The local name of Broad peak is Faichan Kangri.
The height of main peak is 8,047m/26,401ft. It
is called Broadpeak because of its breadth at
the top. It has also been called enormous
triple-headed Breithorn (4,165m high
three-headed peak of European alps) of the
Baltoro. In 1954, Dr. Karl M. Herligkoffer of
West Germany tried to climb it. His original
objective however, was to climb Gasherbrum I. He
is stated to have failed in persuading porters
to carry loads beyond Concordia above the
Baltoro glacier. Accordingly, the party carried
the luggage and made an attempt, from the
south-western side, through the lower Broad
glacier. It however, did not meet with success
because of a storm and a very low temperature.
In 1957, an Austrian expedition came to Pakistan
to climb this peak. It was led by Marcus
Schmuck. Other important members of the party
were Fritz Wintersteller, a climber, Kurt
Diemberger, an Austrian climber and photographer
and a legendary mountaineer, and Hermann Buhl,
who is considered as one of the best known
postwar Austrian climbers. The expedition began
a reconnaissance of a ridge on the western face
of the mountain. Consequently it climbed a snow
gully and camped at 5,791m/19,000ft. While
climbing, it made the best use of ropes which
were fixed by the 1954 German expedition. On the
29th May, all members of the expedition left
camp-3 for an assault on the summit. A storm
forced them to return to the base camp. It was,
however, on the 9th June, 1957 that Marcus
Schmuck, Fritz Wintersteller, Kurt Diemberger
and Hermann Buhl climbed the peak without using
oxygen and high altitude porters.
It was after this climb that Schmuck and
Wintersteller climbed an un-named peak
(7,360m/24,147ft). In ten hours they crossed ten
miles of the Godwin-Austen and Savoia glaciers
and climbed up a snow slope on skis to camp at
about 6,096m/20,000ft. On the 19th of June, they
ascended in twelve hours to 1,219m/4,000ft on
the south-west face of the summit, first on hard
snow and then in deep powder. They were back at
base camp just 52 hours after their departure.
What an extraordinary feat of self-discipline,
endurance and sheer determination! The un-named
peak so climbed is probably the Skill Brum peak
of Jerziwala Polish maps. The other two
climbers, Diemberger and Buhl, headed towards
Chogolisa peak where Buhl met his death by
falling from the mountain.
The name of other peak in the Broad range is
Broad peak middle/central Some maps show its
height at 8,016m while the others show it
8,000m. It is stated to have been climbed in
1975. Anyhow, it was in 1976 that a French
expedition led by Yan nick Seigneur made an
attempt on this peak in alpine style, along with
main Broad peak. This party of four followed the
Austrian first-ascent route and made four
attempts but could go only upto 7,925m/26,000ft.
The expedition had to come back because of bad
weather. A six member Spanish mountaineering
expedition climbed Broad (central) peak in 1987.
Their leader was Joseph Estruch.
The third peak in the Broad range is Broad peak
North. Again some maps show its height as 7,538m
while the others show it 7,550m. An Italian
expedition, which was led by Renato Casarotto,
attempted to climb it in 1982 but was
unsuccessful. The party shows its height as
7,600m/24,935ft. Casarotto, however, succeeded
in climbing it in 1983.
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