On June 24, Tiphaine du Perier and Boris Langenstein of France climbed the Schell route of Nanga Parbat. They then skied down the Rupal Face, which rises 4,600m from Base Camp to the summit.
This is the first ski descent of the Rupal Face and the first ski descent of 8,126m Nanga Parbat from the summit.
David Goettler summited with them and paraglided from 7,500m down to Base Camp.
Right strategy
This year, the team chose the right strategy: They acclimatized in Nepal in late May, then climbed Baruntse in early June. Then they flew to Pakistan and went right to Nanga Parbat. With the mountain in a dry condition and with rising temperatures, they prepared for a fast summit push, they told Montagnes magazine.
The trio set off from Base Camp on June 21 and climbed one camp a day until the summit morning, in perfect conditions.
Goettler and his companions chose the Schell route. Instead of heading directly up the Rupal Face, it traverses that side of the mountain to gain a ridge, and then from Camp 3, it switches to the Diamir side of the mountain.
That crossing was also the crux of the ski descent. The skiers described the descent from the summit as okay, but the traverse to the Diamir side on skis included an unpleasant mixed section with a lot of bare rocks, and a 30m rappel back to the Rupal side.
Success at last
As for Goettler, he has finally finished a project that has taken him five attempts, including two in winter. The German climber first descended a section on foot, then paraglided from approximately 7,500m at 6 pm in good conditions. He landed at Base Camp 30 minutes later.
File image of David Goettler on Everest. Photo: David Goettler
Duperier and Langenstein had skied down Nanga Parbat’s normal, Kinshofer route on the Diamir side in 2019, but that was not a complete descent. On that occasion, Duperier stopped before the summit, and although Langenstein reached the top, he had to descend some 50 vertical meters on foot until he found conditions suitable for skiing. Duperier waited for him and joined him on the way down.
