Tom Hornbein forever will be known for his bold first ascent of Mount Everest’s West Ridge as part of the first American expedition on the world’s tallest mountain in 1963, an achievement which left his mark on the mountain forever. (via thknwco)
Tom Hornbein forever will be known for his bold first ascent of Mount Everest’s West Ridge as part of the first American expedition on the world’s tallest mountain in 1963, an audacious achievement which left his mark on the mountain forever. A section high on the route has been known ever since as the Hornbein Couloir.
Hornbein, who died in Estes Park on Saturday at 92, earned his fame by what he and climbing partner Willi Unsoeld did on Everest 60 years ago this month, which included the first traverse across the mountain’s summit and an overnight bivouac while descending the Southeast Ridge at 28,000 feet. Yet he is being remembered by those in the mountaineering community for his humility as much as his epic Everest story.
Having reached the summit via the West Ridge at 6:15 p.m., Hornbein and Unsoeld descended via the Southeast Ridge, which other members of the expedition had used to summit before them. They had to stop when it got dark and hunkered down for the night. “That climb required a lot of heart and soul,” said David Breashears, an Everest icon who grew up in Denver and summitted the mountain five times. “To do something like that back then was utterly unheard-of. It took such a leap of imagination. It was getting late, and they had to make a decision because they had to descend a route they’d never climbed. It was a daring thing. It was heroic. It almost brings tears to my eyes to think of that kind gentleman and his contribution to mountaineering.
Hornbein was born in St. Louis but fell in love with mountains when his parents sent him to summer camp in Estes Park when he was 13. He went to the University of Colorado to study geology but cut classes frequently to go climbing. He later studied medicine and became an anesthesiologist, spending much of his professional life at the University of Washington. He moved to Estes Park in 2006.. “Those winter ascents on Longs , the winter camping, were really my training ground.
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