Nanga Parbat (the naked mountain is the 9th highest peak on the earth with its tall height of 8,126 m (26,660 ft). The peak, also known as Diamer (king of the mountains), is named so because all sides of the Nanga Parbat are not entirely covered with snow due to its steep slopes.
The peak lies towards the southeast of the northernmost, where the Indus River is located. To be more precise, Nanga Parbat is in the Pakistan-administered Kashmir region, named Gilgit-Baltistan. Likewise, the peak is famed among the westernmost major Himalayan and is bounded by two rivers, Indus and Brahmaputra.
Nanga Parbat has three faces, Rakhiot, Diamir, and Rupal. The Rupal Face rises at 4,600 m (15,090 ft) above the base and is recognized as the world’s highest mountain face. Similarly, Rakhiot Flank rises above 7,000 m (23,000 ft) from the Indus River valley. Continue to read more about the Nanga Parbat and its Rupal face.
Nanga Parbat: The Killer Mountain
Nanga Parbat’s other nickname is “the Killer Mountain” because of its higher fatality rate. The ascend to the mountain is daunting even in the summer and is characterized by frequent avalanches, unstable glaciers, and fierce storms.
Nanga Parbat cannot be called the most dangerous mountain to climb, as that would be Mt Annapurna, with the highest fatality rate of 33%. But it’s not less difficult considering its highest, which ranks as the 9th tallest mountain in the world.
Nanga Parbat, widely known as the “killer Mountain,” is fascinating but formidable, with a fatality rate of 22.3 %. This peak has seen very few ascend over Everest (the tallest one), totaling around 400 till now. This means only 22 percent of the attempts have been successful, with the death toll numbering around 86 till now.
Nanga Parbat’s nickname, “killer mountain,” was given by the German mountaineer who finally managed to climb the peak on July 3, 1953, after many unsuccessful attempts. Before this successful attempt, the mountain claimed the lives of thirty-one climbers who trained rigorously to tame this giant of the Himalayas.
Nanga Parbat, as its name suggests, killed the lives of 33 mountaineers between the first climbing attempt in 1895 and the first successful scend in 1953. This death troll is one of the sad records that testify to Nanga Parbat’s dangers and the mountaineer’s determination to reach the peak no matter what.
Moreover, Nanga Parbat is a killer mountain considering its sad death record of the mountain. Still, we cannot deny that this peak rising 8,125 meters is truly Diamir (the king of the mountains) due to its majesty and grandeur.
The Rupal Face: The Tallest Mountain Face in the World
Regarding technical difficulty, Nanga Parbat competes with the second tallest and most dangerous mountain, K2. Likewise, a Rupal face facing totally to the southern side with a towering height of 4,500 meters exists in Nanga Parbat. This Rupal face, made of single large pieces of ice and rock, is a wall also known as the most prominent mountain face in the world.
A southeast fracture on its right boards the Rupal face of the mountain facing the south. Similarly, this Rupal face route was first successfully conquered in 1970.
This Nanga Parbat Rupal face route leads you through the steepest area with the ridge line, with its route ending at one of the difficult sections called the Merkl couloir (Merkl-Rinne), located at 7,350 meters and Elzenbach glaciers (Welzenbach-Eisfeld).
An alternative route to this goes through the left wall, eventually leading to the summit after crossing the southwest ridge and Mazeno couloir en route. This alternative route was first taken by the expedition team led by Hanns Schell in 1976. Moreover, This route of Rupa Face is also called the “Schell route” and is relatively rarely used compared to the others.
In addition, two mountainers from the USA, Steve House and Vince Anderson, who reached the peak on September 6th, were the first ones to succeed in the ascend through the new alpine-style route of the Rupal Face’s central pillar. This huge achievement earned both mountaineers a Golden Ice Axe (Europe) award in the same year.
Nanga Parbat and Its Distinctive Features
Nanga Parbat in Pakistan is the most isolated mountain in the world. Moreover, it has a south wall named Rupal Face, which stands at 4,500, making it the highest mountain face.
There is an altitude difference between the Indus Valley bottom summit, located only 25m far in the distance, ad 7000 m in altitude, testifying to the peak’s dizzying grandeur. This distinctive feature of Nanga Parbat is bound to evoke admiration and intrigue among explorers and enthusiasts of the mountains.
Moreover, from a geographical viewpoint, Nanga Parbat and its Rupal’s face are made of gneiss and granites, giving out a beautiful and impressive structure. Similarly, depending on the weather conditions, sometimes the peak is covered in the blue hues it emits, earning it the nickname “blue mountain.”
An interesting fact about the Nanga Parbat is that the peak is known to be only the peak, ranking in the top twenty in the list of the highest mountains and prominent peaks globally. The peak ranks ninth and fourteenth.
See also:
- How Long Is The Trek To Nanga Parbat Base Camp?
- How Many People Have Climbed Nanga Parbat?
- Why Is Nanga Parbat So Dangerous?
Conclusion
Nanga Parbat is indeed a killer mountain with the largest Rupal face and a high fatality rate of 22.3 %, which is way higher than Everest’s. But this does not mean the mountain is less beautiful, as it lies in the Karakoram range of Pakistan’s Himalayan region.
Nanga Parbat is dangerous on one side but provides one of the best panoramas on the other side. In addition to the risks involved, perhaps this is why adventurers from around the globe eagerly participate each year to conquer the peak during the best months- April-May or September-October.
FAQ: Common Questions About Climbing Nanga Parbat
Why Is Nanga Parbat so Difficult to Summit?
Nanga Parbat has three faces; all faces are complex and mostly exposed to avalanches. These face routes with more avalanche risks pres significant changes for any climbers. And the worst part here is there is no obvious route to nanga parbat summit, Contrary to other peaks over 8,000 meters in height.
Which is more difficult, K2 or Nanga Parbat?
K2 mountain is the world’s second highest and most dangerous mountain, but there is a mountain that can compete with in terms of technical difficulty- Nang Parbat. Nanga Parbat is shorter than Everest and K2 but boasts a similar technical difficulty and the highest face, the Rupal Face.
Is Nanga Parbat in India or Pakistan?
Nanga Parbat rising (8,126 meters) high, is located in the western Himalayas ranging 17 miles (27 km) far west-southwest of Astor (Pakistani-administered region called Kashmir Region). Hundreds of local and foreign climbs attempt to summit the Nanga Parbatin Pakistan’s northern areas yearly.
Who recenlt died on Nanga Parbaar?
A Polish climber Pawel Tomasz Kopec recently (July 4, 2023) died on the Nanga Parbat after suffering from breathing problems while descending in the harsh weather with two other climbers. The climber’s body hasn’t been brought down from the mountain, and it’s still unclear whether any operation will be launched or not to bring down his body.
