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just getting through Walter Bonattis book, "mountains of my life", and have a question related to the scandal that surrounded him on K2 that I was hoping someone may know more about than the book has so far covered.
Does anybody know why the rest of the expedition found it necessary to conduct a whispering campaign about Bonatti in the aftermath of their success?
Seems to me that they made it to the top and back, Bonatti played a significant part (even if their stories dont match), so why the need to stab him in the back and make out like he was a coward, a thief, a liar etc?
Did campagnoli etc just not like him or what?
Does anybody know why the rest of the expedition found it necessary to conduct a whispering campaign about Bonatti in the aftermath of their success?
Seems to me that they made it to the top and back, Bonatti played a significant part (even if their stories dont match), so why the need to stab him in the back and make out like he was a coward, a thief, a liar etc?
Did campagnoli etc just not like him or what?
In reply to fxceltic: or was he in the wrong and his version is rubbish?
In reply to fxceltic:
There was a "definitive" forum about it couple of years ago. Don't recall the details, but as far as I remember Bonatti pulled the plug on the summit team's claim to have finished without oxygen (he carried up the bottles that they used). They also caused him to have to bivvi out alone with no tent by changing plans without telling him. The attacks on him were to "mask" themselves - at least that was my impression.
I'll try and dig out the issue of Scarpone that reported the debate.
Bet Luca Signorelli knows the full story ...
> Does anybody know why the rest of the expedition found it necessary to conduct a whispering campaign about Bonatti in the aftermath of their success?
>
>
There was a "definitive" forum about it couple of years ago. Don't recall the details, but as far as I remember Bonatti pulled the plug on the summit team's claim to have finished without oxygen (he carried up the bottles that they used). They also caused him to have to bivvi out alone with no tent by changing plans without telling him. The attacks on him were to "mask" themselves - at least that was my impression.
I'll try and dig out the issue of Scarpone that reported the debate.
Bet Luca Signorelli knows the full story ...
In reply to fxceltic: Bonatti a coward? After his solo first ascent of the SW Pillar of the Dru?
In reply to Al Evans: I dont agree with them Al, obviously, the man is a legend and in no way a coward.
But I think there was a suggestion by the leaders of the expedition, and the paper who did an article on it 10 years afterwards, that he was in some way cowardly, that the 2 guys who summitted had to do so without o2 because he had failed to bring the cannisters up high enough and they had to go down to get them to go back up, and they werent full either.
He disputes this. Im inclined to believe him. Just wondered why they chose to try to screw him in the "official version".
But I think there was a suggestion by the leaders of the expedition, and the paper who did an article on it 10 years afterwards, that he was in some way cowardly, that the 2 guys who summitted had to do so without o2 because he had failed to bring the cannisters up high enough and they had to go down to get them to go back up, and they werent full either.
He disputes this. Im inclined to believe him. Just wondered why they chose to try to screw him in the "official version".
In reply to Gavin Taylor: if you can that would be excllent, cheers
In reply to fxceltic: From memory of reading the book including the description of the following legal case and having listened to Bonatti talk about it (through a translator). The description of evens as described by Bonatti put a question mark on, if not the actual ascent, the style of the ascent. Bonatti gives tables of ascent times for Campagnoli etc which got faster (by a factor 4) the higher they got on the mountain, things did not quite add up.
In reply to Nick B not logged on: yes, but he said that only in response to their campaign against him. I appreciate what youre saying, I just cant figure out why they chose to slag him off before any of that came out.
In reply to fxceltic:
so why the need to stab him in the back and make out like he was a coward, a thief, a liar etc?
As stated near the end of the book, Italian climbing at the time seemed to be very 'political' and people were jossling for position and any accolades to be handed out.
There may have been an element of jealousy of Bonattis abilities along with his youth at the time.
Could do with reading the book again, it's one of my all time faves
so why the need to stab him in the back and make out like he was a coward, a thief, a liar etc?
> Did campagnoli etc just not like him or what?
