Georg Steiner (mountaineer)

Georg "Irg" Steiner (born February 25, 1888 in Ramsau am Dachstein , † October 20, 1972 in Gosau ) was an Austrian mountaineer. Among other things, he succeeded in the first ascent of the Dachstein south face in 1909.

His father was the well-known mountain guide Johann Steiner, who, among other things, managed the first ascent of the Bischofsmütze north face in 1879 . His brother Franz (1884–1965) was also a mountaineer who made about 15 first ascents.

Career

Georg Steiner was one of the most famous mountain guides in the Dachstein Mountains and completed around 35 first ascents there. The Austrian Federal Chancellor Josef Klaus was one of his customers . He was also active as a mountain rescuer and received the Green Cross of the Alpine Association for his missions , one of the highest awards for mountain rescuers in Austria.

His biggest success was the first ascent of over 800 m high Dachstein south face with his brother Franz on 22 September 1909 with Georg difficulties in lead climbing mastered. Under the circumstances at that time, this venture was considered to be almost impossible due to the inadequate equipment, the orientation options and climbing difficulties. Even at the present time (2015), the key point of the Steinerweg is still given the degree of difficulty “V” . While modern specialist literature indicates an average climbing time of eight hours, the Steiner brothers managed the route in just five hours. The tour, also known as the “Himmelsleiter der Steiner-Buam”, is one of the most famous and beautiful rock climbs in the entire Alpine region .

Georg Steiner already used a wall hook in the south face of the Dachstein to secure himself at the key point and a wooden stick about two meters long with which his brother pressed him against the wall at difficult climbing points. In addition, he was already using a wooden version of a later descender .

He also managed the first ascent of the Linz Tower (1802 m) in 1913, the Mützenmanndl (2411 m) in 1919 and the Zwieselturm (2006 m) in 1928.

Further first ascents (selection)

• Gabelkogel, northwestern edge
• Bischofsmütze , south wall funnel
• Donnerkogel , southeast face
• Freyaturm, north chimneys / east wall / north west wall
• Dachstein , Upper East Ridge
• Dachsteinwarte, south face
• High Dirndl , south gorge
• Koppenkarstein , southeast face
• Front Türlspitz, southeast wall
• Niederes Hochkesseleck, Upper Northwest Ridge
• High cross, southwest wall

Trivia

To mark the 100th anniversary of the first ascent of the Dachstein south face, the documentary Der Dachstein - Climbing history made of rock and ice , in which two mountain guides from Ramsau climbed the Steinerweg both in clothes from 1909 and with modern equipment, was published.

A via ferrata that was completed on Koppenkarstein in 2004 was named after Irg Steiner. In addition, a rock band running across the south face of the Dachstein bears the name Steinerband .

Web links

• Portrait: Franz and Irg Steiner , Der-Dachsteiner.com
• Steiner Georg (Ramsau) , AlpinWiki.at