The Mummery Spur – A Sadly Famous Route

When it comes to mountain climbers and tragedies, many mountains come to mind. Everest alone has taken the lives of more than 300 people, and since it is dangerous to take the bodies down, most remain buried under the snow. This brought the mountain a certain popularity. Sadly, the Mummery Spur route on Nanga Parbat in Pakistan is beginning to receive the same kind of popularity.

Locally known as Diamir, or “King of the Mountains,” Nanga Parbat is the goal of many mountain climbers searching for adventure. Because the Mummery Spur is a difficult route, it draws in people who are always looking for new challenges.

Sadly, this also has the potential to lead to tragedy.

The Dangers of the Mummery Spur Route

Every mountain has dangers, especially if you try to travel during wintertime. There is a risk of slipping, freezing, or simply being buried under the snow by an avalanche. In March 2012, there were 335 successful ascents on the Nanga Parbat, most of them being partial. A total of 68 people lost their lives in the attempt, giving the mountain a 20%+ fatality rate.

The problem with the Mummery Spur on Nanga Parbat does not involve just the rocks that you have to climb. You can do this with the right gear and skill. The problem is that during winter, the route gets very tricky. There are seracs (ice blocks) to go over, slippery rocks to be careful of, and avalanches to be wary of. Sadly, Nanga Parbat has plenty of those.

To safely climb the Nanga Parbat via the mummery route, you need to have strong mountaineering skills. There is a portion with slippery rocks and a glacier that needs serious climbing abilities. Many people went as far as to call that route suicidal and a death zone, regardless of its beauty.

What Makes the Infamous Mummery Spur Attractive to Alpinists?

Considering the dangers associated with this mountain, one may begin to wonder why people would want to climb it in the first place. This often has to do with different people’s sense of adventure. The challenge, mixed with the beauty of the route makes this mountain a goal for many climbers.

Representing the westernmost area of the Himalayan range, Nanga Parbat is the 9th highest mountain in the world. Featuring some gorgeous winter sceneries and a long history, many people try to ascend every part of the mountain. Reaching the top of this mountain would bring a sense of pride or accomplishment, as not many people have made it that far.

Albert Frederick Mummery – The Man Who Dared to Climb

Up until 1895, Nanga Parbat was never climbed. People liked watching its beauty from afar, as it could be perfectly seen from the meadows – and considering the dangers involved, many wanted to leave it that way. However, that year, Albert Frederick Mummery dared the first-ever ascent in history.

Before climbing the Nanga Parbat, Mummery climbed a variety of mountains. He went up the Aiguille du Grépon, where a crack in the mountain was named after him. He also went up the Dürrenhorn, Täschhorn, Dent du Requin, and Grands Charmoz, giving him a lot of mountain climbing experience. This is what led him to climb the mountains together with two companions, Goman Singh and Ragobir Thapa.

On the south face of the mountain, Mummery left a message: “The astounding difficulties of the southern face may be realized by the fact that the gigantic rock ridges, the dangers of the hanging glacier and the steep ice of the north-west face—one of the most terrifying faces of a mountain I have ever seen—are preferable to the south face.”

Going further to explore the Diamir face, Mummery disappeared, presumably dying from an avalanche. His and his companions’ death marked the first to ever occur on Nanga Parbat from mountain climbing, which is why the Mummery Spur route carries his name. Other expeditions after that were just as tragic, with avalanches killing a team of 16 Germans in the early 1900s, and a snowstorm taking the lives of 9 others in 1934.

Hermann Buhl, the Austrian climber, was the first to make it to the summit during a solo climb. He did not take the Mummery Spur route, but instead, followed the Rakhiot face ridge. Thanks to him, the mountain became more popular – but this also meant that it caused more people to potentially lose their lives in the snow.

Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi – An Adventure Ending in Tragedy

The Nanga Parbat is a mountain covered by an ominous shadow. Locals knew to fear the mountain, and several alpinists also viewed it as their goal. However, the mountain became even more famous after word of Daniele Nardi and Tom Ballard’s death reached the news in 2019.

Daniele Nardi from close to Rome and Tom Ballard from Derbyshire went missing in February 2019. The two were on an expedition to climb one of the world’s highest mountains, setting their eyes on the Nanga Parbat. Nardi was passionate about mountain climbing and taking on difficult routes, and the Mummery Spur was his big dream: “My thoughts concentrate much more on the Mummery Spur, on this innovative path. […] It’s my big dream. It is the passion for an idea, and even more for a style, to understand the mountain and life.”

This was not Nardi’s first attempt at climbing the Mummery Spur, as he partially climbed it in 2013. After attempting three times to climb the mountain, both agreed to climb the mountain again. At the 6,300 meters (20,700ft) level, they made contact for the last time before they went missing. After several days of searching with no luck, they were officially declared “Missing and Presumed Dead.”

All hope of their survival was banished on March 11, 2019, when Alex Txikon (mountaineer and member of the search team) saw two shapes on the Mummery Spur. Upon closer inspection, those were the bodies of Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi – both still attached to the safety rope. It was unclear whether an avalanche or other reasons caused their death, but it further emphasized the dangers of Mummery Spur.

Conclusion

The Mummery Spur is a ruthless route that is gaining way too much popularity these days as more daredevil alpinists are hearing about it and attempting the climb. Sadly, we can expect this route to grow even more popular – therefore, claiming more lives.