As stated near the end of the book, Italian climbing at the time seemed to be very 'political' and people were jossling for position and any accolades to be handed out.
There may have been an element of jealousy of Bonattis abilities along with his youth at the time.
Could do with reading the book again, it's one of my all time faves
In reply to fxceltic: It may just have been a personal issue that just grew, as 220bpm points out, things could be very political and Bonatti was only 24, a prodigous talent and did things his own way. Many of the rest of the Expedition came from an earlier age, a wartime one where orders were followed to the letter and the glory of Italy was much more important than an individuals acheivement. They thought he was too big for his boots.
In reply to Gavin Taylor:
Oh dear - just ploughed throgh my "Scarpone" collection to fnid that the report was published in Feb. or Mar. 2004 - just before I rejoined the Italian Alpine Club (after my "Dark Interval") - saw some reference to it on their website, so I'll try there (tomorrow - I'm bushed).
> (In reply to fxceltic)
> I'll try and dig out the issue of Scarpone that reported the debate.
>
> I'll try and dig out the issue of Scarpone that reported the debate.
>
Oh dear - just ploughed throgh my "Scarpone" collection to fnid that the report was published in Feb. or Mar. 2004 - just before I rejoined the Italian Alpine Club (after my "Dark Interval") - saw some reference to it on their website, so I'll try there (tomorrow - I'm bushed).
In reply to fxceltic:
Well, it's a bit more complicate than that. The "rest of the expedition" (i.e. most of the other climbers) were actually supportive on Bonatti about his ordeal on the Shoulder. They were also all extremely upset against Ardito Desio, the expedition leader, who was in many ways the real culprit of all the affair.
One of my climbing mentors in my teens was Ubaldo Rey, who had been chosen to support Compagnoni on the final summit attempt, and then had to renounce on the Shoulder because of altitude problems, when he wanted to insult someone, had the habit to call him "Ardito Desio". Once (july 1975, to be precise) we were climbing to the Dalmazzi hut, and one guy in our group was a bit too chatty for Ubaldo's tastes - so he simply snapped at him (in dialect) "You're like Ardito Desio - it's always me and me and me and me".
Desio (a great traveller, a great etnologist, a shrewd connoisseur of Asian beaurocracy, but ABSOLUTELY incampable to lead a group of mountaineers) had rubbed all the climbers (exp. the Courmayeur group) the wrong way pushing them back to the mountain immediately after Puchoz's death for pneumonary oedema, without any time to mourn him. This had created a virtual mutiny situation, as people on the upper camps ceased virtually to follow his directives. The only one who continued to stick to his side was Compagnoni (who was in many ways as obsessed as Bonatti to reach the summit).
In this situation, opposing ambitions got out of hand. Bonatti wanted obsessively to be part of the summit team, and Compagnoni was afraid that he was going to be replaced by Bonatti, so he mistook Bonatti attempt to bring them a oxygen bottle as an attempt to"force himself" into the summit push at Compagnoni expenses. What happened later is still a matter of contention, but it's undeniable that Bonatti risked to die.
After the expedition Bonatti started a long feud against Desio and the CAI. The "smearing campaign" was actually a product of the press, but it's undeniable that Desio, some of part of the CAI and possibly Compagnoni did some weird whispering.
On the other hand, it's also undeniable that Bonatti himself, during his "ride to glory" (until 1965) was a very difficult person to deal with, and rubbed a lot of people, including some of his climbing partner, the wrong way, and not necessarily because they were jealous of him. He was projecting, at the time, an aggressive, ambitious and totally ruthless image (I don't think he would deny this). Even in the '70's, when we were both living in Courma and my family had relations with some of his closer acquaintances, he was somehow inaccessible. But he's changed a lot - in Zermatt last month I found him the image of sweetness and enthusiasm.
No, he and Compagnoni never got along well. Two very different but at the same very similar characters. I know that Lacedelli is more or less ready to bury the hatchet before it's too late, but apparently Compagnoni does not recede a bit on his hostility.
