French mountaineer Vadim Druelle has climbed Nanga Parbat in an incredible time of 15 hours and 18 minutes. The 22-year-old thus beats the previous record set by Italian Franz Cazzanelli in 2022 by five hours.
"He is safely back in base camp, the circle is closed." With these words, the team from Vadim Druelle The French mountaineer had managed to climb the 20 kilometres and 3900 metres in altitude from the base camp to the summit of the 8125 metre high Nanga Parbat in just over 15 hours, which puts it under the previous Fastest Known Time by Franz Cazzanelli clear.
The emotions are strong and it will take some time before he realizes that this is not a dream but reality
Team Druelle
So far, only a few details are known about Vadim Druelle's ascent, except that Seven Summit Climbs supported him on site and that other climbers had climbed the route to the summit before him.
Druelle's team writes about the record: "A stratospheric time that still awaits confirmation by the Himalayan Bible: Mr. Popier and the 8000ers." Rodolphe Popier, author at 8000ers.com and analyst at the Himalayan Database, is considered one of the most profound experts on the various eight-thousander peak regions.
Preferred walking style: Easy and fast
For the 22-year-old ski mountaineer, trail runner and alpinist Vadim Druelle, Nanga Parbat is the third eight-thousander that he has climbed without artificial oxygen and in alpine style. In 2021, he reached his first eight-thousander, Manaslu (12 m), in a continuous push and a record time of 45 hours and 8163 minutes.
The failed ascent of the south face of Lhotse (8516m) in 2022 was followed by the successful speed ascent of Kangchenjunga the following year. Again without any intermediate camps, he reached the summit directly from the base camp after 18 hours and 43 minutes. Druelle's summit success was overshadowed by the death of the top German mountaineer Luis Stitzinger.
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Credits: Cover picture Vadim Druelle