Fritz Villiger

Fritz Villiger (born January 7, 1926 ; † November 27, 2008 ) was a Swiss mountaineer and mountain guide , a pioneer of extreme climbing in Switzerland. The Villiger pillar on Salbitschijen is named after him .

Life

Fritz Villiger grew up as a contracting boy for mountain farmers on the Krienseregg near Lucerne ; he did not know his parents. His youth was marked by hardship and privation. A guardian enabled him to do an apprenticeship as a cabinet maker . As an adolescent he climbed barefoot in the rocks on the Pilatus , making friends with members of the Pilatus section of the Swiss Alpine Club . He soon proved to be a master in rock. In 1957 he obtained his diploma as a mountain guide and ski instructor. Often together with the top alpinist Kurt Grüter from Lucerne , he reached most of the great north faces of the Bernese and Valais Alps.

The first ascent of the Zwillingsturm east pillar on Salbitschijen , together with Kurt Grüter, on August 16, 1959, is legendary. For a long time, the 450 meter high granite route, which they only mastered with normal hooks and around 30 wooden wedges in one day, was considered one of the most difficult in Switzerland . It was not repeated until five years later. Today the route is called Villigerpfeiler .

Villiger also managed difficult first ascents in winter, u. a. on December 6th, 1953 the northeast face of the Kingspitze in the Engelhorns ., or daring solo climbs, etc. a. the south-east walls of tower 2 and tower 3 on the west ridge of the Salbitschijen. He was a member of the Alpina BGA mountaineering group .

In 1955 Villiger took part in a vegetarian expedition to Dhaulagiri .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Max Matter: Obituary in BGA-internal, information from the Alpina mountaineering group 2009
2. ^ Max Oechslin: New mountain trips in the Swiss Alps 1953–1955. SAC yearbook 1956
3. ↑ GO Dyrenfurth: Himalayan Chronicle 1955. SAC Yearbook 1956