Scaling an eight thousander is a herculean task and those who conquer them and some of them do so without the aid of a puny oxygen supply are no less than demigods; there isn’t any other way to describe it. I often heard ‘Reinhold Messner successfully summited Nanga Parbat’, ‘Hermann Buhl was the first to ascend Nanga Parbat and he did it alone’. A few others have achieved this feat, but in all these fascinating tales the words ‘eight thousander’ would always feature with reverence. Now while one could imagine why climbers spoke of a ‘eight thousander’ with veneration, but to a tourist, a bystander, a mere mortal? What led them to accord such reverence to an ‘eight thousander’? Well August 27th 2014, I embarked on a journey with friends which answered this question.
Nanga Parbat first came into sight on the 28th covered with clouds while were making our way up to Fairy meadows. Our guide had warned us that the Nanga Parbat does not give up its secrets that easy. It will torment and tantalize you disclosing just enough detail to keep you interested at the same time poisoning your mind with the dreadful idea, “I won’t get to see it this time”, and then when you least expect, it will stun you with its magnificence. That is exactly what occurred. As the day died so did our hope of seeing Nanga and the next day situation had not improved. We spent the day toiling around Fairy Meadows which, incidentally, is a beautiful place in its own right. A couple of horses grazing on a large expanse of a lush green meadow leading up to a forest of pines, whereof a stream emanated and meandered about the meadow finding its own peaceful way out. That picturesque scene is what I retreat to when I need a break from the stimulus of the urban life.
29th of August and the light was fading as fast as our hopes of seeing the face of Nanga, but in the dying embers of the day the clouds begin to thin and we got our first glimpse of the twin peaks. All activities stopped as eyes fixated on the face of Nanga. Though it was night when finally Nanga had come clean, but none of us dared move as it slowly unraveled itself.
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| Fairy Meadows, Nanga Parbat Raikot Face Night. Picture and Editing by our guide Mir Manzar Elahi. |
The moon was nearly full and the horizon was pure. Never had I ever seen so many stars in the sky. To our front we could see the mountain radiating a greenish hue showing off all its features and right above us the Milky Way split the horizon, as real as the bonfire we sat around. For a long time we all sat in awe; no one wanted to leave, nor felt the desire to speak. That whole experience was surreal.
In those moments I felt like a child. The mountain, the stars, the edge of our galaxy; it was all so vast and inconceivable. To think how the stars aligned in my favor as I beheld that beautiful scene accompanied by some of my favorite people in the world, it couldn’t be attributed to something as crude as chance or a coincidence; ‘a touch of destiny1’ would be a more prudent explanation. In a way that affair reaffirmed my faith in God.
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| Nanga Parbat, Raikot Face. Picture by Hamza Butt |
The next day brought more wonderment. I was roused to wakefulness by excited voices of my friends, throwing praises at the Nanga. Spurred by their declarations, I rushed out of my tent only to be stunned by the magnificent edifice in front. While Nanga Parbat appeared coy in the night, in the light of the day it was something else. Rising up high and mighty, Nanga presented its rugged features unabashedly as it met the light of the day proudly. The skies were almost clear; a breeze swept across the meadows and the Nanga, emboldened by the Sun’s light was eager to show off every nook and cranny of its magnificent structure. In the light of the day the Nanga was damning, domineering and disdainful, yet it remained noble and dignified and even as it bared itself to the brilliance of the day, the Nanga retained its elegance and majesty.
Words cannot describe the emotions Nanga Parbat brings out in those who witness its splendor, I for one, am grateful to have sighted such magnificence.
1 Pirates of Caribbean reference. I just love that movie.
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