Hans Memminger

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Hans Memminger (born March 22, 1936 in Munich ; † August 5, 2009 ) was a German author , filmmaker and expedition canoeist .

Life

Memminger grew up in Bad Tölz . His grandfather was a raftsman , so Memminger had a connection with water as a child. With his grandfather he discovered and observed the first canoeists , which aroused his interest in canoeing . He then learned to paddle in the canoe club .

He used a borrowed camera to film a paddle excursion and later showed the film in the clubhouse. His demonstrations were very popular, so that he was invited to other canoe clubs. As a result, Memminger bought his own film camera and filmed several canoeing activities, with which he earned a reputation in the scene at a young age.

After his studies of Fine Mechanics and Optics Memminger worked as camera design engineer operates. His fame as a canoe filmmaker brought him into contact with the mountaineer and expedition leader Günter Hauser . Hauser was also Consul of Nepal , and invited Memminger as a cameraman on a Nepal expedition. From then on, Memminger switched to expedition paddling and documentary films, and he presented the films on numerous lecture tours. He also worked as a commercial filmmaker and as a consultant for Big Pack .

Hans Memminger lived until his death on August 5, 2009 after a serious illness in Feldkirchen in Upper Bavaria , where he is also buried.

Works

Memminger's first professional documentary film The Devil's Gorge was made in 1976 on the expedition with Günter Hauser in Nepal. He filmed the first ascent of the world's deepest gorge, Kali Gandaki , by kayak. On the trip to Nepal, other rivers such as Trishuli , Marsyangdi and Seti were navigated and the journey was documented. This documentary film of the entire Nepal expedition, Kajak Himalaya , was awarded the Prize of Nations at the Mountain Film Festival in Trento . For tourism in Nepal, Memminger developed a raft together with the Metzeler company and trained Sherpas as raft guides.

As a result of the Nepal expedition, Memminger received an invitation to the Kingdom of Bhutan . The kingdom, which was largely closed at the time, wanted to open up to controlled tourism, and Memminger was supposed to explore the suitability of the rivers for canoe tourism. During his three-month work, Memminger received direct support from the royal family. The Memminger team are still the only people who have sailed the major rivers of Bhutan.

Memminger also has exclusive river trips in North America , e. B. the Noatak or the Turnback Canyon of the Alsek River in Alaska , or the Colorado in the Grand Canyon during the flood of the century . From 1989 Memminger drove around 3000 km from Greenland to Canada in an Arctic Ocean expedition . In three other Arctic expeditions he crossed the Northwest Passage to Gjoa Haven . This enabled him to travel the North-West Passage for the first time with muscle power, during which he discovered remains of the Franklin Expedition of 1847.

The Metzeler Raft for Nepal was not the only canoe development that Memminger was involved in. He worked closely with Toni Prijon on the preparations for the Arctic Ocean and Arctic expeditions . The result is an expedition version of the Prijon Yukon touring kayak , a touring and expedition kayak that is still popular today. The XR-Trekking inflatable canoe was also developed as a consultant for Big Pack .

literature

The most famous literary works of Memminger are his documentations of the Arctic Ocean voyages:

  • In storm and ice: by kayak through the dreaded Northwest Passage . 1st edition. Frederking and Thaler, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-89405-241-4 (National Geographic paperback).
  • The Arctic by kayak: From Greenland to Canada, 2400 km through the Arctic Ocean . Rosenheimer Verlag, Rosenheim 1990, ISBN 3-475-52669-7 (awarded the Journalist Prize of the Bavarian Canoe Association).

Movies

Some of Memminger's films are:

  • The Devil's Gorge
  • Kayak Himalaya
  • Colorado
  • Black Waters. Kayaking in Sweden; Prijon (2006)
  • Topofilm, winner of the 11th International Kayak Film Festival Rosenheim

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ knutjaeger.com
  2. ↑ kajak.at

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Memminger, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German author, filmmaker and expedition canoeist
DATE OF BIRTH March 22, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich
DATE OF DEATH August 5, 2009