On the 1953 German–Austrian Nanga Parbat expedition Hermann Buhl succeeded in making the first ascent of Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest mountain in the world. He reached the top on 3 July 1953 and this was and remains the only time an 8,000-metre summit was first reached by someone climbing alone. The expedition was led by who went on to lead a long series of attempts to climb eight-thousanders in the Himalaya and Karakoram.