The irresistible lure of Pakistan's 'killer mountain'

[HRK]

The culprits were captured fortunately.

& gave few hints about our neighbours intensions .... (as per some news reports) ......

 

[Pakistanisage]

The enchanting beauty of the Pakistani Mountains is irresistible....

 

[krash]

This handout photograph taken on February 14, 2014 and released by Marianna Zanatta Sports Marketing Communication Management shows Italian climber Simone Moro, one of the world's leading Alpinists, at Nanga Parbat, PHOTO: AFP/MARIANNA ZANATTA, SPORTS MARKETING COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT

ISLAMABAD: Gunmen shot dead 10 foreign tourists at its base camp last year, but for serious mountaineers, the allure of Pakistan’s “killer mountain” remains irresistible.

Militants stormed Nanga Parbat base camp on the night of June 22, 2013, dragging the climbers out of their tents and shooting them point blank along with their local guide.

The massacre badly hit tourism in Pakistan’s wild, mountainous north, which is home to some of the world’s highest peaks and most challenging climbs.

But three winter summit attempts have brought fresh hopes for the industry, crucial to the local economy, as it gears up for the summer climbing season.

Nanga Parbat, Pakistan’s second-highest peak at 8,125 metres (26,660 feet), has never been climbed successfully in winter because of the treacherous weather conditions.

Its fearsome Rupal Face, rising more than 4,000 metres from base to top, presents one of the most difficult — and tantalising — challenges in climbing.

Simone Moro, one of the world’s leading Alpinists, was among those to return unsuccessful from Nanga Parbat this winter.

The Italian has now made two attempts to climb the peak in winter and the mountain is drawing him to make a third.

“I have felt strange feelings there, feelings that I have never felt before at the foot of a mountain,” he said.

“Nanga is not just a mountain, it is a whole world on its own to be discovered and explored — a planet apart from the Himalayas.”

“The Rupal Face is incredible, its like a giant planet standing in front of you, seducing you to climb it.”

Nanga Parbat earned its grisly nickname after more than 30 climbers died trying to conquer it before the first successful summit in 1953.

The events of last June gave the name a new, more sinister overtone but Moro says the incident was a blip and he wants to encourage others to come to Pakistan.

“I consider Nanga Parbat as the most safest place in Pakistan,” he said.

“What happened last year was just a tragic episode, accidents can happen anywhere in the world but that never means it will always repeat itself.”

David Goettler, a German member of the expedition led by Moro who has twice attempted K2 — Pakistan’s highest peak and the world’s second-highest — said he was astonished by the attack.

“I could not believe it, I was like ‘how on earth did the terrorists come there?’” he said.

“I have visited Pakistan six times in the past and I have a super good relationship with the people there.”

The regional government in Gilgit-Baltistan has slashed the fee for climbing in winter by 95 percent to $270.

But Moro said it was very difficult for mountaineers to get visas for Pakistan — a common gripe from tourists who face seemingly endless bureaucratic hurdles to visit even for a short time.

“You have to literally fight for six to seven months to get a visa for Pakistan — you need to open your doors in order to let people come in,” said Moro.

Ashraf Aman, the first Pakistani climber to scale K2, says the government is making no serious effort to encourage tourism.

The country’s powerful intelligence services — which keep a close watch on foreigners travelling outside of major cities — make life difficult for those who do arrive, said Aman, who now runs a tour operating company.

“It is very difficult to get a visa and if a tourist’s luck wins him a visa he regrets his decision the moment he arrives in Pakistan,” he said.
“The security and intelligence agencies start never-ending sessions of questions, one after another at each destination.”

Nestled between the western end of the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush mountains and the Karakoram range, Gilgit-Baltistan houses 18 of the world’s 50 highest peaks.

It is also home to three of the world’s seven longest glaciers outside the polar regions and hundreds of its mountains have never been climbed.

But it is the lure of Nanga Parbat that draws Moro back, the famous names that have climbed it in the past — Reinhold Messner, Steve House, Tomaz Humar.

“Climbing Nanga Parbat is like crossing an ocean or a desert, heading to the peak with the idea of joining two points across a treacherous nowhere,” said Moro.

The irresistible lure of Pakistan’s ‘killer mountain’ – The Express Tribune

Itna ajeeb naam Nanga Parbat?!

Simone Moro is one of the only three guys who have successfully summitted Gasherbrum II in the winter season. He's been trying Nanga Parbat every year since and hasn't succeeded.

As for Nanga Parbat, Hermann Buhl was the first person to successfully climb it. He later died on Chogolisa.

The Kashmiri name Nanga Parbat is derived from the Sanskrit words nagna parvata, meaning “naked mountain.” Diamir is a local name for the peak and means “king of the mountains.”

'Naked' because of a complete lack of vegetation even at lower altitudes.

Interesting. Always thought that the name came from one of the modern local languages since both "Nanga" and "Parbat" are found in pretty much every language here.

The Diamir part is wrong though. The mountain isn't called Diamir, the valley to the north-west west of the mountain is called Diamir and deriving from that the face exposed to the said valley is called the Diamir face. This is the face Reinhold Messner descended after successfully summitting the Rupal face for the first and one of the only two times it has happened.

What is more concerning in this article is the fact that the government is not promoting this tourism and when they do give a visa they are hounding the guests. That is utter stupidity.

That was gross exaggeration. I've met many of the climbers and non reported this. In fact the army helps them out with support quite a lot. And all the intelligence agencies ask them is not to go into the areas where they are not permitted and that they log themselves in at the dotted check posts along the KKH. It's necessary to keep foreigners in sight, for the time being.

The moment I saw the thread title, I was almost certain that it is about K2, Godwin Austen..Well, as I can see, I was wrong...

If I am not mistaken,I think K2 has claimed a good many lives.

Godwin Austen is not K2's name. It's a name that some self centred, unaccomplished white men tried to give it. K2 is just K2.

And yes K2 has claimed a great many lives and continues to do so. It is by far the most difficult mountain to climb in the world. Likewise Nanga Parbat has also claimed a huge number of lives. Up till the 1990 the death rate on Nanga Parbat was 70%+. That is just insane.

It said in mountaineering circles that "Real men go climb K2, Nanga Parbat and Annapurna".

Camping... nobody wants to do it everyday!


Unless you have a hot gal with you n nobody around for a 100 miles..

Trust me, that only sounds good on paper. The real experience is in going alone or maybe with a handful of friends who 'get it'. The 'hot gals' become counter-productive.

 

[Armstrong]

@krash - Dude, are you from up there in Gilgit-Baltistan ?

 

[krash]

@krash - Dude, are you from up there in Gilgit-Baltistan ?

My family is like your's. Both paternal and maternal grandparents migrated from the vale, Srinagar to be exact. I've just been travelling to Gilgit-Baltistan 2 to 3 times a year ever since I can remember, at first thanks to my parents love of travel. So naturally I fell in love with our mountains up north, became an amateur mountaineer and hence a mountain nerd, you can't blame me

 

[Dubious]

My family is like your's. Both paternal and maternal grandparents migrated from the vale, Srinagar to be exact. I've just been travelling to Gilgit-Baltistan 2 to 3 times a year ever since I can remember, at first thanks to my parents love of travel. So naturally I fell in love with our mountains up north, became an amateur mountaineer and hence a mountain nerd, you can't blame me

What does Krash mean? I was like kharish khrash

 

[krash]

What does Krash mean? I was like kharish khrash

Hahaha Nah, it doesn't mean anything. It's just my full name smushed together, used to use it as my nick while gaming when I was little.

 

[viper46]

in maqboza karachi we have also a killer mountain aka "KATTI PAHARY"