Zerain summited the mountain solo from Camp III and successfully descended before the series of events that led to the deaths of 11 climbers on 2 August 2008.

Alberto Zerain died on 24 June 2017 on Nanga Parbat with his climbing partner, Mariano Galván [es], while on an expedition.

While he met with other teams when they were planning the duty roster for fixed lines, he decided to climb alone straight from Camp III.

He said he immediately noticed that other climbers were suffering from Summit Fever, and he chose to make the ascent alone while the others were still discussing their problem with fixed ropes.

[3] During that expedition, 11 climbers would die after a series of ice falls cut their fixed ropes, stranding them above the death zone.