Expeditionary Forces

In his ongoing quest to summit the world's 14 highest peaks, Viesturs traveled to Pakistan in summer 2003 to tackle 26,660-foot Nanga Parbat and 26,248-foot Broad Peak. Summiting the two hulking massifs—eight days apart and without supplemental oxygen—was a monumental effort that ultimately proved successful and, more importantly, casualty-free.

"I had previously been on Broad Peak in 1997 and stopped just a few feet, and 150 linear feet, short of the highest point because of dangerous avalanche conditions," Viesturs remarks. "I had also previously attempted Nanga Parbat in 2001 but was turned back by avalanche conditions that grew extremely dangerous after a two-week storm. So on this trip I had a dual agenda. The idea was to first climb Nanga Parbat by the steep, technical Kinshoffer Route on the Diamir Face. Then, utilizing our acclimatization, quickly trek to Broad Peak and do a fast 'n' light, three-day alpine-style ascent. My partner on these climbs was Frenchman Jean Christophe Lafaille, who I'd climbed with on Annapurna in 2002."

From their Nanga Parbat base camp, the pair scaled the demanding Kinshoffer Route, establishing four further camps before the final summit push. They finally summited Nanga after a grueling eight-hour climb from their highest camp at 23,000 feet. In order to stay on schedule, though, they had to make a quick one-day descent, collecting all their gear and garbage on the lower slopes and returning to base camp with packs weighing close to 100 pounds.

"We then traveled for eight days to Broad Peak," continues Viesturs, "and after spending one day at base camp organizing our gear, we began our three-day ascent to the summit. Our alpine-style push, with minimal gear, enabled us to climb very quickly, and we reached the summit on July 1st." Broad was the penultimate summit in Viesturs' 14-peak quest, a remarkable rapid-fire follow-up to his 12th only days earlier.