NANGA PARBAT ADVENTURE : A Himalayan Expedition

London, UK: John Murray, 1935. First Edition, First Thus . Hard Cover/Stitched. Very Good/No Jacket. Text/BRAND NEW & Bright. Pale blue linen boards/VG; strong & sound w/edge & surface rubs, and showing light soiling/discoloration. DJ/None. Bookshop label to front cover verso. Chronicle of the 1934 Nanga Parbat (1953 celebrated its ascent by Sir Edmund Hillary, followed by that of Hermann Buhl). The first German expedition to Nanga Parbat was led by Willy Merkl in 1932 (known also as the German-American expedition); while not successful, this team did establish the feasibility routes. This volume, illustrated with 80 photos, is an account of the climb of 1934, again led by Merkl, was to become one of the worst disasters in mountaineering history. Though well financed and better prepared, the disaster struck mightly --- first Alfred Drexel died, Tyrolean climbers Peter Aschenbrenner and Erwin Schneider reached an estimated height of 7895 but, along with 14 others, were forced into retreat by foul weather. During the desperate retreat, three famous German mountaineers, Uli Wieland, Willo Welzenbach and Merkl himself, and six Sherpas died. The last survivor, Ang Tsering, reached safety after battling storms for seven days. An agonizing history.