Background
Vilem Heckel was born on May 21, 1918 in Plzen, Plzensky kraj, Czech Republic.
1965
First Czechoslovak expedition to Hindu Kush
Vilem Heckel was born on May 21, 1918 in Plzen, Plzensky kraj, Czech Republic.
Vilem Heckel studied to be a photographer in the portrait atelier of Josef Chmelík in Plzeň, his home city.
In the 1950s, Vilem Heckel began to work as a freelance photographer. In 1956, he published his first book: Naše hory ("Our Mountains"). At the same time Vilem Heckel became familiar with mountaineering, later he became a professional mountaineer. In 1955 he attended the workshop in High Tatras, where he has made his first photo cycle with mountain themes. Gradually he became known in the community of mountaineers as a photographer with excellent skills in the extreme conditions of mountain climbing.
In 1970, a group of mountain climbers together with Vilem Heckel planned to visit Alaska. Their intention was thwarted by the Czechoslovak communist regime. Following the suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968, it was almost impossible to travel to Western countries. The group changed their plan and decided to climb the peaks in the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca. Vilem Heckel and several of his colleagues planned to leave the expedition and focus more on studying and documenting of Peruvian culture. However, after the death of one of the leaders of the expedition, climber Ivan Bortel, they were forced to stay in the camp with the rest of the expedition. On 1 June 1970, Vilem Heckel and his colleagues intended to separate from the rest of the group. Coincidentally, the avalanche caused by Great Peruvian earthquake buried their camp under Huascarán on 31 May 1970, the day before their departure. All of the members of the expedition died.
In 1949 Vilem Heckel became a member of the Svaz československých výtvarných umělců (Union of Czechoslovak Visual Artists).
Quotes from others about the person
Petr Tausk: "Heckel worked with quite unusual results."