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1953 German–Austrian Nanga Parbat expedition
First ascent of the mountain / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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During the 1953 German–Austrian Nanga Parbat expedition, Hermann Buhl succeeded in making the first ascent of Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest mountain in the world. He reached the summit on 3 July 1953. This remains the only instance in which an 8,000-metre summit was first reached by an individual climbing alone. The expedition was led by Karl Herrligkoffer [de] who subsequently led numerous attempts to climb other eight-thousand meter peaks in the Himalaya and Karakoram mountain ranges.
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Buhl departed from the high camp around 02:00 on July 3, followed by his climbing partner an hour later. However, his partner soon returned to the tent. Buhl’s ascent was arduous; he crawled on hands and knees, finally reaching the summit at 19:00. The descent proved even more challenging: without an ice axe, a tent, minimal food, and a missing crampon strap.
Darkness forced him to halt around 21:00, clinging to a precarious ledge with a single handhold. After a sleepless night, he resumed his descent at 04:00, ultimately reaching the tent at 19:00. His presumed demise shocked two companions who had awaited his return. Herrligkoffer later criticized Buhl’s solo climb, deeming it disloyal to the original group plan for summiting.