Tom Hornbein
Thomas " Tom" Hornbein ( born November 6, 1930 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American mountaineer.
Life
First Hornbein studied geology. Then, after he thought to the human body on the interactions of high altitude, he subsequently studied medicine. He began his medical career as an anesthesiologist. At the University of Seattle, he was from 1978 to 1993 dean of Anesthesiology. Before Hornbein in 1960 on his first Himalayan expedition to Masherbrum he participated actively, especially in the mountains of Colorado and Alaska.
Ascent of Everest
As Hornbein and his partner Willi Unsoeld 1963 as members of the American Mount Everest Expedition reached the foot of Mount Everest, only eight people had and then made its way to the top down, no U.S. citizen was among these mountaineers. Hornbein and Unsoeld wanted the summit is not reached via the traditional route from the South Col, which had already taken Edmund Hillary, but on those regarded as difficult and dangerous West Ridge.
The expedition leader Norman Dyhrenfurth certain that first James Whittaker and Sherpa Nawang Gombu should take the traditional route to ensure the first American victory at the highest mountain peaks in the world. All previously successful expeditions had descended on this route, the valley Western QWM, the South Col and the south ridge on and on. In understate the danger this was also called " yak route". James Whittaker and Nawang Gombu reached on 1 May 1963 summit and raised the American flag.
Three weeks later, Hornbein and Unsoeld could break on the route chosen by them. However, they were not the entire west ridge up because the road conditions were difficult. They dodged far up the mountain to the left into the north wall to Tibet and used for the Endanstieg a Steiltal in the north wall west of the summit pyramid, which has since been called " Hornbein Couloir ".
They reached after several high camps to the summit on May 22 in the evening around 18.15 clock. On the same day as Unsoeld and Hornbein two other Americans had risen from their expedition to the southern route, Barry Bishop and Lute Jerstad that were on the summit two hours before Hornbein and Unsoeld. On the way down on the south ridge to the united four - Hornbein and Unsoeld took a different descent path and were the first who managed to exceed the Everest.
Hornbein and Unsoeld saved the other comrades, as they came in an emergency. Bad weather forced a camp at an altitude of 8,500 meters. Hornbein described this experience in his book "The West Ridge " ( The West Ridge ): empty " The night was overwhelming. The black silhouette of Lhotse was sitting there, half visible, half suspecting, and still with us. Essentially, there was nothing, just nothing. We hung in a timeless void, steeped in intense cold - and the knowledge to be able to do anything, to tremble out and to wait for the sun " That night Unsoeld had taken off the boots of Hornbein and warmed his feet with his body.. They sat with sunrise continues its descent and met Dave Dingman with a Sherpa, who missed his own chance at all, to assist the people in need by leaving them a ration auxiliary oxygen.
The Hornbein Couloir, side climbed a groove on the top part of the north wall, the Unsoeld and Hornbein from the west ridge for the first time, is named after Tom Hornbein. The Everest crossing of Unsoeld and Hornbein entered the legends of Everest.
In 2002, Hornbein was active at the age of 72 years, is still both as a professor and as a mountaineer.
Mountaineering achievements (excerpt)
- Several first ascents in the mountains of North America, especially in Alaska and Colorado.
- Masherbrum ( 7821 m, Karakorum ), participation as an expedition doctor and mountaineer at the American expedition in 1960, the first ascent of the mountain succeed Willi Unsoeld and George Irving Bell.
- Mount Everest ( 8848 m, Himalayas ), Ascent 1963 on the west ridge and descent over the ridge, the first of an eight -thousand-meter exceeded; together with Willi Unsoeld.