Nanga Parbat (
Urdu ????? ????) is the
ninth highest mountain on
Earth. Nanga Parbat means "Naked Mountain" in
Urdu,
parbat deriving from the Sanskrit word
parvata (?????) meaning "mountain"
[1]. Nanga Parbat was one of the deadliest of the
eight-thousanders for climbers in the first half of the twentieth century; since that time it has been less so, though still an extremely serious climb. It is also an immense, dramatic peak that rises far above its surrounding terrain.
Nanga Parbat is the western anchor of the Himalayas, and is the westernmost eight-thousander. It lies just south of the Indus River, in the Astore District of the Northern Areas of Pakistan. Not far to the north is the western end of the Karakoram range.
Nanga Parbat has tremendous vertical relief over local terrain in all directions. To the south, Nanga Parbat boasts what is often referred to as the highest mountain face in the world the Rupal Face rises an incredible 4,600 m (15,000 feet) above its base. To the north, the complex, somewhat more gently sloped Rakhiot Flank rises 7,000 m (22,966 feet) from the Indus River valley to the summit in just 27 km, one of the 10 greatest elevation gains in so short a distance on Earth.
The core of Nanga Parbat is a long ridge trending southwest-northeast. The ridge is an enormous bulk of ice and rock. It has three faces, Diamir face, Raikot and Rupal. The southwestern portion of this main ridge is known as the Mazeno Wall, and has a number of subsidiary peaks. In the other direction, the main ridge arcs northeast at Raikot Peak (7,070 meters). The south/southeast side of the mountain is dominated by the massive Rupal Face, noted above. The north/northwest side of the mountain, leading to the Indus, is more complex. It is split into the Diamir (west) face and the Raikot (north) face by a long ridge. There are a number of subsidiary summits, including North Peak (7,816 m) some 3 km north of the main summit. Near the base of the Rupal Face is a beautiful glacial lake called Latbo, above a seasonal shepherds' village of the same name.
