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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 22, 2011 - 10:52am PT
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It was 75 years ago today that the debacle came to a close.
Hinterstoisser was already dead only days after engineering the traverse that his name would forever invoke in climbing history. Austrians Angerer and Rainer had died as well.
Only Toni Kurz remained alive and, agonizingly slowly, he attempted to rope down to the railway window where would be rescuers had gathered.
A knot jammed on the rock and, with the rescuers able to touch his crampon tips with their axes, Kurz could go no farther.
Reportedly he looked at them and muttered that 'it was finished' (I believe that would be, "Es ist vorbei."), and swung outward.
Later that year the bodies (including those of Sedlemayer and Mehringer whose demise the year before had caused the naming of Death Bivouac) were recovered by guides.
Kurz had to be cut loose by means of a knife on a stick.
Just a little historical perspective. You may now return to politics and religion.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jul 22, 2011 - 10:59am PT
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See the movie...
North Face
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murcy
Gym climber
sanfrancisco
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Jul 22, 2011 - 11:04am PT
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I dunno, I thought Mordwand was a power-up in the Lord of the Rings video game...
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Caveman
climber
Cumberland Plateau
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Jul 22, 2011 - 11:11am PT
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"Ich kann nicht mehr"
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Jul 22, 2011 - 11:17am PT
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Climbing threads should have climbing photos!!
Thanks Ron.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jul 22, 2011 - 11:19am PT
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Whillan's comment to the Japanese he met who were going up while he and _?_
were retreating was the best:
"Aye, you might be going a lot 'igher than you think."
Which, in fact, was the case.
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squishy
Mountain climber
sacramento
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Jul 22, 2011 - 11:31am PT
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I am headed over to climb it in a week, wish me luck!!
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 22, 2011 - 11:35am PT
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Take a helmet or you will be well named, squishy.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Jul 22, 2011 - 11:43am PT
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Squishy, for realz???
Remember, that buzzing sound doesn't mean look up.
Practice hiding under yer helmet.
You better put up a helluva TR!!
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Scott Thelen
Trad climber
Truckee, Ca
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Jul 22, 2011 - 11:56am PT
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local1
climber
CH
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Jul 22, 2011 - 12:14pm PT
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"I am headed over to climb it in a week, wish me luck!!"
uuh, lots of fresh snow right now above 3000m... hope u have enough time to wait a few days! Good luck!
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Jul 22, 2011 - 12:23pm PT
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Can't wait to see Metanoia from Jello. . .
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cintune
climber
Midvale School for the Gifted
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Jul 22, 2011 - 12:32pm PT
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"I can not."
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Jul 22, 2011 - 12:37pm PT
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Wasn't it a knot in the rope that jammed in Kurz' rappel carabiner that prevented him from going down far enough to be rescued?
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rick d
climber
ol pueblo, az
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Jul 22, 2011 - 12:39pm PT
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kurz also said before he went up:
Die Wand ist unserer oder wir bleiben an ihr (I have the correct Deutsch somewhere)
The wall is ours or we stay (die) on it....
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Jul 22, 2011 - 01:09pm PT
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Wasn't it a knot in the rope that jammed in Kurz' rappel carabiner that prevented him from going down far enough to be rescued?
Seem to recall that. Hadn't he unravelled a rope they sent up and tied the pieces together?. Also had heard that after he passed on, they cut him down with a knife on a 10 foot long stick. Something they apparently didn't think of while he was "hanging in there". Yikes.
The movie is great, despite not having the famous quote, or, that there's a photo of him hanging with icicles on his crampons and the movie had them leaving their spikes.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 22, 2011 - 02:28pm PT
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Must've been a gym noob.
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cintune
climber
Midvale School for the Gifted
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Jul 22, 2011 - 03:07pm PT
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Exhausted, hypothermic, one hand frostbitten, delirious with shock and grief, um, yeah, typical noob situation.
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local1
Mountain climber
CH
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Jul 22, 2011 - 03:32pm PT
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There is even more to that story: He had to knot two ropes together because the long (enough) rope fell down the wall when the grindelwald guides tried to approach him. With his frozen hand he was able to knot the short two ropes together but not to pass the knot
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Jul 22, 2011 - 03:38pm PT
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Thanks for the clarifications, guys.
What time of year did the Kurz tragedy occur? Was it "summer"? Are conditions there still so hostile at that time of year these days?
Man, you look at photos of the mountain now, and it bears no resemblance to the photos in Herrer's book. First and Second Icefields gone, and no White Spider.
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