Nanga Parbat 2023

End of the drive from Chilas to start our trek.

6/7 – 6/13: Travel to basecamp:

We arrived in Islamabad and began our journey along the Karakoram Highway to the town of Chilas, nestled in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan at the confluence of the Indus and Gilgit rivers. After a sleepless night in the oppressive heat of Chilas, we climbed into old cars to navigate a bumpy dirt road. As we traveled, the landscape transformed into rugged mountains and sweeping valleys, culminating at a cable crossing over the river.

Once we crossed the river, a group of village children joined us, their laughter brightening the atmosphere. With bare feet and dusty faces, they embodied both innocence and a harsh reality; many would never have the opportunity to attend school or experience life beyond their village. Each smile was heartwarming yet weighed down by unfulfilled dreams, stirring a deep ache within me.

The trek quickly became exhausting in the intense heat, and at one point, I feared I was nearing heat stroke, so I plunged my head into a stream to try to lower my body temperature. We stopped in a village for rest, where the men on our team settled into a wooden structure. As the only woman, I was directed to sleep alone in a tent, which felt frightening; I would have preferred the company of my male teammates in the structure

On June 13th, when we finally reached base camp, I fell ill with a gastrointestinal bug that brought severe diarrhea, vomiting, and fevers. Just as I thought I was starting to feel better, I attempted to join everyone in the dining tent. However, the smell of food hit me, causing a wave of nausea and leading me to vomit just outside the tent in front of the staff and my team—a truly embarrassing moment.

“The menstruation tent” where I slept on the way to basecamp.

On the way to C1.

6/16: up to C1

I was grateful that we had a few days to rest, allowing my body time to recover from whatever GI bug I had. Since the distance to C1 was not far, we didn’t set out until about 11 a.m., and we all agreed we would rather not sit at C1 for the entire day. The climb was relatively straightforward and took only 2 ½ hours. The Sherpas had already made tent platforms for us on one of their earlier trips to C1, so there was nothing to do but eat, drink, and rest.
The tent was swelteringly hot during the day and crowded with Mama, Nima, Sasko, and me sharing the space. Everyone except me drifted off to sleep, creating a cacophony of snoring. Around sunset, everyone started to wake up, and we had dinner together. By 7:30 p.m., everyone was sound asleep again, and the symphony of snoring resumed.

6/17 to C2:

We woke up around 4:30 AM to heat water for coffee and were on our way to Camp 2 by about 5:15 AM. We hoped that this early start would help us avoid traffic jams at the Kinshofer Wall. The initial climb was moderately steep without fixed ropes, and I regretted leaving my Whippet at base camp, especially as my knee ached. I knew I could climb more efficiently with it.

Before long, the terrain steepened, and thankfully, we encountered the fixed ropes. Unfortunately, my stomach began to rumble, and I faced another bout of diarrhea. While cleaning up, my hand sanitizer slipped from my grasp and shot down the slope, disappearing forever. I wasn’t sure what upset me more, littering versus losing my only portable bottle of hand sanitizer. Sigh. I took some Pepto-Bismol and Imodium, knowing this would continue to be an issue throughout the day—and it certainly was.

The steep snow was tiring but manageable, and eventually, we approached a bulging traverse. My friend Sarah had warned me about this section, referring to it as the spot where one must do some “Uli Stecking”—a maneuver neither of us enjoyed, involving traversing with the front points of our crampons. Most of this traverse had fixed ropes, and the terrain had seen enough traffic for my crampons to bite into the snow and ice easily.

Below the fixed ropes on the way to C2.

Sasko and me below the Kinshofer Wall.

As I completed the traverse, I finally spotted the Kinshofer Wall, the technical crux of Nanga Parbat. The wall consists of three distinct sections: the first features challenging steep rock with plenty of ledges for hands and feet. Te second section has smaller breaks in the rock where I could secure the front points of my crampons so that I could unweight the rope and easily slide my jumar up. However, the third section felt like a blank slate; I could find no footholds and had to rely heavily on my upper body strength, even resorting to using grasping old ropes with my left hand as I tried to move my jumar up with my right hand with barely any place to hook the front point of my crampons.

After what felt like an eternity, I finally reached the end of the wall, where snow awaited. I clawed my way to the top and collapsed, completely exhausted.
After resting for several minutes, I resumed climbing and soon spotted the tents of Camp 2. To my dismay, I realized that the Imagine tents were the furthest away. I had to stop and catch my breath several times before finally reaching our tent. I noticed that everyone had left the center spot open for me, and I explained that my diarrhea was back and that I needed to be next to a door. I could see the annoyance on my teammates’ faces, but eventually, Ngima agreed to move to a neighboring tent to accommodate my request.

