Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research

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Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research

(SSAF)
Logo Switzerland. Foundation for Alpine Research.jpg
Purpose: Research and environmental protection
Chair: Thomas Weber
Consist: since 1939
Seat: Zurich
Website: www.alpinresearch.com

no founder specified

The Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research (SSAF) ( French Fondation Suisse pour Recherches Alpines (FSRA), Italian Fondazione Svizzera per Ricerche Alpine , English Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research (SFAR)) is a private foundation that researches habitats in the mountains made a task. It was founded in 1939 by Karl Weber (1903–1973, President 1942–1973) and Ernst Feuz (long-time managing director). The seat of the foundation is Zurich . The current managing director of the foundation is Thomas Weber.

history

Himalaya Expedition 1956: 1st row from left: 1st von Gunten , 2nd Schmid , 3rd Marmet , 4th Diehl , 5th Edi Leuthold Arzt, 6th Luchsinger 7th Reist , 8th Reiss , 2nd row from left : 3. Eggler

Because Switzerland, as a classic country of alpinism , had not yet organized any expeditions, members of the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC), the Swiss Academic Ski Club (SAS), the Academic Alpine Club Zurich (AACZ) and Bern (AACB) formed at the end of 1938 Initiative committee for the establishment of its own organization to organize, finance and equip scientifically accompanied research expeditions into the mountains, into arctic, sub arctic and other still unexplored areas.

Swiss Himalayan Expedition 1952 Autumn: in front of an Air India Lockheed L749 Constellation. Participants: (from left) Raymond Lambert , Arthur Spöhel, Gabriel Chevalley, Ernst Reiss, Gustave Gross, Norman Dyhrenfurth , Jean Buzio (back)

The foundation carried out eleven expeditions between 1939 and 1956 , mainly in the Himalayas . The destinations of the expedition were the areas of:

As part of the 1956 expedition, Mount Everest was climbed for the second and third time and the Lhotse was climbed for the first time. Expedition participant Hansruedi von Gunten is currently the person with the oldest memories of an Everest summit day.

The foundation has repeatedly dealt with the area of ​​the Himalayas and Mount Everest. In addition to the “Mountains of the World” book series from the 1950s and 1960s, the important Mount Everest (Lhotse) map (1: 50,000), which was produced in collaboration with Werner Altherr (Swissair Photo and Surveying) and the National Geographic Magazine (USA) was created in 1988. In 1991 the foundation and the Boston Museum of Science published a supplemented map with the central Everest region on a scale of 1: 25,000.

In total she published over 200 printed works, many topographical maps . In its printed works, the society reports on findings in the fields of biology , ethnology , geography , medicine and archeology of alpine habitats.

target

The aim of the foundation is to support projects that counteract the depopulation and de- aging of mountain regions by viewing humans as an essential part of alpine habitats: the integral promotion of a livable mountain world.

The foundation awards the Pro Montes Prize , which recognizes ideas and initiatives to promote jobs in the mountains. The prize is awarded to public and private institutions every two years.

Further main topics are:

Alpine biodiversity pilot project

The foundation intends to compile an inventory of all plant and animal species in open alpine landscapes. The aim of this project is to take a position on the question of whether the depopulation of the mountains is beneficial or disadvantageous for the biodiversity of alpine habitats.

Publications

  • 17-volume series Mountains of the World (1946–1969). Gutenberg Book Guild , Zurich.
  • Sanjay Kumar Nepal, Thomas Kohler, Bernhard Rudolf Banzhaf: Great Himalaya - Tourism and the Dynamics of Change . Ed .: Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research in collaboration with the Center for Development and Environment [CDE] at the University of Bern. 2002 (English, as a contribution to the UN Year of Mountains 2002).
  • Oswald Oelz: EVEREST / LHOTSE - Swiss on Everest in 1952 and 1956 . Ed .: Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research. AS Verlag, Zurich 2006, ISBN 3-909111-23-8 .
  • Andrew Wilton: William Pars - Journey through the Alps - Voyage dans les Alps - Journey through the Alps . De Clivo Press, Dübendorf 1979 (German, French, English).
  • Etienne Gross, Reto Moser, Patrick Savolainen: Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research 1939–2014 . 75 year anniversary. Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research SSAF (Ed.), Zurich 2014, ISBN 978-3-85515-107-3

Movie

  • André Roth, Norman Dyhrenfurth et al .: Mount Everest 1952 . Condor Film SA, Zurich 1952

Web links

Commons : Swiss Himalaya Expedition  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ETH: “Pilgrims of Science”: The first Swiss Himalayan expedition from 1936
  2. ↑ Pioneer on Everest , NZZ, May 24, 2016
  3. ^ The Alps of March 3, 2006: 50 Years of the Swiss Everest Expedition
  4. ↑ Federal Office of Topography: How Mount Everest came to Wabern
  5. ^ Bergliteratur.ch: 75 years of the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research SSAF
  6. ↑ Youtube: Mount Everest 1952 with Raymond Lambert, Tenzing Norgay, Historical Films of Condor Films Zurich