As for who's right and who's wrong... well, definitely the whole assumption that Bonatti had survived on the Shoulder using the oxygen bottle is idiotic and unfounded - there was no distribution valve, so it was unusable. Actually, it's debatable that ANYONE could have used it, as it's well known that most of the gas mix used for the bottles was wrong, and other climbers had experienced problems trying to use them. Bonatti survived out of mere will.
It's also more or less final that the camp position was deliberately moved by Compagnoni (and this caused Bonatti's epic). As for WHY he did it, there are many opinions, but my own is (for what's worth) - everyone wasn't thinking right, because of altitude, weariness etc. However, I'm totally simpathetic with Bonatti's plight - keeping Madhi (and himself) alive through the night should have required a superhuman effort.
It's however also debatable Bonatti's claim that Compagnoni and Lacedelli reached the summit using oxygen, and they lied afterwwards. Truth is that they were barely conscious when they summited, and kept wearing the masks well after the bottles had gone. Lacedelli still maintained (in 2005) that oxygen ran out at 8400m, and I find hard to believe otherwise. It's probable the truth will never be established, as in many other climbing controversies.
> just getting through Walter Bonattis book, "mountains of my life", and have a question related to the scandal that surrounded him on K2 that I was hoping someone may know more about than the book has so far covered.
> Does anybody know why the rest of the expedition found it necessary to conduct a whispering campaign about Bonatti in the aftermath of their success?
> Does anybody know why the rest of the expedition found it necessary to conduct a whispering campaign about Bonatti in the aftermath of their success?
Well, it's a bit more complicate than that. The "rest of the expedition" (i.e. most of the other climbers) were actually supportive on Bonatti about his ordeal on the Shoulder. They were also all extremely upset against Ardito Desio, the expedition leader, who was in many ways the real culprit of all the affair.
One of my climbing mentors in my teens was Ubaldo Rey, who had been chosen to support Compagnoni on the final summit attempt, and then had to renounce on the Shoulder because of altitude problems, when he wanted to insult someone, had the habit to call him "Ardito Desio". Once (july 1975, to be precise) we were climbing to the Dalmazzi hut, and one guy in our group was a bit too chatty for Ubaldo's tastes - so he simply snapped at him (in dialect) "You're like Ardito Desio - it's always me and me and me and me".
Desio (a great traveller, a great etnologist, a shrewd connoisseur of Asian beaurocracy, but ABSOLUTELY incampable to lead a group of mountaineers) had rubbed all the climbers (exp. the Courmayeur group) the wrong way pushing them back to the mountain immediately after Puchoz's death for pneumonary oedema, without any time to mourn him. This had created a virtual mutiny situation, as people on the upper camps ceased virtually to follow his directives. The only one who continued to stick to his side was Compagnoni (who was in many ways as obsessed as Bonatti to reach the summit).
In this situation, opposing ambitions got out of hand. Bonatti wanted obsessively to be part of the summit team, and Compagnoni was afraid that he was going to be replaced by Bonatti, so he mistook Bonatti attempt to bring them a oxygen bottle as an attempt to"force himself" into the summit push at Compagnoni expenses. What happened later is still a matter of contention, but it's undeniable that Bonatti risked to die.
After the expedition Bonatti started a long feud against Desio and the CAI. The "smearing campaign" was actually a product of the press, but it's undeniable that Desio, some of part of the CAI and possibly Compagnoni did some weird whispering.
On the other hand, it's also undeniable that Bonatti himself, during his "ride to glory" (until 1965) was a very difficult person to deal with, and rubbed a lot of people, including some of his climbing partner, the wrong way, and not necessarily because they were jealous of him. He was projecting, at the time, an aggressive, ambitious and totally ruthless image (I don't think he would deny this). Even in the '70's, when we were both living in Courma and my family had relations with some of his closer acquaintances, he was somehow inaccessible. But he's changed a lot - in Zermatt last month I found him the image of sweetness and enthusiasm.
> Did campagnoli etc just not like him or what?
