Karl Unterkircher

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Karl Unterkircher 2007

Karl Unterkircher (born August 27, 1970 in Selva di Val Gardena ; † July 15, 2008 at Nanga Parbat ) was an Italian extreme mountaineer , ice climber and extreme skier from South Tyrol .

Life

As a boy, Unterkircher's hobbies were playing soccer and skiing. After high school , he became a car mechanic . At the age of 15 he began his first attempts at climbing. During his military service he became a climbing instructor for the mountain paratroopers. After years of mountain climbing, he passed the mountain guide examination in 1997 .

In 2004 he celebrated his greatest success: the ascent of Mount Everest and K2 in just two months, each without the aid of additional oxygen. For this achievement, he was also included in the Guinness Book of Records in 2008 .

Together with Hans Kammerlander , on May 22, 2007, he managed to climb the technically very difficult south face of Jasemba (7350 m, Himalaya). On July 20, 2007, Unterkircher reached the summit of Gasherbrum II together with Daniele Bernasconi and Michele Compagnoni , after they had completely climbed its north face for the first time.

In July 2008, Karl Unterkircher had a fatal accident during an expedition to Nanga Parbat . While climbing over the Rakhiot ice wall , while crossing a snowfield, he fell into a crevasse about 15 meters deep. Due to the extreme conditions, he could not be rescued by his comrades Simon Kehrer and Walter Nones . But Simon Kehrer managed to dig up the body from the snow masses on the descent into the crevasse.

He left his life partner and three children in Selva / Val Gardena (Dolomites-South Tyrol).

Honors

  • Honorary Citizen of Selva, 2004 (Val Gardena)
  • Cavaliere ufficiale dell'Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana 2006 (Order of Merit of the Italian Republic)
  • Guinness Record, 2008 (for climbing Everest and K2 in just 63 days)
  • 1st prize Riccardo Cassin, 2007
  • “Cator d'or” - special award for alpine achievements by the climbing guild Catores
  • 1st Prize Paolo Consiglio, May 2008, received by the Academic Alpine Association Italy ( Club Alpino Accademico Italiano - CAAI ) for the successful ascent of the Gasherbrum II in alpine style

Karl Unterkircher Award

The idea of ​​founding a working group for the presentation of the "Karl Unterkircher Award" was born out of a common desire to continue to cultivate and honor the name Karl Unterkircher in the alpine area. The people in the working group knew him personally during his lifetime. The price is aimed at alpinists who have achieved a special and challenging performance in mountaineering or on expeditions in alpine style. The award, assessed by an international jury, is presented in the form of a prize and money and is a recognition award. The location of the award ceremony is Selva. In 2010 the mountaineer Ueli Steck received the award. The recipients of the prize, which is now awarded every two years, in 2012 were the women's trio Kopteva (Ukraine) for climbing the Great Trango Tower in Pakistan. In 2014 it was Simon Anthamatten (CH) and the brothers Matthias and Hansjörg Auer who received the 3rd Karl Unterkircher Prize for climbing Kunyang Chhish in Pakistan. The 4th edition took place on July 27, 2016, the winners were Jon Griffith (F) and Andy Houseman (GB) for the first ascent of Link Sar West (6938 m Karakoram) in August 2015 . They called the route "Fever Pitch". The 5th and final edition of the Karl Unterkircher Award took place on July 14, 2018. The prize winners were Simone Moro (I) together with Ali Sadpara (PAK) and Alex Txikon (ES) for the 1st winter ascent of Nanga Parbat on February 26, 2016.

year winner Reason
2010 SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland : Ueli Steck Extraordinary multi-functional achievements in record time on the north face of the Matterhorn , Golden Gate on El Capitan and normal routes of Gasherbrum II and Makalu .
2012 UkraineUkraine Ukraine : Marina Kopteva , Anna Yasinskaya Russia : Galina Chibitok
RussiaRussia  		Reopening of the Northwest Wall at the Great Trango Tower Trango Towers (38 days in the wall)
2014 AustriaAustria Austria : Hansjörg and Matthias Auer , Switzerland : Simon AnthamattenSwitzerlandSwitzerland  First ascent of the east face of Kunyang Chhish , Karakoram / Pakistan, on July 18, 2013
2016 FranceFrance France : Jon Griffith and United Kingdom Andy HousemanUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom  First ascent of Link Sar West (secondary summit of Link Sar ), Karakoram / Pakistan, on August 18, 2015
2018 ItalyItaly Italy : Simone Moro , Pakistan Ali Sadpara and Spain Alex TxikonPakistanPakistan  SpainSpain  First winter ascent of Nanga Parbat

literature

  • Silke Unterkircher, Cristina Marrone: The last hug of the mountain . Malik National Geographic, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-492-40392-4 .
  • Walter Nones , Simon Kehrer: Teufelswand: The tragedy of the Unterkircher expedition on Nanga Parbat . Translated from the Italian by Christine Kopp. Malik, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-89029-378-3 .

Web links

Commons : Karl Unterkircher  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Report in the Stern
  2. ↑ Jasemba expedition report at chamberlander.com ( Memento from April 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ^ Südtirol Online - Tragedy on Nanga Parbat ( Memento from August 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ "" Star of Alpinism "dead" (n-tv July 18, 2008)
  5. ↑ Walter Nones: "We made it ... for Karl" - report on the accident on www.explorersweb.com (engl.)
  6. ↑ "Himalayan Drama: The Nanga Parbat devours Karl Unterkircher" (europolitan July 18, 2008) ( Memento from July 31, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ Detailed report of the Karl Unterkircher Award
  8. ↑ [1]
  9. ^ Karl Unterkircher Award to Ueli Steck, publisher Planetmountain.com August 13, 2010. Accessed July 11, 2012
  10. ^ Karl Unterkircher Award alla spedizione ucraina sulla Great Trango Tower. Published by Planetmountain.com July 11, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2012
  11. ^ Karl Unterkircher Award 2014 , accessed on August 11, 2014.
  12. ^ Karl Unterkircher Award 2016 , accessed on August 3, 2016.
  13. ↑ Karl Unterkircher Award 2018, vince il Nanga Parbat di Simone Moro, Ali Sadpara e Alex Txikon . In: PlanetMountain.com . ( planetmountain.com [accessed August 26, 2018]).
personal data
SURNAME Unterkircher, Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian extreme mountaineer and skier
DATE OF BIRTH August 27, 1970
PLACE OF BIRTH Selva in Val Gardena
DATE OF DEATH July 15, 2008
Place of death Nanga Parbat