In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually composed of rock that is resistant to weathering and erosion. The sedimentary rocks that are most likely to form cliffs include sandstone, limestone, chalk, and dolomite. Igneous rocks such as granite and basalt also often form cliffs.
The Karakoram is a mountain range in the Kashmir region spanning the border of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwestern extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the jurisdiction of Gilgit-Baltistan, which is controlled by Pakistan. Its highest peak, K2, is located in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It begins in the Wakhan Corridor (Afghanistan) in the west, encompasses the majority of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan and extends into Ladakh and Aksai Chin.
Reinhold Andreas Messner is an Italian climber, explorer, and author from South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent of Everest without supplemental oxygen. He was the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders, doing so without supplementary oxygen. Messner was the first to cross Antarctica and Greenland with neither snowmobiles nor dog sleds and also crossed the Gobi Desert alone. He is widely considered to be the greatest mountaineer of all time.
The Presidential Range is a mountain range located in the White Mountains of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Containing the highest peaks of the Whites, its most notable summits are named for American presidents, followed by prominent public figures of the 18th and 19th centuries. The Presidential Range is notorious for having some of the worst weather on Earth, mainly because of the unpredictability of high wind speeds and whiteout conditions on the higher summits. Because of the poor weather conditions, the Presidential Range is often used for mountaineering training for those who go on to climb some of the world's highest mountains, including K2 and Everest.
Nanga Parbat, known locally as Diamer, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth and its summit is at 8,126 m (26,660 ft) above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Nanga Parbat is the westernmost major peak of the Himalayas, and thus in the traditional view of the Himalayas as bounded by the Indus and Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra rivers, it is the western anchor of the entire mountain range.
Namcha Barwa or Namchabarwa is a mountain peak lying in Tibet in the region of Pemako. The traditional definition of the Himalaya extending from the Indus River to the Brahmaputra would make it the eastern anchor of the entire mountain chain, and it is the highest peak of its own section as well as Earth's easternmost peak over 7,600 metres (24,900 ft). It lies in the Nyingchi Prefecture of Tibet. It is the highest peak in the 180 km long Namcha Barwa Himal range, which is considered the easternmost syntaxis/section of the Himalaya in southeastern Tibet and northeastern India where the Himalaya are said to end, although high ranges actually continue another 300 km to the east.
Albert Frederick Mummery, was an English mountaineer and author. Although most notable for his many and varied first ascents put up in the Alps, Mummery, along with J. Norman Collie, Geoffrey Hastings, and two Gurkhas are also the first men in recorded history to have attempted to summit one of the Himalayan eight-thousanders.
Gilgit-Baltistan is an administrative territory of Pakistan in the northern part of the country. It was given self-governing status on August 29, 2009. Gilgit-Baltistan comprises 14 districts within three divisions. The four districts of Skardu Kharmang Shigar and Ghanche are in the Baltistan Division, four districts of Gilgit Ghizer Hunza and Nagar districts which were carved out of Gilgit District are in the Gilgit Division and the third division is Diamir, comprising Chilas and Astore. The main political centres are the towns of Gilgit and Skardu.
Chongra Peak is a peak in the Himalaya range of Asia. Located in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan, it is one of the many subsidiary summits of the Nanga Parbat massif. The peak lies just south of the Indus River, in Pakistan. Not far to the north is the western end of the Karakoram range.
Fairy Meadows, named by German climbers and locally known as Joot, is an area of grassland near one of the base camp sites of Nanga Parbat, located in Diamer District in Gilgit-Baltistan region in Pakistan. At an altitude of about 3,300 metres (10,800 ft) above sea level, it serves as the launching point for mountaineers summiting Nanga Parbat by the Rakhiot face. In 1995, the Government of Pakistan declared Fairy Meadows a National Park.
Ganalo Peak is a subsidiary peak of Nanga Parbat in Pakistan's western Himalayas. Anchoring the rock and ice battlements northwest of Nanga Parbat's main summit, Ganalo rises 9,000 feet above the Rakhiot Glacier and 8,000 feet above the nearby Rakhiot Base Camp. The remote village of Beyal rests at its northern base. Ganalo Peak is easily viewed from Fairy Meadows, a popular trekking destination high above the Indus River.
Silberzacken, also known as East Peak, is a 7,597 metres (24,925 ft) high subsidiary peak of Nanga Parbat in the Himalayan Range in Pakistan.
The Mazeno Ridge is an arête, a long narrow ridge, and part of the Nanga Parbat massif in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan, in the Himalayan range. The ridge is the longest of any ridge on the eight-thousander peaks in the Himalayas. A series of eight subsidiary peaks form the ridge, the highest being Mazeno Peak at 7,120 metres (23,360 ft). All eight subsidiary peaks have been climbed, but a complete traverse of the ridge and ascent of Nanga Parbat was only successfully achieved in 2012, and as of 2019, no other expedition has reached the summit of Nanga Parbat via the Mazeno Ridge.
Élisabeth Revol is a French mountaineer. In January 2018, Revol became the first woman to climb Nanga Parbat in winter; on the descent, she was rescued, while her teammate Tomasz Mackiewicz died, an event which was widely covered by the mainstream press. Having narrowly avoided amputation of her left foot, she traversed Mount Everest and Lhotse consecutively in May 2019.
During the 1953 German–Austrian Nanga Parbat expedition, Hermann Buhl succeeded in making the first ascent of Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest mountain in the world. He reached the summit on 3 July 1953. This remains the only instance in which an 8,000-metre summit was first reached by an individual climbing alone. The expedition was led by Karl Herrligkoffer who subsequently led numerous attempts to climb other eight-thousand meter peaks in the Himalaya and Karakoram mountain ranges.
Marija "Mariča" Sabolek Frantar (1956-1991), was a Slovenian alpinist who was one of Slovenia's most successful mountaineers, and the second Slovene woman to summit an eight-thousander. In 1990, she received the Stanko Bloudek award, Slovenia's highest state award for sport for her achievements in mountaineering.
