Kurt Diemberger
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Kurt Diemberger (born 1932 in Austria), is an accomplished Austrian mountaineer and author of several books.
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[edit] Career
Kurt Diemberger is the only remaining person alive that has made the first ascents on two mountains over 8,000 metres. In 1957, he made the first ascent of Broad Peak and in 1960, the first ascent of Dhaulagiri. Diemberger was also the last person to see Hermann Buhl alive before he fell through a cornice on Chogolisa.
Diemberger was one of only two survivors in the 1986 K2 Disaster. On August 4, 1986, Diemberger and Julie Tullis reached the summit of K2 very late in the day. Shortly after starting their descent, Julie fell -- dragging Diemberger with her. Fortunately, they somehow stopped from going over the edge and spent the night above 8,000 metres. They managed to reach Camp IV the next day, where they were forced to share a tent with six other climbers after their tent had collapsed from hurricane force winds. Unfortunately, Julie died later that night, possibly from high altitude cerebral edema (HACE), and only one other climber survived the descent with Diemberger.
Diemberger is still active in the mountaineering world and works on film projects with his daughter.
[edit] Books
Diemberger has written the following books:
- The Endless Knot : K2, Mountain of Dreams and Destiny, 1991. Translated into English by Audrey Salkeld. ISBN 0-89886-300-7
- Summits and secrets, 1991. Translated into English by Hugh Merrick. ISBN 0-89886-307-4
- Spirits of the Air, 1994 ISBN 0-89886-408-9
- K2 : Challenging the Sky, 1997 ISBN 0-89886-518-2
- The Kurt Diemberger Omnibus, 1999 ISBN 1-898573-26-3
- K2. Traum und Schicksal, 2001 (German) ISBN 3-7654-3755-7
