Norwegian mountaineer Ane Færøvig was inside a yellow dining tent at the base of Nanga Parbat, Pakistan (9th highest mountain on Earth @ 26660 feet) when she heard the sound of rocks falling and people yelling. She put two and two together and quickly ran outside to witness a dust cloud heading in her direction and ran for safety. Thankfully the large boulder didn’t hit any tents or people but it was a very close call.
It was quickly determined that the climbing expedition needed to move their basecamp to avoid any future rockfall fall and they did so immediately with the help of the basecamp staff consisting of Nanga Parbat locals.
“These rocks didn’t hit but let’s say it was close enough!” –Ane Færøvig
When rocks tumble down the mountain side and almost hit our camp.
What happened? Lhakpa and I were inside the dining tent when we all of a sudden heard loud rumbling from outside and then people started shouting. We quickly looked at each other and without saying a word we ran outside. A quick glance up behind us on the mountain and we saw a dust cloud forming high up above and then a huge rock (and some smaller ones) came down the mountain towards our camp. We kept running to safety.
We were quick to decide moving our camp was the best choice! So after some quick discussions on where we should set up our tents we got moving! While I packed up my tent in a hurry many guys from around camp were the kindest to offer their help and our basecamp got moved faster than I’ve ever seen!
It’s in times like these I’m so grateful to be in the mountains surrounded by peoples kindness! Basecamp staff in Nanga Parbat are locals who grew up in this area. They are some of the strongest and most welcoming people and host us foreign climbers as their family!
-Ane Færøvig