Hermann Buhl (21 September 1924 – 27 June 1957) was an Austrian

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

. He was innovative in applying

Alpine style Alpine style is mountaineering in a self-sufficient manner, thereby carrying all of one's food, shelter and equipment as one climbs, as opposed to expedition style (or siege style) mountaineering which involves setting up a fixed line of stocked ...

to Himalayan climbing. His accomplishments include the first ascents of

Nanga Parbat Nanga Parbat ( ur, ) (; ), known locally as Diamer () which means “king of the mountains”, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth, its summit at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in ...

in 1953 and

Broad Peak Broad Peak ( ur, ) is a mountain in the Karakoram on the border of Pakistan and China, the twelfth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It was first ascended in June 1957 by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, an ...

in 1957.

Early life

Buhl was born in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

, the youngest of four children. After the death of his mother, he spent years in an orphanage. Before Scouting was banned in Austria, Hermann Buhl was a

Cub Scout Cub Scouts, Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with Scouting for young children usually between 7 and 12, depending on the organization to which they belong. A participant in the program is called a Cub. A group of Cubs is called a 'P ...

in Innsbruck. In the 1930s, as a sensitive (and not very healthy) teenager, he began to climb the Austrian

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. In 1939, he joined the

chapter of the

Deutscher Alpenverein The German Alpine Club (german: links=no, Deutscher Alpenverein, DAV for short) is the world's largest climbing association and the eighth-largest sporting association in Germany. It is a member of the German Olympic Sports Confederation and the ...

(the German Alpine association) and soon mastered climbs up to category 6. He was a member of the

Mountain rescue Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. This tends to include mountains with tech ...

team in Innsbruck (''Bergrettung Innsbruck'').

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

interrupted his commercial studies, and he joined the Alpine troops, mostly on the

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

. After being taken

prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

troops, he returned to Innsbruck and earned his living doing odd jobs. At the end of the 1940s, he finally completed his training as a mountain guide.

Himalayas

Nanga Parbat

Before his successful 1953

expedition, 31 people had died trying to make the first ascent. Buhl is the only mountaineer to have made the first ascent of an

eight-thousander The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) recognises eight-thousanders as the 14 mountains that are more than in height above sea level, and are considered to be sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no ...

solo. His climbing partner, Otto Kempter, was too slow in joining the ascent, so Buhl struck off alone. He returned 41 hours later, having barely survived the arduous climb to the summit, 6.5 km (4 miles) distant from, and 1.2 km (4,000 feet) higher than, camp V. Experienced climbers, upon hearing later of Buhl's near-death climb, faulted him for making the attempt solo. Regardless, his monumental efforts, along with spending the night standing on a tiny pedestal too small to squat upon, untethered, on the edge of a 60-degree ice slope, have become mountaineering legend.

Broad Peak

The

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

of Broad Peak was made between June 8 and 9, 1957, by

Fritz Wintersteller Fritz Wintersteller (21 October 1927 – 15 September 2018) was an Austrian mountaineer who made the first ascent of Broad Peak together with Hermann Buhl, Kurt Diemberger, and Marcus Schmuck in 1957. Although never a professional climber, he cl ...

Marcus Schmuck Marcus Schmuck (18 April 1925 – 21 August 2005) was an Austrian mountaineer. In 1957, together with Hermann Buhl he organized the expedition, firstly envisaged and initiated by Buhl, to climb the world's 12th highest peak, the Broad Peak (8,047& ...

Kurt Diemberger Kurt Diemberger (born 16 March 1932) is an Austrian mountaineer and author of several books. He is the only living person who has made the first ascents on two mountains over 8,000 metres: of Broad Peak in 1957 and of Dhaulagiri in 1960. Career ...

, and Buhl of an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

expedition led by Schmuck. A first attempt by the team had been made on May 29, when Fritz Wintersteller and Kurt Diemberger reached the forepeak (8030 m). This was also accomplished without the aid of supplemental oxygen, high-altitude porters or base camp support.

Chogolisa

Just a few weeks after the successful

of Broad Peak, Buhl and Diemberger made an attempt on nearby, unclimbed

Chogolisa Chogolisa ( ur, from ''Chogo Ling Sa''; literally "Great Hunt") is a trapezoidal mountain in the Karakoram range in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. It lies near the Baltoro Glacier in the Concordia region, which is home to some of th ...

(7665 m) in

. Buhl lost his way in an unexpected snow storm and walked over a huge

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

on the south-east ridge, near the summit of Chogolisa II (7654 m; also known as Bride Peak), subsequently triggering an

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...

that hurled him down 900 m over Chogolisa's north face. His body could not be recovered and remains in the ice.

Legacy

Hermann Buhl is still considered by alpinists and mountaineering historians to be the most complete and advanced mountaineer of his time. His ascents on rock and snow, solo and as a rope leader, his attitude towards the mountain and his physical elegance have been assessed by such contemporary luminaries as

Heinrich Harrer Heinrich Harrer (; 6 July 1912 – 7 January 2006) was an Austrian mountaineer, sportsman, geographer, ''Oberscharführer'' in the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS), and author. He was a member of the four-man climbing team that made the first ascent of th ...

Walter Bonatti Walter Bonatti (; 22 June 1930 – 13 September 2011) was an Italian mountain climber, explorer and journalist. He was noted for many climbing achievements, including a solo climb of a new route on the south-west pillar of the Aiguille du Dru i ...

and

Gaston Rébuffat Gaston Rébuffat (; 7 May 1921, Marseille – 31 May 1985, Paris) was a French alpinist, mountain guide, and author. He is well known as a member of the first expedition to summit Annapurna 1 in 1950 and the first man to climb all six of the ...

. He was also an idol and hero of climbers of younger generations, such as

Reinhold Messner Reinhold Andreas Messner (; born 17 September 1944) is an Italian mountaineer, explorer, and author from South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent of Everest without supplemental ...

Peter Habeler Peter Habeler (born 22 July 1942) is an Austrian mountaineer. He was born in Mayrhofen, Austria. He developed an interest in mountain climbing at age six.http://www.everesthistory.com/climbers/habeler Among his accomplishments as a mountaineer a ...

and

Hansjörg Auer Hansjörg Auer (; 18 February 1984 – 16 April 2019) was an Austrian mountaineer, noted for his free solo climbs, and particularly of ''Fish Route'' in the Italian Dolomites, the first-ever big wall solo at . ''National Geographic'' descr ...

. Buhl can be considered a pioneer of

mountaineering in the Himalayas, a style defined by light-weight expedition gear, little to no fixed ropes and the relinquishing of bottled oxygen. His expedition to Nanga Parbat was dramatized by

Donald Shebib Donald Everett "Don" Shebib (born 27 January 1938) is a Canadian film director. Shebib is a central figure in the development of English Canadian cinema who made several short documentaries for the National Film Board of Canada and CBC Televisi ...

in the 1986 film '' The Climb'', based in part on Buhl's own writings about the expedition and starring

Bruce Greenwood Stuart Bruce Greenwood (born August 12, 1956) is a Canadian actor and producer. He is known for his role as the American president John F. Kennedy in '' Thirteen Days,'' for which he won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion ...

as Buhl.Rick Groen, "Canadian director stumbles and can't make The Climb". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', October 16, 1987.

Publications

* *

References

External links

Team Member of the Austrian OEAV Karakoram Expedition 1957Hermann Buhl Page with biography and many photos, in German
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buhl, Hermann 1924 births 1957 deaths Austrian mountain climbers Mountaineering deaths Sport deaths in Pakistan Sportspeople from Innsbruck Gebirgsjäger of World War II German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States