NANGA PARBAT, “THE KILLER OF THE KARAKORUM.”
This tale is for Hassan Rabani of Pakistan who admired one of my flying tales. Hassan was in the Karakorum in June and took fine photos of Nanga Parbat, but my attempt to reply his comment got bounced.
The Conquest of Nanga Parbat
Hermann Buhl, an Austrian climber, made the first ascent of Nanga Parbat in 1953 and he did it solo and without an Oxygen tank. It was an impressive feat; one that inspired me to workout more and harder and instilled the desire to climb. Buhl also made the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger solo and several of the gendarmes of Mount Blanc. Before Buhl conquered it, Nanga Parbat killed 31 climbers attempting to climb it.
In 1956, I just happened to be in Switzerland, where I began my Alpine climbing career. My first climbing partner was a fellow Marine, Eugene Romer from Columbus, Ohio. “Gene” was a meticulous planner. He not only reconnoitered each peak prior to climbing it, but also read the climbing guides and often hired a professional Swiss Mountain Guide. When he climbed with me, however, it was spur of the moment, well-equipped but a poorly planned outing. I liked to “play it by ear,” and that spontaneity nearly got both of us killed on a small mountain ordinarily classified as a “nice Sunday stroll.”
I suppose I could have found climbing partners for most of the solo climbs I’ve made, but that would have delayed me too long, when I was “young and hot and cool.”
Buhl broke through a cornice a year after his book was published and fell to his death; his body was never recovered and is probably another mummy of the Karakorum.
If you’re lucky enough to find it read Buhl’s account of his ascent of Nanga Parbat.
Buhl, Hermann (1956). Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage. Hodder & Stoughton. ASIN B0000CJH7J Available from Alibris dot com title: Lonely Challenge.
