ISLAMABAD, Jul 03 :Five international climbers from Europe have successfully summited Nanga Parbat (8,125 metres), marking the first ascents of Pakistan’s summer climbing season.
Czech mountaineers Marek Novotny and Ondra Hlasny reached the summit of the world’s ninth-highest peak via the standard route on the Diamir face on June 26 at 12:00 pm, according to Ghulam Muhammad, General Manager of Blue Sky Treks and Tours, the expedition’s organisers.
He confirmed the duo had safely descended and was returning home.
Meanwhile, renowned German alpinist David Johannes Goettler, along with French ski mountaineers Tiphaine Duperier and Boris Langenstein, reached the summit from the Rupal side on June 24. The trio ascended via the historic Schell route, pioneered by Austrian climber Hanns Schell in 1976.
Goettler made a dramatic descent by paraglider, while his French companions skied down from the summit, accomplishing two groundbreaking feats: the first ski descent from Nanga Parbat’s summit and the first descent on skis from the challenging Rupal face.
Nanga Parbat, infamously dubbed the “Killer Mountain” for its treacherous slopes and high fatality rate, is the first of Pakistan’s 8,000-metre peaks to be summited this season. The successful ascents signal the start of what is expected to be a busy summer in the country’s northern Himalayas.
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