Toni Kurz

Toni Kurz (born January 13, 1913 in Berchtesgaden ; † July 22, 1936 in the north face of the Eiger ) was a German mountaineer who, together with Andreas Hinterstoißer, made several first ascents in the Berchtesgaden Alps . Both climbers died in 1936 when they tried to climb the Eiger north face for the first time.

Life

Initially, Kurz completed an apprenticeship as a locksmith . In 1934 he then joined the Reichswehr as a professional soldier . He served in the Mountain Infantry Regiment 100 Reichenhall . There he passed the military mountain guide examination in 1936 .

Successful first ascents

Together with Andreas "Anderl" Hinterstoißer, Kurz made sensational first ascents in the Berchtesgaden Alps, which were then of the highest level of difficulty . According to the scale at that time, VI was the highest level of difficulty.

On the Untersberg :

• 1934: Berchtesgadener Hochthron , southwest face
• 1936: Berchtesgadener Hochthron, south face of the straight pillar

At the Reiter Alm :

• 1935: Wartstein-West-Edge ( Wartsteinkante )
• 1936: Großes Mühlsturzhorn , direct south edge , with Andreas Hinterstoißer

At the Watzmann :

• 1935: 3rd Watzmann child , direct south edge

Death in the north face of the Eiger

→ Main article : Attempt to climb the north face of the Eiger in 1936

View of the north face of the Eiger in the evening light. In the background: monk

The Hinterstoißer traverse is a dangerous passage even with a safety rope (photo from 2007).

On July 18, 1936, Kurz and his comrade Andreas Hinterstoißer tried to climb the north face of the Eiger for the first time, which was one of the so-called last problems of the Alps . Kurz and Hinterstoißer tragically failed, as did the Austrians Willy Angerer and Eduard Rainer , who started at the same time . The two competing rope teams climbed the wall independently on the same route.

After Hinterstoißer had mastered a difficult traverse, the other three climbers passed this point using the safety rope. Subsequently, both teams formed a rope team and took the safety rope with them for the further ascent.

The rope team reached the so-called death bivouac , where the missing German mountaineers Karl Mehringer and Max Sedlmayr were last seen alive from Scheidegg in 1935. The next day, the rope team climbed a few pitches of the north face, and those involved set a record for the Eiger north face.

The onset of bad weather and an injury from falling rocks forced the rope team to descend. When they reached the cross passage again, the wall was so icy that the return crossing was unsuccessful without a safety rope. The mountaineers now had to abseil directly and were additionally burdened by the seriously injured Angerer. During this abseiling descent, the rope team was probably hit by a severe avalanche and rockfall drop. All climbers fell, but since they were secured by anchored ropes, Kurz survived the rockfall hanging in the rope.

Due to the force of his and Angerer's fall, Rainer was catapulted up with the rope to the safety hook, a protruding rock spike penetrated his chest and killed him. Hinterstoißer and Angerer were also killed in this rockfall. Toni Kurz was initially the only survivor of his rope team and this drama.

The disaster was observed with binoculars from Kleine Scheidegg , and rescue teams set out to provide help. They used a viewing balcony of the Jungfrau Railway in the north face to get on it, and approached the victim within shouting distance. Because of the nightfall and the onset of even worse weather, they had to return. Hans Schlunegger later reported that Kurz then shouted “No” several times, shaking the bone and marrow. Toni Kurz, half frozen to death, spent this icy, lonely night next to his dead comrades and only barely roped; standing or hanging in the north wall.

The knot to the extension rope jammed in the carabiner; the climber in the carabiner seat (shown schematically) was hanging on the accessory cord (here: blue).

When the rescue team ventured into the icy wall again the next morning, the icing of the wall around 40 meters below his location prevented the lifeguards from approaching the helpless climber. The only option for Kurz now was to rappel down to the helpers . Angerer had tragically strangled himself in the rope loops when he fell and was hanging at the end of the rope . Kurz had to cut off his dead comrade and lost a valuable section of rope.

Since the rope no longer had the length required for safe abseiling, Toni Kurz had to climb up to the safety hook and relieve the rope. It was only here on the safety hook that Kurz was able to separate the strands from the rest of the rope and knot them .

