1953 German–Austrian Nanga Parbat expedition

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.

Buhl departed from the high camp around 02:00 on July 3, followed by his climbing partner an hour later. However, his partner soon returned to the tent. Buhl crawled on hands and knees, finally reaching the summit at 19:00. The descent proved even more challenging because he was missing an ice axe, a tent, a crampon strap, and he only had.

Darkness forced him to halt around 21:00, when he stayed on a precarious ledge with a single handhold. After a sleepless night, he resumed his descent at 04:00, ultimately reaching the tent at 19:00. His appearance shocked his two companions who had assumed his demise while awaiting his return. Herrligkoffer later criticized Buhl’s solo climb, deeming it disloyal to the original group plan for summiting.