Inside the tent, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep for several hours, despite the sweltering heat. When I finally woke up, nature was calling, and I carefully attempted to exit through the rear of the tent. This was complicated by leg cramps from dehydration and the challenge of climbing over everyone’s large boots obstructing the exit. Once behind the tent, I perched as carefully as I could on a small patch of snow, fearful of the steep couloir dropping away beneath my feet. The remainder of my time was spent sleeping and trying to rehydrate.

6/18 back to BC:

The trip down to basecamp is relatively uneventful. Rappelling down the Kinshofer wall is complicated by all of the old ropes and the need to double and triple check that you are using the correct rope. Once off the wall the tricky traverse awaits followed by several more rappels down the steep snow. When we get to C1 we take a small break and then head down to basecamp and lunch!

Imagine’s basecamp tents at dusk.

The words “POLICE” spelled with rocks below basecamp I imagine are there to deter attackers.

6/19 – 6/28: Basecamp days

Due to various reasons, we take a 10-day break at base camp before starting our summit push. I spend my mornings hiking behind base camp, always accompanied by others. Given the region’s history—where a massacre occurred at this same base camp a decade ago—I feel uneasy about hiking alone. While I’m not sure that being with others significantly reduces my risk since we are unarmed, it does provide me with some reassurance.

As the days go by, our team expands with the arrival of Naoki, Naila, and Gao Li. The beauty of our surroundings is truly remarkable; on some days, we venture down to a large meadow below base camp, filled with wildflowers and roaming horses. In addition to our hikes, I enjoy catching up with friends from other teams. My friend Sarah, who is attempting to summit without supplemental oxygen or porter support, has her tent directly across from mine, and I appreciate our moments together. Meanwhile, Chris and Gina are also tackling this mountain, camped a bit further away. I always look forward to visiting them and enjoying their freshly brewed coffee.

Our time at base camp includes memorable highlights, from torrential downpours followed by stunning double rainbows to many beautiful sunsets that paint the sky.

6/29: BC –>C1

We headed up to C1 after lunch and took our time. The route has become a bit more complicated since the warm days have melted much of the snow and there is now more rockfall, but we all make it C1 without incident.

Daddy and Mama Sherpa taking a rest en route to C1.

A porter outside our tent at C1 who has stopped by to offer Naila a Coke after dropping loads off.

6/30 – up to C2:

According to Strava, we started our trek at 3:52 AM, which seems about right. We woke up around 2:30 AM and took our time preparing. Aware that the route would be crowded, we aimed to get ahead of the crowds. This time, I had my Whippet with me, which made navigating the steep snow easier, though it was still exhausting.

By the time we reached the Uli traverse, I witnessed someone slip and get caught by the fixed rope. It was both terrifying and reassuring. Reminding myself that slipping wasn’t an option, I carefully negotiated the traverse without any issues.

As we approached the Kinshofer Wall, we encountered a traffic jam and waited about 40 minutes for our turn to climb. While we waited, another team caught up with us, and when it was finally our turn, they tried to pass us, creating what I can only describe as a cluster fuck. After negotiating the first two sections, I decided to pull over and let some members of the impatient team go ahead. I quickly regretted this decision as my body temperature plummeted when I stopped climbing, and I soon found myself shivering and wasting energy while waiting.

The third section of the climb proved to be just as challenging as I had remembered, and I marveled at how my friend Sarah had tackled this wall three times, each time with a heavy pack since she didn’t use any porter support. When I finally reached the top of the wall, I was completely exhausted.
I slowly made my way to Camp 2 and collapsed in the tent I was sharing with Mama and Daddy Sherpa

Me and Sasko on the lower part of the Kinshofer Wall.

Nanga Parbat at sunset.

7/1 – C2-> to C3:
I woke up “slowly” at 3 AM but didn’t fully get moving until 5 AM, which was frustrating. The initial part of the climb was enjoyable, a mix of rock and ice—challenging yet manageable. I felt a bit slow, though I couldn’t tell if that was accurate.

Soon after, we reached a steep, seemingly never-ending icy section. It was tough, but I remembered it being no more difficult than the Lhotse Face. I almost slipped at one point, which added to the intensity. Eventually, we arrived at a resting place, where we stopped to eat and drink.

As soon as we resumed climbing, I immediately felt uncomfortably hot. What appeared to be a short dogleg traverse to the left felt like it stretched on forever. Next, we zigzagged back to the right, facing a somewhat sketchy traverse. I was so overheated that I told Mama, “No more,” and sat down to take off my down suit top. The rest of the team followed suit.

Finally, we spotted Camp 3. Even though it looked close, the scorching sun made it feel like we were moving in slow motion. Slowly but surely, we all made it into C3.