Kurz, who was completely exhausted and whose left hand was already frozen to death, needed hours to undo the rope. Then he was able to lower an extension consisting of the individual strands to the rescue services. The lowered extension rope was blown by the wind inaccessible to the rescuers. It had to catch up briefly and then let it down again. A 30-meter rope was tied down below and he was able to pull it up to him. However, the replacement rope was not long enough. The rescue team hastily tied a second 30 meter rope to bridge the missing meters. When he was finally able to abseil himself with a carabiner seat, the knot did not fit through the eye of the carabiner just a few meters above the heads of the helpers . He could no longer pull a knife tied to the lower end of the rope by the rescue team. Unable to move up or down, Toni Kurz died at 11:30 a.m. hanging in a rope from physical exhaustion. His last words were: "I never can."

Movie

The 2007 docu-drama The Beckoning Silence ( drama in the north face of the Eiger ) connects the story of Toni Kurz with the struggle for survival of the English mountaineer Joe Simpson in the Andes. His book from 2003 served as a template: Im Banne des Giant. The long way to the Eiger.

The story was remade by Toni Kurz with the actors Benno Fürmann (as Toni Kurz), Florian Lukas (as Andreas Hinterstoißer), Georg Friedrich (as Edi Rainer), Simon Schwarz (as Willy Angerer) and Johanna Wokalek under the direction of Philipp Stölzl . On October 23, 2008 the film with the title North Face was released .

literature

• Rainer Lunau: North Face - A true story. Structure of Taschenbuchverlag, 2008, ISBN 978-3-7466-2431-0 .
• Heinz von Arx, Benjamin Herrmann North Face - The Drama of Toni Kurz on the Eiger. AS Verlag, Zurich 2008, ISBN 978-3-909111-57-2 .
• Heinrich Harrer : The white spider (=  Ullstein . No. 36229 ). 4th edition. Ullstein, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-548-36229-X , p. 463 .
• Ludwig Gramminger: The saved life - from the history of mountain rescue. Bergverlag Rother, 2007, ISBN 978-3-7633-7005-4 .
• Rainer Rettner: Eiger: Triumphs and Tragedies 1932–1938. As Verlag, Zurich 2008, ISBN 978-3-909111-49-7 .

Web links

• The history of the mountain rope. & A knot becomes doom - the drama by Toni Kurz
• The Eiger drama Toni Kurz 1936
• Benno Fürmann as Toni Kurz in the film “Nordwand” (2007/2008), the film started on October 23, 2008
• Pictures by Toni Kurz , Toni Kurz in uniform , Toni Kurz and Andreas Hinterstoißer in the Alpine Club's Historical Archive
• Picture of Toni Kurz dead on the rope in the Jungfrau-Zeitung.ch report
• Myth of the north face
• North Face, Murder Wall on derStandard.at

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Uli Auffermann: Decision in the wall - milestones of alpinism . 1st edition. Schall Verlag, Alland, Austria 2010, ISBN 978-3-900533-62-5 , p. 91 .
2. ↑ 100th Jägerregiment / Rock Climbers List ( Memento of the original from April 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ Nicho Mailänder: Again on the river - The life of Rudl Peters . In: DAV Panorama . No. 4 , 2009, ISSN  1437-5923 , p. 51 .
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Hinterstoisser, Andreas - personal folder (signature: DAV PER 1 SG / 968/0). (PDF; 195 kB) Historical Alpine Archives of the Alpine Clubs in Germany, Austria and South Tyrol, accessed on June 25, 2012 . 
5. ↑ The crag was mentioned in the documentary film Drama in the Eiger north face .
6. ↑ North Face, Murder Wall. on derStandard.at.
7. ↑ December 22 ( Memento from November 12, 1999 in the Internet Archive ) Report from Kurz's story on the website of the Technical University of Munich (accessed November 22, 2008)
8. ↑ "[...] Glatthard ties a knife to the rope. 'Pull the knife towards you, Toni, and cut the rope over the knot!' Toni will fall a few meters deep in the snow, but the guides have him safely on the rope, the knot in the carabiner will hold. Toni Kurz tries to fetch the knife. He will not make it. 'Try again, Toni, try!' "
9. ↑ Joe Simpson : Under the spell of the giant. The long way to the Eiger . 3. Edition. Malik, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-89029-261-5 , p. 338 (English: The Beckoning Silence . Translated by Karina Of).