Hermann Buhl
Austrian mountaineer
Who was Hermann Buhl?
Hermann Buhl (21 September 1924 – 27 June 1957) was an Austrian mountaineer. Buhl was the father of Austrian–German writer, publisher, and freelance journalist, Kriemhild "Krimi" Buhl. Buhl was born in Innsbruck, Austria. At the age of four, he was taken to an orphanage with his half-brother Siegfried after his mother Marianne, who came from South Tyrol, became mentally ill and was institutionalized. His father Wilhelm, unable to cope with raising four children alone, told them their mother had died. He was one of the pioneers of the alpine style. However, Marianne was later murdered by the Nazis at Mauthausen. He was later taken in by his aunt and uncle. In 1939, he joined the youth group of the Innsbruck section, which belonged to the German Alpine Club (DAV) from 1938 to 1945.
Later, together with his friend Kurt Diemberger, he was a member of the Bergland section of the DAV in Munich.
Historical significance
His accomplishments include the first ascents of Nanga Parbat in 1953 and Broad Peak in 1957. He was the youngest of four children. In the 1930s, considered a weak and sensitive boy, he made his first climbing trips in the Tux Alps, the Wilder Kaiser, and the Karwendel.
