Willi Unsoeld

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Willi Unsoeld

Willi Unsoeld (born October 5, 1926 in Arcata , California , † March 4, 1979 at Mount Rainier ) was an American mountaineer .

Life

Unsoeld grew up in Eugene ( Oregon ) and studied at Oregon State University and the University of California at Berkeley . In the 1950s, he married future Congressman Jolene Bishoprick , with whom he had two daughters and two sons.

In 1960 he was together with George Irving Bell the Masherbrum erstbesteigen. In 1963 he was a participant in the first US expedition to Mount Everest , which pursued the ambitious goal of opening up a new route over the direct west ridge. Unsoeld and Tom Hornbein but then had to dodge due to major technical difficulties on the ridge to the north wall and got into the since " Hornbein Couloir " mentioned gorge of the north wall to the summit, which they reached on May 22, the 1,963th Unsoeld was the 14th person to reach the highest point on earth. The full west ridge was not conquered until 1979 by a Yugoslav expedition. In July 1963, Unsoeld received the Hubbard Medal , the National Geographic Society's highest honor, from President John F. Kennedy .

In 1976 Unsoeld lost his daughter Nanda Devi while climbing India's second highest mountain, which also served as a name model for his daughter: Nanda Devi . At the age of 52, Unsoeld himself died in an avalanche on Mount Rainier , which he had previously climbed more than 200 times.

Alpinistic services (extract)

  • Numerous first ascents in North America, e.g. East Buttress on El Capitan (California)
  • Nilkantha (6596 m, Garhwal Himalaya, India), attempt of the first ascent in 1949, one reaches an altitude of about 5490 meters, together with Laurie French and Herbert Rickert.
  • Mount Wister (3502 m, Teton Range), first ascent of the north face in 1952 with Bea Vogel and Leigh Ortenburger
  • Grand Teton (4199 m), first ascent of the direct north face in 1956 with his wife Jolene Unsoeld
  • Makalu (8485 m, Himalaya), attempt of the first ascent, over the southeast ridge Bill Long and W. Unsoeld reach an altitude of 7070 meters (California Himalayan Expedition 1954).
  • Masherbrum (7821 m, Karakoram, Pakistan), first ascent in 1960 together with George Irving Bell .
  • Mount Everest (8848 m, Himalaya), first ascent in 1963 via the west ridge and descent via the southeast ridge, first crossing of an eight-thousander; together with Tom Hornbein .
  • Nanda Devi (7816 m, Garhwal Himalaya, India), attempted ascent in 1976, when W. Unsoeld's daughter Nanda Devi Unsoeld was killed.

literature

swell

  1. ↑ Willi Unsoeld: Nilkanta, Garhwal Himalaya 1949 In: American Alpine Journal 1956, pp. 75ff. (PDF; 997 kB).
  2. ↑ William Dunmire & Willi Unsoeld: Makalu, California Himalayan Expedition 1954 In: American Alpine Journal 1955, pp 7-24. (PDF; 3.8 MB).
  3. ^ Willi Unsoeld: Masherbrum – 1960. In: American Alpine Journal 1961, pp. 208-229 and picture panels (AAJO). (PDF; 5.1 MB)
  4. ↑ Norman G. Dyhrenfurth and Willi Unsoeld: Mount Everest, 1963 In: American Alpine Journal 1955, pp. 1-30. (PDF; 4.9 MB).
personal data
SURNAME Unsoeld, Willi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American climber
DATE OF BIRTH October 5, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Arcata , California
DATE OF DEATH March 4th 1979
Place of death Mount Rainier