Gunther Langes

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Langes 1916

Gunther Langes (born March 6, 1899 in Fiera di Primiero ; † April 14, 1972 in Bozen ) was an Austrian-Italian mountaineer , writer and ski pioneer. Known as a climber primarily for his development activities in the Pala group , in particular for the first ascent of the Schleierkante on the Cima della Madonna , he gained importance as an author through his climbing guides and his descriptions of the mountain front of the First World War . Langes was also involved in the development of skiing in South Tyrol and the USA.

Life

Gunther Langes was born in 1899 as the son of the district veterinarian Josef Langes and the tourism pioneer Lina Mathà Langes. The family lived in Fiera di Primiero and San Martino di Castrozza at the foot of the Pala group, where they built and operated several hotels. Langes went to school in Kufstein , where he soon began mountaineering in the Kaiser Mountains and went on tours with Willo Welzenbach and Hans Dülfer . In 1912, at the age of only 13, he was able to carry out his first ascent with Carlo Zagonel on the north edge of the Cima della Rosetta . Another early first ascent was the north face of the Roda del Mulon in the Marmolada in 1914. At 17, Langes voluntarily joined the Kaiserjäger and fought during the Mountain War of 1915–1918 on the Ortler Front , as well as on the Marmolada, the Tofane and in the Sette Comuni . After the war, in which he was recognized for his bravery, he passed the school leaving examination . He studied in Munich, where he finally received his doctorate in law and German.

After completing his studies, Langes returned to San Martino and began to devote himself to the alpine development of the Pala group. In total, he was able to develop 50 new routes in the Dolomites with various partners (including Erwin Merlet , Carlo Zagonel, his sister Hilde) , 22 of them in the Pala group. Langes' tours gained notoriety for their particularly aesthetic lines and the style characterized by modern free climbing . Next to the Gran Pilastro at the Pala di San Martino (with Erwin Merlet, July 27, 1920), the veil edge at the Cima della Madonna (with Erwin Merlet, July 19, 1920), which is now one of the most beautiful and popular climbing routes applies to the entire Dolomites.

At the beginning of the 1930s Langes ended the phase of difficult alpine ventures and turned increasingly to journalism. Since completing his studies, he has worked in this area as an editor for Berliner Tageblatt , Münchner Neuesten Nachrichten and Simplicissimus . He also wrote his first hiking and ski guides and travel reports. In 1932 he published his autobiographical work The Front in Rock and Ice , which describes his experiences during the First World War. In addition, he dealt with the further development of winter tourism and skiing . For example, he is credited with inventing the alpine discipline of giant slalom ( Slalom Gigante ) during a race on the Marmolada in 1935. During the Second World War , Langes, editor-in-chief of the Bozner Tagblatt , was a collaborator with the Nazi regime . On April 20, 1944, the eve of Hitler's birthday, he swore in the Bozner Tagblatt the “loyalty to the Führer” and was involved in the Claretta special mission , which aimed at communication between the meanwhile separated Benito Mussolini and Clara Petacci . On the other hand, Langes is said to have helped an Italian mountain guide who was threatened by persecution by the National Socialists to flee to Switzerland.

After the war, Gunther Langes lived in Seis am Schlern , on Lake Garda and in Bozen . In 1950 he was involved in setting up the Aspen ski center . In 1957 he married Maria Vieider and subsequently worked mainly as a writer. In addition to climbing guides, he wrote hiking and travel guides as well as works on regional studies and translated books from Italian. In 1972 Gunther Langes died in Bolzano and was buried in the local war cemetery.

Works (selection)

  • Dolomites climbing guide Western Dolomites. The most beautiful mountain and climbing trips in the Dolomites . tape 1 . Rother, 1963.
  • Front in rock and ice. The world war in the Joch Mountains . F. Bruckmann, 1933.
  • Burggrafenamt and Meran - the heart of Tyrol. A foray through the Merano Etschtal basin, the Tisens low mountain range, through Passeier and Ulten . Athesia, 1976.
  • Ladinia . Heartland of the Dolomites: a foray through Val Gardena, Val Badia, Buchenstein, Fassa and Ampezzo. Athesia, 1985.
  • Überetsch and Bozner Unterland. Landscape and life in the lower Adige Valley. A journey from Sigmundskron to the Salurner Klause . Athesia, 1991.
  • Autorama . Bild car guide through South Tyrol, Dolomites, Ortler, Lake Garda. tape 1 . Wagner, 1970.
  • Rosengarten, Geisler and Langkofel groups . Rother, 1974.
  • Dolomites ski guide . Rother, 1938.
  • Lake Constance: German shore, Vorarlberg, northeastern Switzerland, Liechtenstein, with route maps, city maps, relief drawings . Wagner, 1965.
  • The great Dolomite Road, 1909–1959 . Manfrini, 1959.
  • Sella, Marmolada and Pala groups .
  • Dream road in the Alps . Rother, 1969.
  • Northeastern Dolomites . Rother, 1970.
  • Skirama . tape 2 . Wagner, 1966.
  • South Tyrol . Goldstadt, 1975, ISBN 978-3-87269-010-4 .
  • Goodbye Claretta . Cento Autori, 2012, ISBN 978-88-97121-37-4 .

literature

  • Bepi Pellegrinon (Ed.): Gunther Langes - Schleierkante . Nuovi Sentieri, Belluno 2000.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Josef Rampold : In memoriam Gunther Langes . In: Pellegrinon: Gunther Langes - Schleierkante , pp. 33–36
  2. ↑ a b c Josef Rampold: In memoriam Gunther Langes . In: Pellegrinon: Gunther Langes - Schleierkante , pp. 34–35
  3. ^ Bepi Pellegrinon: Gunther Langes - Schleierkante , p. 19
  4. ^ Bepi Pellegrinon: Gunther Langes - Schleierkante , p. 23
  5. ↑ Bozner Tagblatt of April 20, 1944, p. 1 , accessed on July 1, 2019
  6. ^ Bepi Pellegrinon: Gunther Langes - Schleierkante , pp. 23-25
personal data
SURNAME Long, Gunther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian-Italian alpinist, writer, journalist and ski pioneer
DATE OF BIRTH March 6, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Fiera di Primiero
DATE OF DEATH April 14, 1972
Place of death Bolzano