As many of you have probably figured by now, our friend Andreas Hinterstoisser is a pretty unconventional fellow and does not follow the norms of common sense or any type of modern hiking ethic. Some may think it's because he comes from the old country, but I have done a little research and think I've figured out why he seems so odd. He's dead!
The Hinterstoisser name sounded very familiar to me, but I could not place it until a conversation with a climbing friend of mine, jogged my memory. I certainly hope the following information does not come as too much of a surprise to our dear Andreas.
In July 1936, Andreas Hinterstoisser, Toni Kurz, Willy Angerer and Edi Rainer began a climb up the difficult north face of the Eiger in Switzerland. Although the Eiger had been climbed many times via other routes, no one had yet summitted the north face and quite a few thought it was impossible. Known for sudden storms, thin ice, and incessant rockfall, few climbers were foolhardy enough to make an attempt on this 6,000 foot expanse of rotten stone, verglas, and snow.
Andreas and his intrepid climbing partners were fortunate to enjoy fair weather when they started and they made good progress up the mountain. The year prior to their attempt two climbers had got about a third of the way up when their progress was stymied by very difficult or impossible climbing. They were overtaken by a storm while trying to pass this spot and were seen hanging dead from their ropes when the storm cleared. Andreas had spent a good deal of time scouting the mountain for possible lines to the summit and decided that the key was to traverse left and avoid this difficult stretch. This traverse is now called the Hinterstoisser Traverse in honor of Andreas.
Andreas did a brilliant lead across the traverse and his teammates followed relying on the rope he fixed to aid them. They pulled the fixed rope through the anchors after crossing and proceeded higher on the mountain. Later that day they were overtaken by a fierce storm and forced to retreat. When they got back to the traverse they were horrified to see that it was covered in a thin coat of ice that made it impossible for them to traverse back down. They had unwittingly doomed themselves when they pulled their rope after them.
A rescue party was mounted from the nearby town of Grindalwald. Of the four, only Toni Kurz was able to down climb and rappel close enough for a possible rescue. The storm forced the rescuers to turn back that night, but they returned the next morning to find Toni much weaker after a night exposed to the storm. He died only feet from rescue after uttering the last words, "I can't go on."
It was a tragedy that shook the climbing world and made people question why climb. It wasn't until several years later that the north face was climbed, and that first successful climb followed Andreas's fateful traverse that now bears his name. It is now common practice for climbers on this route to leave a line across the traverse lest they fall victim to Andreas's fate.
I realize this post is well off topic, but I think there is much to be learned from the mistakes of others. In this case, be sure you have an exit strategy when you enter the mountains. Know your limits, keep an eye on the weather, and formulate a trigger for when to begin your retreat. For example, if you've not made the summit of Whitney by a certain time in the late afternoon, turn around and head back down. I hope that our friend Andreas has learned from his past mistakes and keeps a valid exit strategy in mind.
