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Fritz Moravec (27 April 1922 – 17 March 1997) was an Austrian mountaineer and author. He is best known for his numerous expeditions in the Karakoram range, where he participated in the first ascent of
Hochgebirgsschule
1922 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Austrian people Austrian mountain climbers Austrian people of Czech descent People from Favoriten Sportspeople from Vienna {{climbing-bio-stub
Fritz Moravec (27 April 1922 – 17 March 1997) was an Austrian mountaineer and author. He is best known for his numerous expeditions in the Karakoram range, where he participated in the first ascent of 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 ...
(8,034 m, 26,358 ft). Moravec was the founder of the Glockner-Kaprun mountaineering school.
Life
Fritz Moravec was born on 27 April 1922 in the Favoriten tenth district ofVienna
en, Viennese
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, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
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, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, Austria. After an apprenticeship as a motor mechanic, he studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Vienna. He developed a love of mountaineering from his father, a locomotive engineer, who served as a military mountain guide in the Dolomites
The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form pa ...
during World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. I 1942, Moravec served in one of the mountain units in the Caucasus during 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 opposing ...
.
After returning to Austria after the war in 1946, Moravec continued to study psychology and education and became a teacher in a specialized school for locksmithing. He spent his spare time with youth groups in the mountains, as in the Gesäuse, and led climbing courses. Moravec specialized in ice climbing. After 1950, he began climbing in the Western Alps, and by 1954 he climbed for the first time in the Himalayas to Saipal.
On 7 July 1956 he ascended 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 ...
with Josef Larch and Hans Willenpart. In the coming years, he participated in numerous other expeditions to the Spitsbergen, Dhaulagiri, and to Africa. For some time, Moravec's ascent of Gasherbrum II was questioned because he was not visible in summit photos. On 25 September 1995, in a lecture on Himalayan mountaineering held at Vienna's City Hall, Moravec stated:
In 1959, Moravec led an Austrian expedition to Dhaulagiri. As the team approached the summit on 27 May 1959, they were forced to turn back due to poor weather conditions—a mere 300 m from their goal. Although the summit attempt failed, Moravec's team prepared the way and identified the route on the northeast ridge that would be used by the Swiss expedition the following year.
In 1962, Moravec was approached to participate in a Dutch Himalayan expedition. At the same time, he was approached by naturalists who wanted him to build a climbing school. Moravec chose the latter project, and soon founded the Glockner-Kaprun mountaineering school and remained its leader for thirty years. He created training programs for ten to thirteen-year-olds which are still recognized worldwide.
Moravec died on 17 March 1997 in Vienna. He was buried in Hietzinger cemetery. Following his death, his mountaineering school was renamed the Fritz Moravec High Mountain School in his honour.
Works
* ''Weiße Berge: schwarze Menschen'', 1958 * ''Dhaulagiri: Berg ohne Gnade'', 1960 * ''Gefahren und Gefährten'', 1961Awards
* Karl Renner Prize, awarded on December 13, 1956See also
* List of Austrian mountain climbersReferences
External links
Hochgebirgsschule
1922 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Austrian people Austrian mountain climbers Austrian people of Czech descent People from Favoriten Sportspeople from Vienna {{climbing-bio-stub