Andreas Hinterstoisser
Personal information | |
---|---|
Nationality | German |
Born | Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria, German Empire | 3 October 1914
Died | 21 July 1936 Eiger, Switzerland | (aged 21)
Climbing career | |
Named routes | Hinterstoisser Traverse |
Andreas Hinterstoisser (3 October 1914 – 21 July 1936
Biography
Andreas Hinterstoisser was born on 3 October 1914 in Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria, Germany, where he was raised. He worked in a bank before joining the German Wehrmacht as a professional soldier in 1935. Together with his childhood friend Toni Kurz, he made numerous first ascents of peaks in the Berchtesgaden Alps, including some of the most difficult climbs of that time.
The two young men climbed the southwest wall of the Berchtesgadener Hochthron in 1934, and the south wall of the straight pillar in 1936. They also made first ascents in the Reiter Alpe on the German–Austrian border, and of the direct southern route up the Watzmannkinder in the Watzmann in 1935.[2]
Eiger North face
In 1936, he was on the four-man team making the second attempt to scale the north face of the
He cleverly traversed a slab of icy rock, a feat which made the rest of the attempt on the Eiger possible, by climbing up on it and lowering himself to execute a pendulum to the other side, securing a rope and enabling his companions to cross the impassable section. This move became known as the Hinterstoisser Traverse.[3]
During a retreat from the wall, due both to an injury suffered by one of his comrades and to the severe weather, Hinterstoisser could not recross the traverse to safety because the group had previously removed the rope that had helped them across. The group decided to
However, as Hinterstoisser set up the last stage of the descent an
Legacy
The tragic story became well known after publication of Heinrich Harrer's classic 1960 book The White Spider and was more recently covered by Joe Simpson's book (and Emmy-winning TV documentary), The Beckoning Silence, as well as the 2008 German dramatic movie North Face.[5]
References
Citations
- ^ Harrer 1998, pp. 41–42.
- ^ Auffermann 2010, p. 91.
- ^ a b Gilbert, Dave (3 September 2001). "Eiger's grim reputation". BBC News. Archived from the original on 4 February 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
- ^ "The Hinterstoisser Traverse". The North Face of the Eiger. Mountain Zone. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
- ^ Cooper, Kate (May 2008). "The Eiger Nordwand Revealed: Rainer Rettner Interview". UK Climbing. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
Sources
- Anker, Daniel, ed. (2000). Eiger: The Vertical Arena. Seattle: The Mountaineers Books. ISBN 978-0898866797.
- Auffermann, Uli (2010). Entscheidung in der Wand: Marksteine des Alpinismus. Schall-Verlag. ISBN 978-3900533625.
- Fleming, Fergus (2002). Killing Dragons: The Conquest of the Alps. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 978-0802138675.
- Harrer, Heinrich (1998) [1959]. The White Spider. New York: Tarcher. ISBN 978-0874779400.
- Heckmair, Anderl (2002). My Life. Seattle: The Mountaineers Books. ISBN 978-0898868463.
- Simpson, Joe (2002). The Beckoning Silence. New York: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 978-0224061803.
External links
- Rote Fluh and Hinterstoisser Traverse Eiger north face photos - Wayback Machine archive