Koreans Traverse Nanga Parbat

A pair of Korean climbers has completed the first traverse of 26,660-foot Nanga Parbat in Pakistan since the Messner brothers’ infamous climb in 1970. According to www.mounteverest.net, Kim Chang Ho and Lee Hyun Jo climbed a line near the Messner Route on Nanga Parbat’s Rupal Face, working for a couple of months to position themselves for a summit bid. At last, they placed a high camp below the final pyramid, summited, and descended the Diamir Face to basecamp. Reinhold and Gunther Messner established this route in 1970, pioneering the Rupal Face and descending the Diamir Face, but Gunther Messner disappeared near the bottom of the mountain, presumably the victim of an avalanche.

Nanga Parbat is the peak of popularity in Pakistan this summer, with at least a dozen climbers reaching the summit this week. Spain’s Edurne Pasabán, who lost a couple of toes to frostbite on K2 last summer, was among those atop Nanga Parbat—her eighth 8,000-meter peak.