Education
Diemberger attended university in Vienna, where he obtained two degrees (Master of Business Administration 1955, Master of Education 1962).
("An almost perfect cone, incredibly high”, a mountain so ...)
"An almost perfect cone, incredibly high”, a mountain so breathtakingly beautiful as to leave Colonel Francis Younghusband, the first European to breach the Old Muztag Pass in 1887, quite literally speechless in front of sudden, almost unreal apparition. Over a hundred years later K2, the highest peak in the Karakoram Range, continues to bewitch generations of climbers. Titanic struggles have been consumed on its slopes by mountaineers striving to reach its summit, and the dreams of great expeditions and small teams alive have often been shattered. Successful routes of rare beauty have also been traced, some of considerable length. This book, through its 162 spectacular photographs and the enthralling first-hand accounts, offers readers the opportunity of reliving the magnificent exploits which took man to the top of the world’s second highest mountain: from the legendary expedition led by Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, the Duke of the Abruzzi, which reached an altitude of 6,000 meters, to the heroic, memorable conquest of the summit by Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli, members of the expedition led by Ardito Desio, and on up to the latest ascents completed in the Nineties.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0898865182/?tag=2022091-20
(One of the world's most influential climbers, Kurt Diembe...)
One of the world's most influential climbers, Kurt Diemberger is the only living person to have the distinction of two first ascents on the world's 8000-meter peaks, both climbed without supplemental oxygen. In each of these classic works, his infectious mixture of joy, awe, and a voracious appetite for life shine through his words. The inclusion of two fascinating autobiographical works-Summits & Secrets and Spirits of the Air-plus a powerful portrayal of K2 (The Endless Knot) make this omnibus a must for every climber's bookshelf.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0898866065/?tag=2022091-20
('Only the Spirits of the Air know what awaits me behind t...)
'Only the Spirits of the Air know what awaits me behind the mountains, but still I travel onwards' - this Eskimo proverb which Kurt Diemberger first heard in Greenland provides the leitmotif for a long awaited new volume of autobiography by one of Europe's most experienced and individualistic postwar climbers. In it he blends climbing and travelling impressions from Lapland to the Amazon, from Atlanta to the Shaksgam. His climbing embraces a family night scramble up Stromboli as well as filming from the summit of Everest; a first ascent and traverse on Zebru and going out with the rock buffs in Death Valley, California. His curiosity leads him in the wake of the early Greenland explorers and in quest of a camera-shy boa constrictor. His ascent of six 8000-metre peaks provokes good humored style comparisons with Messner. His preferred west-alpine-style of climbing brings back memories of his first climbing guru, Hermann Buhl. His high-altitude filming recalls his expeditions with the English climber, Julie Tullis, who perished on K2, and with whom he celebrated the wild places of the world on film. Always on the move, making new friends in the more spectacular corners of the natural world, Kurt Diemberger shares his enjoyment with a quirky humor, a distinctly individual voice and a voracious appetite for life.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0898864089/?tag=2022091-20
(Kurt Diemberger is a the only person alive to have made f...)
Kurt Diemberger is a the only person alive to have made first ascents on two 8,000-metre peaks - Dhaulagiri and Broad Peak - and he is recognised as one of the finest chroniclers of his contemporary mountaineering scene. His books have popular around the world and his writing is guaranteed to enlighten, move and entertain. As a fantastic mountaineer and career expeditioner, and a skilled filmmaker and writer, he has been a witness to 50 years of eventful alpinism and Himalayan climbing. He gives us a link to the golden age when the 8000-metre peaks were first climbed - in the 1950s and early 60s. The Kurt Diemberger Omnibus brings together three fine books, one of which, The Endless Knot, is perhaps the most gripping and tragic mountaineering saga ever written. It describes the ill-starred K2 attempts of 1986 during which 13 climbers died in a variety of incidents. At the end of the season seven climbers made one last bid to gain the summit, five succeeded but, overtaken by a storm during the descent, only two of the seven climbers survived. One of them was Diemberger, who describes events with harrowing candour. Summits and Secrets deals with Diemberger's early climbs in the Alps, the Hindu Kush and the Himalaya. It describes the epoch-making first ascent of Broad Peak in 1957 and the equally significant first ascent of Dhaulagiri in 1960, where he reached the summit with a Swiss team. The final book is the more relaxed Spirits of the Air, where Diemberger reflects on his varying - and often hilarious adventures - and on the contrasts between his life in Italy, Austria and the always-beckoning Himalaya.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1898573263/?tag=2022091-20
Diemberger attended university in Vienna, where he obtained two degrees (Master of Business Administration 1955, Master of Education 1962).
He is the only living person who has made the first ascents on two mountains over 8,000 metres: of Broad Peak in 1957 and of Dhaulagiri in 1960. Together with Hermann Buhl, he is one of two mountaineers who have successfully made the first ascents on two mountains over 8,000 metres. In 1957, Diemberger was also the last person to see Hermann Buhl alive before he fell through a cornice on Chogolisa.
This attempt to climb Chogolisa was illegal and subsequently Diemberger was banned from entering Pakistan for an extended period of time.
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, Tullis fell and dragged Diemberger down 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 two tents with six other climbers after their tent had collapsed from hurricane force winds.
Tullis died later that night, possibly from high altitude cerebral edema (HACE), and only one other climber, Austrian Willi Bauer, survived the descent with Diemberger. Both climbers suffered severe frostbite during the descent and had to have amputations.
('Only the Spirits of the Air know what awaits me behind t...)
("An almost perfect cone, incredibly high”, a mountain so ...)
(Kurt Diemberger is a the only person alive to have made f...)
(One of the world's most influential climbers, Kurt Diembe...)
(With invoice - Shipment from Germany)