Reinhard Karl (3 November 1946 – 19 May 1982) was a German
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 ...
, photographer and writer.
Early life
Karl was born in
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
. At the age of 14, he started working as a mechanic apprentice. Later on, he joined night classes to complete high school. When he was admitted to daily school, he left his work as a mechanic to continue his studies in Frankfurt. He later became a professional mountain photographer and also wrote several books. At the beginning of his career, climbing during weekends was his way to escape from his work as a mechanic, which he disliked.
He discovered his passion for mountains thanks to his readings; in his autobiography he specifically mentions ''Achttausend drüber und drunter'' by
Hermann Buhl
Hermann Buhl (21 September 1924 – 27 June 1957) was an Austrian mountaineer. He was innovative in applying Alpine style to Himalayan climbing. His accomplishments include the first ascents of Nanga Parbat in 1953 and Broad Peak in 1957.
Ear ...
and a book on Everest's ascent by
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reache ...
. His mother encouraged him by sending him to the Mountain Club in Heidelberg, where he met Hermann Kühn, partner in several ascents, including the Eiger's north face.
Climbing experience
Karl's career started with his first climbing experiences on
Battert
The Battert is a hill, , on the western edge of the Northern Black Forest north of Baden-Baden in Germany. On its western slopes are the ruins of Hohenbaden Castle (the ''Altes Schloss'' or "Old Castle"), on the southern side is the climbing are ...
, near
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with Fra ...
. He mastered several styles of climbing, ranging from alpine style in Europe and South America, free climbing and eight-thousanders.
Alps
He climbed several famous mountains and routes in the Alps, such as:
*the Bonatti pillar on
Aiguille du Dru
The Aiguille du Dru (also the Dru or the Drus; French, Les Drus) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps. It is situated to the east of the village of Les Praz in the Chamonix valley. "Aiguille" means "needle" in French.
The m ...
Les Droites
Les Droites () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps and is the lowest of the 4000-metre peaks in the Alps. The mountain has two summits:
* West summit (3,984 m), first ascent by W. A. B. Coolidge, Christian Almer and Ulrich ...
, in the
Mont Blanc massif
The Mont Blanc massif (french: Massif du Mont-Blanc; it, Massiccio del Monte Bianco) is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major indepen ...
Aiguille du Dru
The Aiguille du Dru (also the Dru or the Drus; French, Les Drus) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps. It is situated to the east of the village of Les Praz in the Chamonix valley. "Aiguille" means "needle" in French.
The m ...
*the Pillar of Frêney on Mont Blanc
Yosemite
Karl visited Yosemite several times, where he experienced both Big wall climbing and free climbing.
He climbed several big walls. In 1975, he climbed
Half Dome
Half Dome is a granite dome at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California. It is a well-known rock formation in the park, named for its distinct shape. One side is a sheer face while the other three sides are smoo ...
north-west face and the Nose on
El Capitan
El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is about from base to summit along its talles ...
,
Salathé Wall
The ''Salathé Wall'' is one of the original technical climbing routes up El Capitan, a high granite monolith in Yosemite National Park. The ''Salathé Wall'' was named by Yvon Chouinard in honor of John Salathé, a pioneer of rock climbing in ...
in 1977 and Son of Heart in 1978 on
El Capitan
El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is about from base to summit along its talles ...
.
He also got in contact with American climbers spending their summers in Yosemite, such as
Ron Kauk
Ron Kauk (born 23 September 1957) is an American rock climber. Kauk is associated with Camp 4 in Yosemite Valley, where he lived for decades, now a resident of El Portal, California.
In 1975, he made the first free ascent of the east face of Wa ...
and
John Bachar
John Bachar (March 23, 1957 – July 5, 2009) was an American rock climber. Noted for his skill at free soloing, he ultimately died during a free solo climb. A fitness fanatic, he was the creator of the climbing training device known as the Bac ...
, masters of
bouldering
Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers use climbing shoes to help se ...
.
Free Climbing
After his experience at Yosemite, he applied his new vision of climbing in Battert crag.
In 1977, Karl and Helmut Kiene realised the first grade VII climbing with the free ascent of the Pumprisse on the Fleischbank, on the
Kaisergebirge
The Kaiser Mountains (german: Kaisergebirge, meaning ''Emperor Mountains'') are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps and Eastern Alps. Its main ridges – are the Zahmer Kaiser and south of it the Wilder Kaiser. The mountains are s ...
.
Eight-thousenders
Karl was the first German to reach the summit of
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...
(with oxygen) on 10 May 1978, with Oswald Olz. He was part, as photographer, of the same expedition which saw
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 ...
and
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 ...
climb Mount Everest for the first time without supplemental oxygen.
Karl's second eight-thousander was
Gasherbrum II
Gasherbrum II ( ur, ; ); surveyed as K4, is the 13th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is the third-highest peak of the Gasherbrum massif, and is located in the Karakoram, on the border between Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan ...
, in Karakorum, with Hans Schell in 1979.
South America
In 1980 Karl's attempt, with Hans Martin Götz, to climb
Cerro Torre
Cerro Torre is one of the mountains of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in South America. It is located in Argentina and Chile, west of Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén). The peak is the highest of a four mountain chain: the other peak ...
failed when they spent the night at only 250 meters from the top.
Also his attempt to climb the ''Supercanaleta'' on
Fitz Roy
Monte Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, or simply Mount Fitz Roy) is a mountain in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile.Cho Oyu, during his attempt to climb his third eight-thousander.