NANGA PARBAT

also called Diamir one of the world's highest mountains (26,660 feet ), situated in the western Himalayas 17 miles (27 km) west-southwest of Astor, in the Pakistani-occupied sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The mountain's steep south wall rises nearly 15,000 feet (4,600 m) above the valley immediately below, and the north side drops about 23,000 feet (7,000 m) to the Indus River. The British Alpine climber Albert F. Mummery led the first attempt to ascend the glacier- and snow-covered mountain in 1895, but he died in the attempt. At least 30 more climbers (mostly German-led) also perished on Nanga Parbat because of the severe weather conditions and frequent avalanches before the Austrian climber Hermann Buhl reached the top in 1953. The Kashmiri name Nanga Parbat is derived from the Sanskrit words nagna parvata, meaning naked mountain. Diamir is a local name for the peak and means King of the Mountains.