Hermann Hess Helfenstein (3 February 1916–14 October 2008) was a Swiss naturalist, explorer, climber and engineer. He was member of the "Schweizer Alpen Club" (SAC in Switzerland) and "Deutscher Anden Verein" (DAV in Chile). He was notable for first ascents and exploration in

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 ...

Career as naturalist, explorer and climber

He was born in

Engelberg Engelberg (lit.: ''mountain of angel(s)'') is a village resort and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Alongside the central village of Engelberg, the municipality enc ...

, a mountain village in Switzerland, where his`parents ran a hotel. He began climbing with his father who was also a mountain guide. In 1937, he emigrated to South America and in the South Andes Mountain Range he first climbed the Volcano Puntiagudo with his partner R. Roth through the South Face. Hermann Hess led three expeditions to

Northern Patagonian Ice Field The Northern Patagonian Ice Field, located in southern Chile, is the smaller of two remnant parts in which the Patagonian Ice Sheet in the Andes Mountains of southern South America can be divided. It is completely contained within the boundaries ...

. Two of them were for geological purposes, started from the east and was sponsored by the Swiss Geologist A. Heim. The expedition from 15 December 1939 to 16 January 1940 was integrated by H. Hess, A. Heim, W. Schmitt, H. Moser and H. Neumayer. and the expedition from 18 November to 31 December 1945 was integrated by H.Hess, A. Heim, H. Smoll, A. Valmitjana and J. Studer. There he gave unknown and nameless summits a denomination, such as Cerro Cristal and Cerro Tronco climbing them for the first time. Hermann Hess Kajak 1940

Hermann Hess led and sponsored a 5-month expedition to the Northern Patagonian Ice Field from 1 November 1941 to 1 March 1942, starting this time from the west with E. Hoffmann, J. Alig, G. Mani and the porter I. Vargas finding severe climatical and geographical difficulties. In that decade he made also the successful first climb with R. Eggmann and J. Neumeyer to isolated Cerro Maca in 1944.Della, Carlos. ''Volcanes Australes''. Argentina: Tecpetrol, 2010. http://www.tecpetrol.com/patagonicos/cuaderno15/cuaderno15.html .Retrieved 2020-04-06. Hermann Hess Monte Tronador 3491 m

Return to Switzerland

In 1950 he married Frida Schwabe in Puerto Varas. They had two children, German and Roland and in 1960 he returned to Switzerland. There he climbed the

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

Weisshorn The Weisshorn (German language, German, lit. ''white peak/mountain'') is a major mountain, peak of Switzerland and the Alps, culminating at above sea level. It is part of the Pennine Alps and is located between the valleys of Anniviers and Mat ...

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

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 ...

and

Piz Palü Piz Palü is a mountain in the Bernina Range of the Alps, located between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large glaciated massif composed of three main summits, on a ridge running from west to east. The main (and central) summit is 3,899 metres ...

. He returned to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, Capital of Chile, in 1963 and undertook the higher summits of the North Andes Mountain Range with members of DAV W. Foerster, F. Oestemer, H. Janko and other climbers until his death in 2008. Climber Hermann Hess 1990

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helfenstein, Hermann Hess 1916 births 2008 deaths People from Obwalden Swiss naturalists Swiss explorers Swiss mountain climbers 20th-century naturalists Swiss emigrants to Chile