No, he and Compagnoni never got along well. Two very different but at the same very similar characters. I know that Lacedelli is more or less ready to bury the hatchet before it's too late, but apparently Compagnoni does not recede a bit on his hostility.
As for who's right and who's wrong... well, definitely the whole assumption that Bonatti had survived on the Shoulder using the oxygen bottle is idiotic and unfounded - there was no distribution valve, so it was unusable. Actually, it's debatable that ANYONE could have used it, as it's well known that most of the gas mix used for the bottles was wrong, and other climbers had experienced problems trying to use them. Bonatti survived out of mere will.
It's also more or less final that the camp position was deliberately moved by Compagnoni (and this caused Bonatti's epic). As for WHY he did it, there are many opinions, but my own is (for what's worth) - everyone wasn't thinking right, because of altitude, weariness etc. However, I'm totally simpathetic with Bonatti's plight - keeping Madhi (and himself) alive through the night should have required a superhuman effort.
It's however also debatable Bonatti's claim that Compagnoni and Lacedelli reached the summit using oxygen, and they lied afterwwards. Truth is that they were barely conscious when they summited, and kept wearing the masks well after the bottles had gone. Lacedelli still maintained (in 2005) that oxygen ran out at 8400m, and I find hard to believe otherwise. It's probable the truth will never be established, as in many other climbing controversies.
In reply to 220bpm:
Yes, but he was never "unarmed" against these problems, neither lacked support from other climbers. Walter's not someone who you can mess with easily!!!
On the other hand, it's true that Italian climbing of the 50's had his fair share of intrigue. I'm afraid that the most blatant case of this remains the horrendously unjust treatment received by Claudio Corti after his Eiger odyssey. It's a BIG stain on the honour of Italian climbing in general and the CAI in particular, and I'm afraid a BIG stain on the reputation of a couple of very famous names of Italian mountaineering. Every time I re-read the recent and beautiful Daniel Anker's book on the subject ("Corti Drama"), my blood pressure sky-rockets!.
It's sad to know that Corti's health it's now so poor, and he may not live to see the day when he will be finally officially repaid for all these injustices.
>
> As stated near the end of the book, Italian climbing at the time seemed to be very 'political' and people were jossling for position and any accolades to be handed out.
> As stated near the end of the book, Italian climbing at the time seemed to be very 'political' and people were jossling for position and any accolades to be handed out.
Yes, but he was never "unarmed" against these problems, neither lacked support from other climbers. Walter's not someone who you can mess with easily!!!
On the other hand, it's true that Italian climbing of the 50's had his fair share of intrigue. I'm afraid that the most blatant case of this remains the horrendously unjust treatment received by Claudio Corti after his Eiger odyssey. It's a BIG stain on the honour of Italian climbing in general and the CAI in particular, and I'm afraid a BIG stain on the reputation of a couple of very famous names of Italian mountaineering. Every time I re-read the recent and beautiful Daniel Anker's book on the subject ("Corti Drama"), my blood pressure sky-rockets!.
It's sad to know that Corti's health it's now so poor, and he may not live to see the day when he will be finally officially repaid for all these injustices.
In reply to Luca Signorelli:
Did the climbers not have to sign a contract with Desio and/or the Italian Alpine Club stating somthing along the lines that only desio would write the expedition book and they all had to hand over their diaries?
Bonatti was at the Festival of Mountaineering Literature in Leeds a few years ago and I belive drew a line under it all. He declined to sign the K2 book by Desio saying, "It is not a good book".
Colin H
Did the climbers not have to sign a contract with Desio and/or the Italian Alpine Club stating somthing along the lines that only desio would write the expedition book and they all had to hand over their diaries?
Bonatti was at the Festival of Mountaineering Literature in Leeds a few years ago and I belive drew a line under it all. He declined to sign the K2 book by Desio saying, "It is not a good book".
Colin H
In reply to Colin H:
Yes, but that was standard practice back then, and they all got paid very well for that.
