Nanga Parbat: Conquering the Diamir Wall in Phase Two

Entering the Land of Giants

After a brief pause in June to secure funding and arrange Pakistan logistics, Nirmal Purja landed in Islamabad in late June 2019 to commence Phase Two: the five 8,000-meter giants of the Karakoram and western Himalaya. First on the list was Nanga Parbat (8,126m), the infamous ‘Killer Mountain’.

Arriving at Diamir Base Camp on June 27, the team confronted the sheer 4,000-meter vertical wall of rock, ice, and avalanche chutes. While other teams had spent weeks fixing ropes up to Camp 2, Purja joined forces with Catalan climber Stefi Troguet and his trusted Sherpas Mingma David and Lakpa Dendi to accelerate the push.

Scaling the Kinshofer Wall

The technical crux of the Diamir Face is the Kinshofer Wall—an almost vertical 80-degree granite rock buttress between 6,000m and 6,200m that demands strenuous jumar hauling and delicate crampon footwork. Purja led the charge over the ice-glazed rock bands, securing anchors and establishing high camps in rapid succession.

Setting out from Camp 4 into sub-zero winds on the evening of July 2, Purja navigated the complex upper snowfields and the delicate traverse beneath the summit ridge. At midday on July 3, 2019, the team topped out on Nanga Parbat.

The Karakoram Sprint Begins

Nanga Parbat fell just six days after the team arrived at Base Camp. Without attending celebrations, Purja packed his gear, hiked out across the Diamir valley to the Karakoram Highway, and headed straight for Skardu and the Baltoro Glacier. Phase Two was off to an electric start.