Pakistan Tour
The killer mountain
The Pakistan Tour is an Al Ain Acadèmie project that will take our outfits to the summit of Nanga Parbat, one of the highest peaks in the world and known as the “killer mountain”. The idea came out in collaboration with Alberto Oro, our trusted adventurer who will undertake the feat and document everything with photos, videos and logbooks, in an adventure that will test him and our garments in one of the most striking environments on the planet.
Nanga Parbat
Mountain of the gods
Nanga Parbat , also known as Diamir (Sanskrit for “mountain of the gods”) is a mountain range in Kashmir, Pakistan, whose highest peak reaches 8,126 meters above sea level, representing the ninth highest mountain on Earth. It is the second highest eight-thousander in terms of mortality rate, which is the ratio of the number of casualties to the number of climbers who have reached the summit, at around 28 percent, so much so that it has been nicknamed as the “killer mountain” because of the high number of casualties in its mountaineering history.
In 1895 Albert Mummery led an expedition that reached 7,000 m from the Diamir slope. He was the first victim on Nanga Parbat: he disappeared along with two Gurkha porters while attempting to explore a route to the Rakhiot Face via the Diama Pass.
In 1937 there was a further German expedition, led by Karl Wien; this expedition also had a tragic outcome when around June 14 an avalanche swept over Camp IV burying seven climbers and nine Sherpas.
The first ascent was made on July 3, 1953, by Austrian mountaineer Hermann Buhl with an Austrian-German expedition led by Karl Maria Herrligkoffer. Following a new expedition led by Herrligkoffer, Reinhold Messner and his brother Günther in June 1970 were the first to conquer the summit by ascending the difficult south face, the Rupal, considered the highest wall in the world (about 4,500 m vertical drop from base to summit).
The traverse they made should be considered an exceptional mountaineering feat. However, after bivouacking two days in the open, when they had almost reached the mountain’s slopes, Günther Messner was swept away by an avalanche and died.
Reinhold searched for him for a day and a night, then collapsed exhausted.
He arrived in the valley six days later on a stretcher rescued by a rope team of Sherpas when his companions believed them both dead. He suffered partial amputation of his toes but survived.
Nanga Parbat remains to this day one of the most demanding challenges for mountaineers around the world.
Alberto Oro
Alberto Oro, trained at the High Mountain Military School as a paratrooper, is an expert in acclimatization and movement in extreme environments, an instructor at the Apnea Academy, a Wim Hof Method instructor, and an expert in breathing techniques.
He is the founder and creator of O.N.E. (Oxigen Nature Emotion) Project Reasearch, a scientific study that researches the connection between the breathing techniques typical of apnea diving and the acclimatization processes the body undergoes in high mountains.
… To be continued
PAKISTAN TOUR LOGBOOK
06/06/2023
“Arrived at base camp. Here the previous days’ snow moved the mountain’s mantle. There are interesting avalanches all around.”
A. Oro
Nanga Parbat, base camp
09/06/2023
“Temperature -5°, I leave alone for camp 1. The moon accompanies me.”
A.Oro
Nanga Parbat, somewhere near camp 1
12/06/2023
“Perfect schedule. At about 2 AM I am abreast of Serra Cata, which promptly breaks away, creating a very scenic avalanche beside us.”
A.Oro
Nanga Parbat, somewhere between camp 1 and 2
22/06/2023
“Today a handful of men including Italians, Bolivians, Pakistanis and Nepalese will leave together for the summit. We have limited time and there was possibly water contamination, many climbers are knocked out but the Italian team has gathered the remaining climbers and is heading for the summit.”
A.Oro
Nanga Parbat, camp 2
29/06/2023
“Yesterday at 6 p.m. I tried to reach the summit, at 7700 m I was hit by a sudden blizzard that caught me alone and unprepared.”
A.Oro
Nanga Parbat, somewhere near the summit