed sixteen at Camp IV in a single night.

The first ascent, on 3 July 1953, is one of the strangest in mountaineering. Hermann Buhl went on alone after his companions turned back, climbed the final 1,300 metres solo, and reached the summit at seven in the evening. On the descent he lost a crampon and had to spend the night standing on a narrow ledge. He got back to camp the following day, forty hours after setting out. He had also been taking stimulants, which he did not hide.

Places worth your time

The Fairy Meadows viewpoint

The standard view of the Rakhiot face, and the reason most visitors come. A ten-minute walk from the camps.

Beyal and the upper meadow

Closer, higher and quieter. The face fills more of the sky with every hour you walk.

Rakhiot base camp

Onto the moraine beneath the face. You will hear the mountain moving — ice falling somewhere out of sight, several times an hour.

The Rupal side

A completely separate trip, approached from Astore rather than Raikot, and the way to see the great south face. Few visitors do both.

Before you go

Same window as Fairy Meadows: June to September. The Rakhiot side is reached from Raikot Bridge; the Rupal face is a separate trip from Astore. Neither is technical to visit, but both involve real walking at altitude.