Kurt DIEMBERGER
Born in Austria in 1932, Kurt is a living legend of mountaineering, high-altitude filmmaker and photographer, author of several books, recipient of the 2013 Piolet d’Or Lifetime Achievement (after Walter Bonatti, Reinhold Messner, Doug Scott and Robert Paragot). He is one of the founding fathers of Mountain Wilderness and still serves as Honorary President.
Kurt is the only living mountaineer to have achieved two first ascents of 8,000ers (Broad Peak in 1957, Dhaulagiri in 1960).
His climb of Broad Peak was a landmark ascent: the first time an 8,000er had been climbed in lightweight style, without the use of high-altitude porters and oxygen.
Diemberger was the last person to see Hermann Buhl alive before he fell through a cornice on Chogolisa.
In his youth, Kurt spent his summers in the Alps, starting in the Western Alps, when the ice was in good condition, and ending in the Dolomites.
By 1958 he had climbed the three great north faces of the Alps – Eiger, Matterhorn, and Grandes Jorasses – a truly remarkable achievement for the time.
In the 1960s he became a mountain guide but continued to climb hard and explore the highest mountain ranges.
He made a number of trips to the Hindu Kush, driving from Austria in a VW van. First ascents included Nobasium Zom (7,070m) and the magnificent Tirich West IV (7,338m), in 1967, both in Pakistan.
In 1974 he made the first ascent of Shartse II (7,457m) to the east of Lhotse Shar. In 1978 he climbed Makalu and Everest with Pierre Mazeaud, and the following year Gasherbrum II.
He was later joined by Julie Tullis on several trips, including a repeat ascent of Broad Peak. Their expeditions culminated in 1986 with their well-known ascent of K2.
In addition to the mountains, Kurt has always been fascinated by faraway deserts and the Poles.