Miroslav Šmíd (1952, Police nad Metují,

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

– 11 September 1993, Lost Arrow,

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

) was a Czech

rock climber Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in guidebooks, and ...

, solo climber, mountaineer, mountain cinematographer and photographer. He also organized climbing and cultural events. In 1981 he founded The International Festival of Mountaineering Films () in

Teplice nad Metují Teplice nad Metují (; ) is a town in Náchod District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,600 inhabitants. Administrative division Teplice nad Metují consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population accor ...

. He also wrote several books.

Life and climbing career

Šmíd started climbing in the Ostaš climbing area and continued in

Adršpach-Teplice Rocks The Adršpach-Teplice Rocks (, ) are a set of sandstone formations in Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. They are named after two nearby municipalities: Adršpach, and Teplice nad Metují. The site was apparently a regional desti ...

, where he climbed a number of famous first ascents. In the

High Tatras The High Tatras or High Tatra Mountains (; ; ,'' Vysoki Tatry''; ; ), are a mountain range along the border of northern Slovakia in the Prešov Region, and southern Poland in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. They are a range of the Tatra Mountains ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, he completed 230 ascents (80 of which were in winter and 25 first ascents, including a solo ascent of the Poslední dostih route on Veľká Javorová veža in 1976). In

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

he completed the first winter ascent of the Glover's Chimney route on

Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; , ) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom, and the British Isles. Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Highland region of Lochaber, close to the town of Fort William. The mount ...

in 1981. He also completed several solo climbs in

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. He tried to make his solo climbs a secret as they were not approved of by the Socialist Party officials who lead the country at that time. When the solo ascents were revealed, it was very difficult to settle the disagreement. Still, Šmíd received an honor for his sport activities despite the solo climbing controversy. Miroslav Šmíd climbed in various mountain areas and made a number of important ascents: the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

(first ascent in the north face of

Eiger The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends ...

in winter in 1978), the

Dolomites The Dolomites ( ), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Va ...

(north face of Cima Grande in 1975),

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

(

Trollryggen Trollryggen is a peak along the Trolltindene ridge along the Romsdalen valley. It is located in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The Rauma River, the European route E136 highway and the Rauma Line railway lie just to th ...

in winter 1976),

(solo winter ascent of Donguz Orun 1983),

Pamir Mountains The Pamir Mountains are a Mountain range, range of mountains between Central Asia and South Asia. They are located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun Mountains, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya ...

(solo ascent of Peak Korzhenevskaya in 1977 and first ascent in 1979), Fann Mountains,

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

(first ascent of Yerupajá Sur, solo climb, 1980)

Yosemite Yosemite National Park ( ) is a national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service ...

(solo ascent of Dihedral Wall on

El Capitan El Capitan (; ) is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granite monolith is about from base to summit alo ...

1978),

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

(

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.Cerro Torre Cerro Torre is one of the mountains of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in South America. It is located on the border dividing Argentina and Chile, west of Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén). At , the peak is the highest of a four mountai ...

, 1990) and

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

(

Mount McKinley Denali (), federally designated as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring . On p. 20 of Helma ...

1989, 1991 and 1993) He ascended

Mount Kenya Mount Kenya (Meru people, Meru: ''Kĩrĩmaara,'' Kikuyu people, Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba language, Kamba: ''Ki nyaa'', Embu language, Embu: ''Kĩ nyaga'') is an extinct volcano in Kenya and the Highest mountain peaks of Africa, second-highe ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

in 1986. He also participated in expeditions to the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

(

Lhotse Shar Lhotse Shar is a subsidiary mountain of Lhotse, at high. It was first climbed by Sepp Mayerl and Rolf Walter on 12 May 1970. Climbing routes and dangers Lhotse Shar forms the eastern highpoint of Lhotse’s central ridge, far from the main summi ...

Dhaulagiri Dhaulagiri, located in Nepal, is the seventh highest mountain in the world at above sea level, and the highest mountain within the borders of a single country. It was first climbed on 13 May 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian-Nepali expedition. Annapur ...

1984,

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

1987) He also undertook demanding solo ascents (e.g.

Ama Dablam Ama Dablam is a mountain in the Eastern Himalayas range of Koshi Province, Nepal. The main peak is , the lower western peak is . Ama Dablam means "mother's necklace"; the long ridges on each side like the arms of a mother (''ama'') protecting he ...

in 1986). Šmíd was allured by everything adventurous, and he also became a pioneer of mountain

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or in a cocoon-like 'pod' suspended be ...

. His well-known descent from Bzeduch Mountain in the

mountain range resulted in a broken pelvis after landing on a

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

. Šmíd died on 11 September 1993 while solo climbing on the Lost Arrow in

. Apparently he fell just below the top while climbing unbelayed. All his equipment was found on the last ledge below the top. The body was found at the bottom of the gorge between the massifs and the spire by one of his friends. On the basis of a denture, the body was identified as Šmíd’s.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smid, Miroslav 1952 births 1993 deaths Czech mountain climbers Czechoslovak mountain climbers People from Náchod District Mountaineering deaths Sports deaths in California Deaths in Yosemite National Park