Maurice André Raymond Herzog (; 15 January 191913 December 2012) was a French mountaineer and administrator who was born in Lyon, France. He led the 1950 French Annapurna expedition that first climbed a peak over 8000m, Annapurna, in 1950, and reached the summit with Louis Lachenal. Upon his return, he wrote a best-selling book about the expedition, '' Annapurna''.

Ascent of Annapurna I: a historic exploit

On 3 June 1950, Herzog and Louis Lachenal became the first climbers in modern history to climb a peak over 8000m when, on the 1950 French Annapurna expedition, they summited the Himalayan mountain Annapurna I, the 10th-highest mountain in the world. The ascent was all the more remarkable because the peak was explored, reconnoitered and climbed all within one season; and was climbed without the use of supplemental oxygen. It is also the only 8000 meter summit that was reached at the first attempt. Herzog was awarded the 1950

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

of the Société de Géographie. The event caused a huge sensation that was only matched when Everest was summited in 1953 by

Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineering, mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa people, Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the Timeline of M ...

and Tenzing Norgay. The two-week retreat from the peak proved very challenging. Both climbers had opted for light boots for the summit dash. This, combined with Herzog losing his gloves near the summit and a night spent bivouacked in a crevasse on the descent with one sleeping bag for four climbers (Lachenal,

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 ...

, Lionel Terray, and Herzog) resulted in severe

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when someone is exposed to extremely low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occ ...

, with consequent

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

requiring the expedition doctor to perform emergency

amputation Amputation is the removal of a Limb (anatomy), limb or other body part by Physical trauma, trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as cancer, malign ...

s in the field. Both summit climbers lost all of their toes and Herzog most of his fingers. Annapurna I was not climbed again until 1970, when the French north face route was climbed by a British Army expedition led by Colonel Henry Day, simultaneously with an ascent of the south face by an expedition led by British climber Chris Bonington. The mountain's fourth ascent was not until 1977.

Book

Herzog's account of the expedition was published first in 1951 in French, then in English in 1952 under the title '' Annapurna''. The book has sold over 11 million copies as of 2000, more than any other mountaineering title. Ending with the stirring line "there are other Annapurnas in the lives of men" (in the context of the book, an exhortation to answer the challenges that life offers), the book gave an account of the expedition that established Herzog's climbing reputation and inspired a generation of mountaineers.

Controversy over his account of the ascent

Some aspects of Herzog's account of the summit day have been called into question with the publication of other members’ accounts of the expedition, most significantly by a biography of

and the posthumous publication, in 1996, of Lachenal's contemporaneous journals. The 2000 book ''True Summit: What Really Happened on the Legendary Ascent of Annapurna'' by David Roberts gives one view of the controversy.

Other achievements

Herzog went on to become the French Minister of Youth and Sport from 1958 to 1963, and mayor of the alpine town of

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

. He was a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

for 25 years from 1970, and has an honorary member after 1995. He was a Grand Officer of the Legion d'Honneur and holder of the Croix de Guerre for military service 1939–45. Herzog was a 1944 graduate of the French business school

HEC Paris HEC Paris () is a business school and ''grande école'' located in Jouy-en-Josas, a southwestern outer suburb of Paris, France. It offers Bachelor, MiM, MSc in International Finance, MBA, EMBA, executive education, professional developm ...

Publications

* (first American printing) * (current American edition)

Related books

* (current English edition - original French edition 1961) * *

References

External links

* Obituary: David Roberts
Pioneering French Climber and Author Maurice Herzog Dies
* https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1951_files/AJ58%201951%20155-168%20Herzog%20Annapurna.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Herzog, Maurice 1919 births 2012 deaths Sportspeople from Lyon Union for the New Republic politicians Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians Government ministers of France Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 4th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 5th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Members of Parliament for Rhône Members of Parliament for Haute-Savoie Mayors of places in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes French mountain climbers French International Olympic Committee members HEC Paris alumni French Resistance members French military personnel of World War II Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany