Maurice Herzog

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Maurice Herzog is a French mountaineer and sports administrator, born on 15 January 1919 at Lyon, France.

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[edit] Ascent of Annapurna

Herzog became, on 3 June 1950, the first person to climb a peak over 8000m when, in the company of Louis Lachenal, he summited the Himalayan mountain Annapurna, 10th-highest mountain in the world. Its ascent was all the more remarkable as it was explored, reconnoitered and climbed all within one season; and as it was climbed without the use of supplemental oxygen. The event caused a sensation only surpassed when Everest was summited in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

The two-week retreat from the successfully-climbed peak proved challenging. A decision by both climbers to opt for light boots for the summit dash, and a freak accident where Herzog lost his gloves near the summit, meant that both climbers suffered severe frostbite, with both losing all of their toes and Herzog most of his fingers. The consequent gangrene required the expedition doctor to perform amputations in the field without access to an operating theatre or anaesthetics.

Annapurna was not to be climbed again until 1970, when the Herzog north face route was climbed by a British Army expedition, simultaneous with an ascent of the south face by an expedition led by British climber Chris Bonington. The mountain's fourth ascent was not until 1977. [1] Fifty seven years on since the first ascent and Annapurna has only been climbed 142 times (Mount Everest 2,500 time by comparison).[citation needed]

Herzog’s account of the expedition was published under the title Annapurna, which went on to sell 11 million copies. Ending with the stirring line “there are other Annapurnas in the lives of men” (in the context of the book, an exhortation to answer the challenges that life offers) the book gave an account of the expedition that established Herzog’s climbing reputation and inspired a generation of mountaineers. However, it also served as an inspiration for the parody novel The Ascent of Rum Doodle, which pokes gentle but pointed fun at Herzog's sometimes pompous writing style.

[edit] Controversy over his account of the ascent

Herzog's climbing reputation, and the inspiration the book has offered, has subsequently been called into question with the publication of other members’ accounts of the expedition, most significantly by a biography of Gaston Rébuffat and the posthumous publication, in 1996, of Lachenal’s contemporaneous journals. The book True Summit: What Really Happened on the Legendary Ascent of Annapurna by David Roberts examines the controversy. What cannot be brought into question is the fact that the money; the proceeds from his famous book 'Annapurna' (an account of his first ascent of Annapurna in 1950) was given to an Alpine charity.

[edit] Other achievements

Herzog went on to become the French Minister of Youth and Sport from 1958 to 1963, and mayor of the alpine town of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. He was a member of the International Olympic Committee for 25 years from 1970, and has been an honorary member since 1995. He is a Grand Officer of the Legion d'Honneur and holder of the Croix de Guerre for military service 1939-45.[citation needed] Ref: Conversations with Maurice Herzog = Ferran Latorre = id = ISBN 8495760363

[edit] Bibliography

  • Herzog, Maurice; Nea Morin and Janet Smith (translators) (1952). Annapurna, First Conquest of an 8000-meter Peak. New York, NY, USA: E. P. Dutton & Co. Library of Congress Catalog Card No: 52-12154.  (first American printing)
  • Herzog, Maurice (1997). Annapurna. New York, NY, USA: The Lyons Press. ISBN 1558215492.  (current American edition)
  • Terray, Lionel; Geoffrey Sutton (trans) (2000). Conquistadors of the Useless. London, UK: Baton Wicks Publications. ISBN 1898573387.  (current English edition - original French edition 1961)
  • Hattingh, Garth (1999). Top Climbs of the World. London, UK: New Holland Publishers, Ltd. ISBN 1-85974-085-5. 
  • Roberts, David (2000). True Summit: What Really Happened on the Legendary Ascent of Annapurna. New York, NY, USA: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0684867575. 
  • "No Room at the Top", Bruce Barcott, New York Times, 4 June 2000
  • | Conversations with Maurice Herzog = Ferran Latorre | id = ISBN 8495760363

[edit] References

  1. ^ Baume, Louis C. (1979). Sivalaya. Seattle, WA, USA: The Mountaineers. ISBN 0916890716.