New York, 1954, 1st edition. 263 pp, 54 b/w plates. Blue cloth hardcover with chipped dus jacket. Very Good overall.
Nanga Parbat has the most dramatic and tragic history of all the 8000 meter peaks. This is the official account of Buhl's solo first ascent of Nanga Parbat, as well as a recounting of the traumas of previous expeditions.
While the rest of the world focused on Everest, the Germans always laid special claim to Nanga Parbat at the westernmost extreme of the Himalaya, rising a sheer 23,000 feet above the Indus valley. At the time this book was published in 1953, the Austro-German Expedition of 1953's success meant that Nanga Parbat was the second highest mountain to have been conquered by man. This book details not only the 1953 expedition, but also the history of the mountain, from 1895 when Mummery disappeared without a trace on Daimir Glacier to the successful summit attempt in 1953 by Hermann Buhl one month after Hillary and Tenzing conquered Everest.
Hermann Buhl (September 21, 1924 - June 27, 1957) is considered one of the best post-war Austrian climbers and one of the best climbers of all time. His accomplishments include:1953 First ascent of Nanga Parbat, 8,125 metres (26,658 ft.) 1957 First ascent of Broad Peak, 8,047 metres (26,400 ft.) Before his successful Nanga Parbat expedition, 31 people had already died trying to make the first ascent. Buhl is the only mountaineer to have made the first ascent of an Eight-thousander solo. Just a few weeks after their success on Broad Peak, Buhl and Kurt Diemberger attempted nearby Chogolisa peak (7,654 metres). Buhl died when he fell through a cornice on the SE ridge near the summit of Chogolisa. His body has never been found.
