Johann Niederwieser

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Portrait photo, published in the 1962 Alpine Club Yearbook

Johann Niederwieser , called Stabeler (born August 8, 1853 in Campo Tures , † September 22, 1902 at Schaflahnernock ), was a South Tyrolean mountain guide of the classical era. He carried out numerous first ascents, especially in the Dolomites . He also led numerous famous mountaineers and personalities of his time, such as Karl Diener , Theodor Wundt and Ludwig Darmstaedter .

Life

Johann Niederwieser, who became a half-orphan at an early age, came to a farmer as a shepherd after a short school visit and thus became familiar with life in the mountains. Later he was a bricklayer by trade, he also earned his living as a lumberjack and went poaching .

His mountain guide career began in 1876 with a tour to the Großer Löffler , an important peak on the Zillertal main ridge near his home town. He passed the practical part of the mountain guide examination in 1877 without any problems. Since he was illiterate, however, he only passed the theory test thanks to the support in preparation by Josef Daimer , the doctor in his home town.

As an official mountain guide, Niederwieser has now carried out some first ascents in the Zillertal main ridge and the neighboring Rieserferner group . Niederwieser demonstrated his capabilities with extremely long tours, for example he climbed Turnerkamp and Großer Möseler in one day. His reputation as a mountain guide was in jeopardy in July 1880 when a guest, the Cologne lawyer Otto Welter , had a fatal accident while descending from the Großer Möseler in a crevasse on the Neveser Ferner mountain . His reputation was later restored when Emil Zsigmondy in particular stood up for him and made it clear that Niederwieser had done what was humanly possible to save the victim.

In 1881 he met the Viennese geologist and paleontologist Carl Diener , whom he accompanied on many tours in Tyrol . In the following years he led the Viennese doctor Hans Helversen , with whom he carried out the first ascent of three Vajolet towers in 1892 , and the German chemist Ludwig Darmstaedter , with whom he achieved numerous other first ascent in the Dolomites .

In addition to the Dolomites and the mountains of his homeland, Niederwieser was also out and about in the western Alps, including Mont Blanc , Dent du Géant , Grandes Jorasses and Matterhorn . In 1899 he traveled with Ludwig Darmstaedter to the High Tatras , where they opened a new route to the Gerlsdorfer Spitze , the highest mountain in these mountains.

On September 22, 1902, Niederwieser fell fatally on a rock tower on the ridge of the Schaflahnernock . During the descent, a stone broke out that Niederwieser was holding onto. Since the rope broke on a rock edge, the guest with whom he undertook this exercise tour on the evening before a planned ascent of the Großer Löffler near the Chemnitz hut was only slightly injured by the rope cutting into his hands.

Johann Niederwieser left behind his wife Marie Niederwieser (née Ausserhofer), whom he married in 1880, and five children. His brother Georg, who was also a mountain guide and was also called Stabeler II, led, in contrast to Johann, only in the mountains close to home.

In honor of Johann Niederwieser, one of the Vajolet towers he climbed for the first time is called the “Stabelerturm”. Since 1978 the high path leading from the Chemnitz to the Schwarzensteinhütte has been called the Stabeler-Weg .

Alpinistic achievements

In the Dolomites, 25 first ascents or first ascents can be attributed to Johann Niederwieser.

These include the following first ascents:

In addition, the first ascents of various routes in the Dolomites can be attributed to him, including above all a rockfall-safe route to the Cimon della Pala over the south shoulder, which is today's normal route.

He is also considered the first to climb many mountains in his homeland, including Morgenkofel , Achternock , Merbspitze or Löfflergrat . At that time, one of the largest undertakings in the Eastern Alps was climbing the south face of the Hochgall , which Johann Niederwieser carried out in 1890 with his brother Georg and Carl Luber.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Peter Grimm: "Niederwieser, Johann." In: New German Biography 19 . 1999, p. 226 ( online )
  2. ^ Emil Zsigmondy, Wilhelm Paulcke: The dangers in the Eastern Alps. 1922, p. 207f ( online )
  3. ↑ a b AlpinWiki: Niederwieser Johann (leader - vulgo Stabeler). Retrieved September 14, 2018
  4. ^ Alpine Association South Tyrol: A mountain guide's life: Johann Niederwieser - Stabeler 1853–1902. Retrieved September 14, 2018
  5. ↑ AlpinWiki: Darmstaedter Ludwig Dr. Retrieved September 14, 2018
  6. ↑ a b Tauferer Bötl. Bulletin of the market town of Sand in Taufers , June 2013, page 50 ( online ).
  7. ^ A b Austrian Biographical Lexicon: Niederwieser, Johann; called Stabeler (1853-1902), mountain guide . Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  8. ^ Hubert Peterka: First ascent of the Hochgall . In: Österreichischer Alpenklub (Ed.): Österreichische Alpenzeitung . Volume 87, series 1363. Vienna January 1969, p. 17 ( alpinwiki.at [PDF]).

literature

Web links
personal data
SURNAME Niederwieser, Johann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stabeler, Hans; Stabeler; Stabeler I
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South Tyrolean mountain guide
DATE OF BIRTH August 8, 1853
PLACE OF BIRTH Sand in Taufers
DATE OF DEATH September 22, 1902
Place of death Schaflahnernock above Lappach