Daring feat: 3 European mountaineers paraglide, ski down Nanga Parbat peak in PoK

Three European mountaineers accomplished a daring feat by paragliding off and skiing down the formidable Nanga Parbat peak in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, a media report said on Thursday.

German mountaineer David Göttler paraglided off the Nanga Parbat, while the French duo of Tiphaine Duperier and Boris Langenstein etched themselves into the history books by skiing down the peak, Dawn News reported.

The CEO of Adventure Tours Pakistan, Naiknaam Karim, said that the three foreign climbers began their summit attempt on Nanga Parbat, which is at 8,126 metres in height, via the Schell route.

The trio climbed from the approximately 3,600-metre-high base camp via the difficult Rupal Face between June 21 and 24.

Göttler, 47, had planned to descend from the top by paraglider. However, upon reaching the summit, strong winds forced him to launch his paraglider from 7,700 metres instead. Göttler flew back to the base camp on June 24 while the other two climbers skied back on June 27.

Michael Beek, a German tour operator, mountain guide and paragliding instructor, congratulated Göttler in a Facebook post, writing that Göttler had made a historic first.

“Summiting Nanga Parbat in alpine style with Tiphaine Duperier and Boris Langenstein was incredible, but to be able to fly down from 7,700m all the way back to base camp on the same day has brought my joy to the next level,” he said.

It is being considered as the first ski descent from the Rupal Face and the summit of Nanga Parbat, the report said.

Gilgit-Baltistan is considered a mountaineers' paradise as five out of its total 14 peaks rise above 8,000 metres.

K2, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I, Broad Peak, and Gasherbrum II are five of its highest peaks. K2 is the world's second-highest mountain after Mount Everest.