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philo
Trad climber
Is that light the end of the tunnel or a train?
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 14, 2012 - 10:32am PT
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Maurice Herzog - who with Louis Lachanel became the first known humans to scale an 8,000-meter Himalayan peak with their infamous 1950 ascent of Annapurna - has passed away. He was 93
http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=67676
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Dec 14, 2012 - 10:37am PT
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I reread Annapurna last winter. Those men were bold and tough.
They paid the price by losing a lot of digits from frostbite.
That disaster was immortalized by Tom Patey.
One Man's Mountains: Essays and Verses
By Tom Patey
Annapurna
Tune Twenty Tiny Fingers
Twenty frozen fingers, twenty frozen toes.
Two blistered faces, frostbite on the noise.
One looks like Herzog, who dropped his gloves on top
And Lachenal tripped and fell, thought he’d never stop.
Bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop,bop.
“Take me down to Outdot” was all that he would say
“He’ll know what to do now”, said Lionel Terray
“Your blood is like black pudding” said Oudot, with his knife
“It is not too late to amputate, if I can save your life.
No tiny fingers, no tiny toes
The memory lingers but the digit goes
In an Eastern Railway carriage, where the River Ganges flows
There are twenty tiny fingers and twenty tiny toes.
Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Dec 14, 2012 - 10:44am PT
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I had no idea Herzog was still alive. What a mensch and what a long life.
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can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
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Dec 14, 2012 - 10:51am PT
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"Annapurna" was a riveting read when I was still in the thrall of "On Rock, Snow and Ice" by Gaston Rubberfat. It's one of the early books I read that got me hooked on climbing and it's history.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Dec 14, 2012 - 10:52am PT
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I read Herzog's "Annapurna" as a boy. I lived in the middle of the Canadian prairies, and knew absolutely nothing about mountains, or that climbing them was something people might do. The only reason the book was in our house was that my parents subscribed to a Readers' Digest condensed book club, and one volume happened to include "Annapurna"
Much of the story made no sense, but it was exciting, and full of danger. And all these many decades later I can still call up one of the pictures in my mind (a porter carrying one of the guys on his back in a makeshift backpack/chair thing).
What a crew that was, and how driven they must have been. Can you imagine what those guys could accomplish today if they were equally driven?
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Dec 14, 2012 - 11:02am PT
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Here's a photo I took on a 2008 Trek, of the north side of Annapurna, from a 13,400 Ft pass.
Annapurna is very well defended on the north-side by complex high terrain, and rugged ridges. The French Expedition took weeks, just to find a canyon that led up under the north face.
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Erik
Trad climber
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Dec 14, 2012 - 11:03am PT
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Man, I also had no idea he was still alive.... RIP.
His accomplishment helped raise the morale of a nation that was still reeling from the disaster of WWII. He, Rebuffat, Lachenal, and Terray were a truer measure of the French spirit than those who were responsible for 1940.
Pure class, pure courage. I raise a glass of genepi to you sir. Salut!
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10b4me
Boulder climber
Somewhere on 395
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Dec 14, 2012 - 11:05am PT
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"Annapurna" was a riveting read when I was still in the thrall of "On Rock, Snow and Ice" by Gaston Rubberfat. It's one of the early books I read that got me hooked on climbing and it's history.
Yeah, me too. I read that, and other mountaineering books, and I said I can do that
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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Dec 14, 2012 - 11:12am PT
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I had no idea he was still alive!
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Dec 14, 2012 - 11:16am PT
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Me neither. Tenacious bastard! Good on him hanging on like that! Godspeed 'n stuff!
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Dec 14, 2012 - 11:38am PT
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xkyczar, that is Herzog on top of L'Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Not too tremendously long ago, June 2005.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 14, 2012 - 11:45am PT
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Didn't Herzog become mayor of Chamonix?
RIP, a great pioneer.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
the crowd MUST BE MOCKED...Mocked I tell you.
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Dec 14, 2012 - 11:47am PT
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AP was one of the earlier books on climbing I read too. Makes me want to get it and re-read it.
Rest Well
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Rivet hanger
Trad climber
Barcelona
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Dec 14, 2012 - 12:23pm PT
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Yes, Herzog became the major of Cham from 1968 to 1977 I think.
And despite his fame, not everything was honorable in his biography.
In February 1971 he impeded the recue by helicopter of Serge Gosseault and René Desmaison 80 meter below the summit of Grandes Jorasses. Five days later the alarm was given, an helicopter from Grenoble flew to the summit and rescued Desmaison (was too late for Gosseault). The most ironic is that one hour and a half before, a helicopter from Chamonix had overflew the summit and said that wasn't possible to land up there because of the wind. Nevertheless, the pilot from Grenoble (named Alain Frébault), who never had flew Mont Blanc massif, did it in a few minutes...
Revenge for being a free lance mountain guide and pure envy of Desmaison seems to be Herzog's motivations. He wasn't re-elected, by the way.
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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Dec 14, 2012 - 12:33pm PT
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For everyone who has read Herzog's 'Annapurna,' David Roberts book "True Summit' helps to create the real picture of what happened on the 1950 French Annapurna expedition.
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LuckyPink
climber
the last bivy
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Dec 14, 2012 - 12:40pm PT
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a photo of the old man's hands. He was a bold man. RIP
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phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
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Dec 14, 2012 - 12:53pm PT
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I have never read this - just recently received it as a gift from Mighty Hiker. I'm looking forward to reading it.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Dec 14, 2012 - 01:00pm PT
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Tough as nails.
Balls the size of watermelons.
Hard men without all the modern conveniences.
Routes not known.
Heavy, primitive gear. ( This is HUGE )
No GPS, No Sat phone.
Setting the bar high.
Climbing off the edge of the known world.
You gave a lot brother.
Rest In Peace
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Dec 14, 2012 - 01:16pm PT
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I want to enthusiastically double up on bhilden's recommendation of _True Summit_. I found it interesting description of the forces and attitudes molding post WW-II Alpinism. I'm really pissed that I gave my copy away.
For everyone who has read Herzog's 'Annapurna,' David Roberts book "True Summit' helps to create the real picture of what happened on the 1950 French Annapurna expedition.
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