> (In reply to Luca Signorelli)
> Did the climbers not have to sign a contract with Desio and/or the Italian Alpine Club stating somthing along the lines that only desio would write the expedition book and they all had to hand over their diaries?
> Did the climbers not have to sign a contract with Desio and/or the Italian Alpine Club stating somthing along the lines that only desio would write the expedition book and they all had to hand over their diaries?
Yes, but that was standard practice back then, and they all got paid very well for that.
In reply to Luca Signorelli:
Was Ardito Desio the same guy who led the "Tenda Rossa" North Pole expedition?
Was Ardito Desio the same guy who led the "Tenda Rossa" North Pole expedition?
In reply to Luca Signorelli:
Indeed that was the impression given of him in the book.
A singularly driven individual scorning the 'modern' equipment of the time and still climbing some of the hardest Alpine routes in the best of style. His recollection of the FA of the Grand Capucin makes my skin creep every time. Ultimate respect.
I kind of got the impression he was not so pressured by what his peers (or the establishment) thought and did things his own way. Obviously on larger expeditions however, he would play a big part of the team.
The way he finished his 'climbing careeer' in astonishing stlye and his further works in the worlds great wilderness's make me proud to be a human being (sometimes!).
A true inspiration.
ps - I hope none of this smacks of (still) delicate topic being trampled over by an uninformed foreigner Thanks as ever for the significant thread contribution!
> (In reply to 220bpm)
>
> [...]
>
> Yes, but he was never "unarmed" against these problems, neither lacked support from other climbers. Walter's not someone who you can mess with easily!!!
>
>
> [...]
>
> Yes, but he was never "unarmed" against these problems, neither lacked support from other climbers. Walter's not someone who you can mess with easily!!!
>
Indeed that was the impression given of him in the book.
A singularly driven individual scorning the 'modern' equipment of the time and still climbing some of the hardest Alpine routes in the best of style. His recollection of the FA of the Grand Capucin makes my skin creep every time. Ultimate respect.
I kind of got the impression he was not so pressured by what his peers (or the establishment) thought and did things his own way. Obviously on larger expeditions however, he would play a big part of the team.
The way he finished his 'climbing careeer' in astonishing stlye and his further works in the worlds great wilderness's make me proud to be a human being (sometimes!).
A true inspiration.
ps - I hope none of this smacks of (still) delicate topic being trampled over by an uninformed foreigner Thanks as ever for the significant thread contribution!
In reply to Luca Signorelli:
A great post. Thank you.
It sounds as though he's found tranquillity. There's hope for us all.
Mick
> (In reply to fxceltic)
A great post. Thank you.
> But he's changed a lot - in Zermatt last month I found him the image of sweetness and enthusiasm.
It sounds as though he's found tranquillity. There's hope for us all.
Mick
In reply to Gavin Taylor:
No, that was Umberto Nobile, another interesting and controversial character.
By the way, there's a mistake in what I wrote above - Desio was a geologist.
>
> Was Ardito Desio the same guy who led the "Tenda Rossa" North Pole expedition?
> Was Ardito Desio the same guy who led the "Tenda Rossa" North Pole expedition?
No, that was Umberto Nobile, another interesting and controversial character.
By the way, there's a mistake in what I wrote above - Desio was a geologist.
In reply to Luca Signorelli:
Wasn't Harrer in The White Spider also doing a pretty blatant hatchet job on Corti, suggesting that he was a bumbling idiot totally out of his depth, while all Germans who ran into trouble on the face were heroic and noble but overcome by a terrible fate? Not totally amazing, given Harrers' "opinions". Similarly the survivor of the British pair that ran into trouble and were brought off by Bonnington and Whillans felt he had been totally traduced by Harrer (and by the press, but that is another matter).
> I'm afraid that the most blatant case of this remains the horrendously unjust treatment received by Claudio Corti after his Eiger odyssey.
