Hermann Buhl (21 September 1924 – 27 June 1957) was an Austrian mountaineer. His accomplishments include the first ascents of Nanga Parbat in 1953 and

Broad Peak Broad Peak (; ) is one of the eight-thousanders, and is located in the Karakoram range spanning Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan and Xinjiang, China. It is the 12th highest mountain in the world with elevation above sea level. The first ascent of t ...

in 1957. Buhl is the father of Austrian-German writer, publisher, and

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

journalist, Kriemhild "Krimi" Buhl.

Early life

Buhl was born in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal 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 Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, the youngest of four children. After the death of his mother, he spent years in an orphanage. Before , Hermann Buhl was a Cub Scout in Innsbruck. During the 1930s, as a teenager, he began to climb the Austrian

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. ...

. In 1939, he joined the

chapter of the Deutscher Alpenverein (the German Alpine association) and soon mastered climbs up to category 6. He was a member of the Mountain rescue team in Innsbruck (''Bergrettung Innsbruck'').

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

interrupted his commercial studies, and he joined the Alpine troops, as a mountain infantryman, in 1943. Buhl participated in the

Monte Cassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic Church, Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Valle Latina, Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient ...

, in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. 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 or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

by American 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.

Personal and family life

Hermann Buhl married Eugenie Högerle in March of 1951, and together they had three daughters. One of their daughters, Kriemhild Buhl, has shared personal insights about the Buhl family. In 1957, Hermann Buhl was photographed sharing a moment with his wife and daughter, bidding farewell before embarking on another expedition. Less is known about Buhl's other daughters. In her book "Papa Lalalaya", Kriemhild Buhl offers a personal account of her father's duality as an extreme mountaineer and a devoted family man. She recounts how, despite the inherent risks of his climbing pursuits, Buhl remained deeply connected to his family, often being around his young daughters and valuing the moments spent with them. Buhl's commitment to his family was evident even in his professional life. To support them financially, he worked as a

salesman Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

and advisor for mountaineering equipment at Sporthaus Schuster, a sportswear store in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Himalayas

Nanga Parbat

Before his successful 1953 Nanga Parbat 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 eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains recognized by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) as being more than in height above sea level, and sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no precise defin ...

solo, this was on his first ever visit to the Greater Ranges. 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, described by Bonington as "''a magnificent achievement''".

Broad Peak

Fritz Wintersteller and Kurt Diemberger reached the forepeak (8030 m) on May 29 1957, during the course of the Austrian expedition led by Marcus Schmuck. However, it was a few days later, between June 8 and 9, that Wintersteller, Schmuck, Diemberger, and Buhl reached the true summit of

(8051m), and achieved the first successful ascent of the mountain. Buhl was approaching the summit in the twilight, at around 6:30pm. The ascent was accomplished without the aid of supplemental oxygen, high-altitude porters or base camp support.

Chogolisa

Just a few weeks after the successful

first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...

of Broad Peak, Buhl and Diemberger made an attempt on nearby, unclimbed Chogolisa (7665 m) in

Alpine style Alpine climbing () is a type of mountaineering that uses any of a broad range of advanced climbing skills, including rock climbing, ice climbing, and/or mixed climbing, to summit typically large climbing route, routes (e.g. multi-pitch climbing, ...

. 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 (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

on the 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 Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

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

Legacy

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 Kurt Diemberger, Marcus Schmuck, Heinrich Harrer,

Walter Bonatti Walter Bonatti (; 22 June 1930 – 13 September 2011) was an Italian people, Italian mountaineer, alpinist, explorer and journalist. He was noted for many climbing achievements, including a Solo climbing, solo climb of a new alpine climbing route ...

and

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

. 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 climber, explorer, and author from the German-speaking province of South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent o ...

, Peter Habeler and Hansjörg Auer. His expedition to Nanga Parbat was dramatized by

Donald Shebib Donald Everett Shebib (27 January 1938 – 5 November 2023) was a Canadian film and television director. Shebib was a central figure in the development of English Canadian cinema who made several short documentaries for the National Film Board ...

in the 1986 film '' The Climb'', based in part on Buhl's own writings about the expedition and starring Bruce Greenwood as Buhl.Rick Groen, "Canadian director stumbles and can't make The Climb". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', October 16, 1987.

Publications

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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 Summiters of Broad Peak