Upon arrival, we discovered that the tent the Sherpas had set up a week earlier was completely surrounded by other teams’ tents and had collapsed. The Sherpas worked diligently to relocate the tent and create a new space for it. By 2 PM, the tents were finally up: we had two tents high on the mountain with connected vestibules and 1 tent a bit lower. Sasko, Naoki, and Ngima shared one, while Mama, Daddy, and I occupied the other. I got the outside edge. Meanwhile, Naila, Baby Dawa, Mingma, and Gao Li were down below.

Mama prepared an unappetizing bowl of hot cereal, and somehow, I ended up spilling it all over my sleeping bag and down suit. I cleaned it up as best as I could. Later, after dinner, I felt the telltale rumbling in my stomach—a clear warning of impending diarrhea. I hurriedly exited the tent, only to discover completely unformed stool. Dang it!

Once back inside, I started frantically taking Imodium, Pepto-Bismol, and Azithromycin. By this time, it must have been around 6 PM, and I tried to sleep, though it was unsettling not knowing what time we would be starting in the morning.

Caption

7/2: C3 -> Summit -> C3

After a few false starts, we finally began our ascent a little before 11 PM. I was relieved that we were starting supplemental oxygen, as I didn’t feel well acclimatized and was worried, I was already dehydrated from yesterday’s hot climb followed by diarrhea.

As soon as we started climbing, I felt terrible and contemplated quitting. It seemed like we were all moving slowly, but I was by far the slowest of the group. We soon approached a rocky crux that had created a traffic jam. Once we cleared this obstacle, Mama and I stopped to eat and drink. I expressed to Mama that I didn’t feel capable of making a summit attempt and tried to convince him to let me go back to Camp 3 to wait for him and the group. However, Mama was adamant about not leaving me alone and wasn’t ready to turn around. Having already summited 12 of the world’s 14 highest peaks, needing only Nanga Parbat and Gasherbrum I to complete the list, he was determined to see the summit.
I kept starring at what I thought was the summit (which I later learned was still far from the actual summit) and felt defeated, thinking, “That’s too far; there’s no way I can do this”, I am glad I was unaware of how far the summit really was since I almost certainly would have quit.

The next few hours were a blur of suffering. Some sections had fixed ropes, while many did not. The last two hours to the summit were had no fixed ropes so Mama and I traveled together on our own rope. I was too tired to complain; I reasoned that although I felt awful, my condition was better than I had been on Annapurna and I survived that climb. I reassured myself that while this would be hard, it wouldn’t be deadly—and, oddly enough, that seemed to hold true. Similar to Annapurna I marveled at how no for hours we did not see anyone descending and started to wonder if people were descending an alternate route. Eventually I saw Chris and Chirring descending, Chris with odd tape on his knees, and they told us the summit was about an hour from where we were standing.

When we finally reached the summit, relief washed over me. We encountered Daddy and Sasko coming down, as well as Nims, who pointed out the “correct summit”. To our surprise, we had the summit to ourselves, aside from He Jing from China and her climbing Sherpa. He Jing was climbing without supplemental oxygen, and she had draped numerous flags across the summit while recording a series of videos. Her excitement was slightly annoying, especially when she sang the Chinese national anthem at one point. However, I was too exhausted to complain or care.

Desperately needing to pee, I fought the urge, knowing Mama would find it disrespectful to desecrate the summit. Instead, I sat quietly, allowing him to take his pictures and soak in the moment. A pang of sadness washed over me as I realized I wasn’t enjoying the experience as much as I’d hoped, but I made an effort to look around and appreciate the breathtaking views.

The descent began better than I had anticipated, with each downclimb feeling like a manageable piece of a puzzle. We encountered groups of climbers who weren’t using oxygen, including some members of the Polish team. When we stopped to say hello, they seemed clear-headed and asked insightful questions about the summit. Tragically, we would later learn that one of them had died from altitude-related complications during the descent. This stark reality underscored the dangerous nature of these climbs, emphasizing how thin the line is between life and death, particularly for those attempting such feats without the support of supplemental oxygen.

Though I was exhausted, I could still appreciate the uniqueness of this experience and tried to savor the incredible views from a height that few people ever reach.
As the sun started to set, we carefully navigated the final rocky obstacle and eventually reached Camp 3, where we joined our teammates and settled in for a much-needed sleep.

Mama and me after the trek out.

7/3 – 7/4: C3->BC->Trek

I slept soundly through the night, completely exhausted from the effort of the past three days. Upon waking, I learned that some teams climbing without oxygen had still not returned to Camp 3, with many having spent the night at Camp 4. It wouldn’t be until we reached base camp that I would learn the extent and seriousness of the situation, including the fact that someone had died.

Mama and I descended together back to base camp. Once we arrived, we started preparing for our trek out the following day.

By the time we reached the start of the trek, we had descended over 21,000 feet in 48 hours, and I could definitely feel the toll it was taking on my knees