NANGA PARBAT (8126 M) EXPEDITION

Elevation: 8,126 Meters 
Mountain Range: Himalaya 
First Ascent: July 3, 1953 by Hermann Buhl
Zone: Open 
Duration: 42 Days 
Best Time: Mid May - End August

The Himalayan mountain range was formed by the collision of the Indian tectonic plate with the Eurasian Plate. The central Himalayan mountains are located in Nepal. At the same time, the eastern Himalayan Mountain extends to the borders of Bhutan and Sikkim. Nanga Parbat massif is situated at the western corner of the Himalayas. Nanga Parbat is an isolated range of peaks just springing up from nothing and is surrounded by the Indus River and Astore River. Its original and ancient name is Diamir, which means the King of Mountains. However, Nanga Parbat or "Nanga Parvata" means the naked mountain. The height of Nanga Parbat is 8,126m/26660 ft. The peak was first climbed by the Legendary Mountaineer, Hermann Buhl, in June 1953. Nanga Parbat has three vast faces. The Raikot face, Diamir face, and the Rupal face. Dominated by the North and South silver plateau and silver crags is the Raikot face, the Diamer face is rocky in the beginning. However, this face converts itself into mighty ice fields around one of the highest peaks, Nanga Parbat. The Rupal face is the highest precipice in the world. A living legend in mountaineering from, Reinhold Messner from Italy says that "anyone who has ever stood at the foot of Rupal face that is 4500m /14,764ft up above the Top Alpe, studied it or flown over it, could not help but have been amazed by its sheer size", the Rupal face is Known as the highest rock and ice wall in the world. Until it was climbed in 1953, the mighty Nanga Parbat has always been associated with tragedies and tribulations. Many mountaineers perished on Nanga Parbat since 1895. Even today, it is clamming a heavy toll of human lives. Mountaineers searching for adventure and thrill have become its victims in pursuit of their eagerness to find new and unclimbed routes leading to its summit.

 In 1841 a massive landslide from Nanga Parbat caused the Indus River blockage; this created a massive lake of 55-km long. The flood caused a rapid rise in the river level, almost 80 feet, which had a devastating impact on the downstream valleys.