Franz Heigermoser

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Franz Heigermoser (born June 18, 1956 in Anning , today a district of Traunreut ; † after May 5, 1981 unknown in Egypt between Luxor and Cairo ) was a German mountaineer and adventurer from the parish village of Sankt Georgen im Chiemgau (Bavaria).

Navigating the Nile

On August 25, 1980, Franz Heigermoser started to be the first to kayak the entire Nile from one of the two source rivers in Rwanda to the mouth of the Mediterranean near Alexandria . After almost 6000 kilometers and nine months of driving, he was murdered between Luxor and Cairo. As far as we know, his body was found but not clearly identified and buried in a mass grave near Cairo.

Destination of Franz Heigermoser's one-man expedition

“First, full ride on the longest freshwater stretch on earth. The spring furthest from the sea on the watershed between the Atlantic and Mediterranean in Rwanda is located southeast of Lake Kivu at 2700 m above sea level. Following a mountain stream, the Mwogo River can be reached. Via this in the Nyabarongo , which will eventually become the Kagera , I want to reach Lake Victoria on its 850 km long run . On this lake, which is larger than Switzerland, after another 400 km I can get to the source of the Nile (6671 kilometers total length). Over the Victorianil, Albertnil, Bergnile to the White Nile and finally over the 'historical Nile' to the Mediterranean, my journey should continue to the Egyptian Mediterranean port of Alexandria. A whitewater kayak suitable for this purpose serves me as a means of transportation. "

Diary and photos

As soon as a secure possibility arose, Franz Heigermoser sent exposed slide films and written diary pages home. The last entry in the diary is from April 10, 1981 from Akasha in Sudan .

Route and time course

On August 25, 1980, Heigermoser started at Rukarara (Nyabarongo) near Kigori. In the previous days he climbed the Karisimbi volcano (4507 m), the highest mountain in Rwanda, which forms the watershed between the Congo rivers in the west and the Nile in the east.

His journey tragically ended around mid to late May 1981 on the Nile between Luxor and Cairo.

Last postcard from Luxor

On May 5, 1981, Franz Heigermoser posted one last postcard in Luxor, which arrived at home ten days later.

“Dear parents, the 22nd parallel is a sharp line between the best people in the world and the greatest rabble. Egypt is teeming with beggars and thieves. Unfortunately, I had to shorten my sightseeing plans because there are not police everywhere I want to leave the river. 700 km to Cairo, 1050 to Alexandria. I'm still counting on April 15-20. June in Venice. Until then, greet you Franzl! "

Death and unexplained fate

On May 20, 1981, a corpse was washed up on an island in the Nile south of Cairo and was buried in a mass grave without identification. It was only after Franz Heigermoser's traveler's checks turned up and submitted to a bank in Cairo with a forged signature that it was assumed that he had fallen victim to a crime. In an article in the Cairo newspaper "Al Ahram" on September 29, 1981, the assumption first appeared that a person who was allegedly drowned at the end of May could be Franz Heigermoser. According to the description, it was a "man of European origin, not circumcised, red gym shorts and shirt with a German label". Interpol investigated and the Bavarian Prime Minister Franz Josef Strauss asked the Egyptian President Anwar as-Sadat in a letter for help in clarifying the fate of Franz Heigermoser. A dental impression sent to Egypt was supposed to confirm the identity of the body found. Allegedly, according to statements by the Egyptian authorities, after comparing the dentition and the dental impression, the drowned man was not Franz Heigermoser. However, months later, a representative from the German embassy stated that the embassy had not yet been officially informed of the result of the alleged dental examination. It is considered very unlikely that the body was exhumed at all. The investigation was made more difficult by the assassination of President Sadat in early October 1981 and the unrest in the country that went with it.

Neither the kayak nor any equipment was ever found.

Unique achievement to this day

The continuous navigation of the Nile over this length (approx. 6000 km), including one of the source rivers, Lake Victoria, Sudd and Lake Nasser, has only been achieved by Franz Heigermoser to this day. The entire expedition was carried out by him without creating depots and without the support of sponsors. The Sudd is about 800 km in length (depending on seasonal rainfall) and a gradient between Juba and Malakal of only 69 m, making it one of the largest floodplains on earth. Orientation in the ramified river system is extremely difficult. Even today there are no roads or bridges along the Nile between Juba and Malakal. Franz Heigermoser is also the only one who has so far managed to navigate the Sudd in a kayak.

Mountain tours outside of Europe (excerpt)

South America

1978 Peru (Cordillera Blanca)

He was the first to climb five six-thousanders single-handedly and received a certificate from the ministry.

Following his mountain tours in the Andes , Heigermoser sailed the Río Ucayali , one of the two source rivers of the Amazon , over a distance of 1300 km to Iquitos with a dugout canoe.

Africa

1979 Morocco

1980 Kenya

1980 Congo / Uganda

Asia

1979 Iran

Others

Franz Heigermoser was youth leader of the Trostberg Alpine Club section , member of the DAV safety group and student of precision engineering at the Munich University of Applied Sciences.

He financed travel and equipment exclusively with his own resources. In his home community and the surrounding area, he had already gained a good reputation as an entertaining speaker and humorous storyteller with his slide presentations about his travels and was thus able to improve his travel budget. On all of his tours he got by on very little money. In order to be able to meet overly intrusive demands for money, he always took several million marks with him on trips outside Europe in 1923, which he distributed when necessary.

In almost all photos that show Franz Heigermoser - assuming the appropriate weather - he wears the official T-shirt of the German Alpine Club . When navigating the Nile, he almost exclusively wore red gym shorts.

Just a few days after the start, Heigermoser broke his wooden paddle on the Kagera (tributary of Lake Victoria). He was subsequently able to make makeshift repairs several times. Since he did not have a spare paddle with him, he carved a shaft out of a piece of wood at the next opportunity. He made the paddle blades from old car rims. With it he paddled the section on the Albert Nile and more than 800 km through the Sudd . It was not until mid-February 1981 that he received a new paddle, which Arnold Hasenkopf sent him to the German embassy in Khartoum with a special permit via the courier route of the Foreign Office . The Foreign Office charged transport costs of DM 42.50 for this.

Movie

In 2019, Bernhard Aicher shot the documentary film Death on the Nile - Franz Heigermoser's last trip over the mountaineer and adventurer Franz Heigermoser from Bavaria. The film was shown for the first time on October 16, 2019 at the 17th Tegernsee Mountain Film Festival and on October 25 and 26, 2019 at the 3rd Trostberger Film Festival. The individual sections of the film and the trip to the Nile are commented on by Rüdiger Nehberg , who a few years earlier sailed the upper reaches of the Blue Nile with Michael Teichmann .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bergfilm Tegernsee , accessed on September 19, 2019
  2. ↑ Program , Trostberger Filmtage, accessed on September 19, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Heigermoser, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German extreme athlete
DATE OF BIRTH June 18, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Traunreut
DATE OF DEATH after May 5, 1981
Place of death Egypt