Wasn't Harrer in The White Spider also doing a pretty blatant hatchet job on Corti, suggesting that he was a bumbling idiot totally out of his depth, while all Germans who ran into trouble on the face were heroic and noble but overcome by a terrible fate? Not totally amazing, given Harrers' "opinions". Similarly the survivor of the British pair that ran into trouble and were brought off by Bonnington and Whillans felt he had been totally traduced by Harrer (and by the press, but that is another matter).
In reply to 220bpm:
As a kid I knew Luciano Ghigo, who was on the Capucin with Bonatti (he was a friend of my aunt). His own recollections of the FA were quite entertaining too...
The interplay of personalities in the K2 was complex, as there was a wide array of characters of very different origins, often different languages. Also, Bonatti was, along with Sergio Viotto, the youngest member of the expedition, but in 1954 he had a climbing resume already far more interesting than many far older climbers.
Third difference, subtle but important - Bonatti is not born in a traditional mountaineering area, like the Dolomites or the Aosta Valley, he's a "lowlander", born in an industrial area near Milan. Traditional climbing centers like Courmayeur, Cortina or Madonna di Campiglio have always been rather closed against people coming from outside (you must imagine someone coming from lowland Nepal trying to fully integrate with or even out-climb a full blooded Sherpa from, let's say, the Khumbu area.
The role of expedition leader in 1954 should have been also to smooth these differences and try to have everyone going along with everyone else for the good of the expeditions itself. Instead Desio played a lot with these tensions to maintain is authority. Make no mistake, he was no Herligkoffer: he was an excellent scientist, a great adventurer himself (during the Karakorum expedition in '29 he really did a few Indiana Jones tricks), and had a great ability as fundraiser and to deal with the complexities of loccal and international politics. But as climbing leader, he was totally out of his depth.
The original plan for the expedition was to have him as organizer and trekking leader, and Cassin as the responsible for the climb itself. Instead, Cassin wouldn't obviously accept to play second banana to anyone else, and Desio had him excluded from the expedition out of a fabricated health problem. Had the original command structure been used, a lot of grief would have been avoided.
K2 put Bonatti under the limelight, but it was obviously the Drus (and the 1956 accident were Henry and Vincedon died) who "made him". I'm personally convinced that the turning point of his career (and maybe of his life) was the 1961 Central Pillar disaster. I don't think any other death of a climbing partner affected him so much as Oggioni's death. The Col De L'Innominata, where Oggioni died, is a weird, weird place. Been there for the first time at 7, and the feeling I got reading the memorial plaque will always stay with me.
He really did it the way he wanted, as most of what he did in life. In many ways, no climber has ever been so conscious of his public image but at the same time so indipendent in his choices as Bonatti.
> (In reply to Luca Signorelli)
> [...]
>
>
> A singularly driven individual scorning the 'modern' equipment of the time and still climbing some of the hardest Alpine routes in the best of style. His recollection of the FA of the Grand Capucin makes my skin creep every time. Ultimate respect.
> [...]
>
>
> A singularly driven individual scorning the 'modern' equipment of the time and still climbing some of the hardest Alpine routes in the best of style. His recollection of the FA of the Grand Capucin makes my skin creep every time. Ultimate respect.
As a kid I knew Luciano Ghigo, who was on the Capucin with Bonatti (he was a friend of my aunt). His own recollections of the FA were quite entertaining too...
>
> I kind of got the impression he was not so pressured by what his peers (or the establishment) thought and did things his own way. Obviously on larger expeditions however, he would play a big part of the team.
> I kind of got the impression he was not so pressured by what his peers (or the establishment) thought and did things his own way. Obviously on larger expeditions however, he would play a big part of the team.
The interplay of personalities in the K2 was complex, as there was a wide array of characters of very different origins, often different languages. Also, Bonatti was, along with Sergio Viotto, the youngest member of the expedition, but in 1954 he had a climbing resume already far more interesting than many far older climbers.
Third difference, subtle but important - Bonatti is not born in a traditional mountaineering area, like the Dolomites or the Aosta Valley, he's a "lowlander", born in an industrial area near Milan. Traditional climbing centers like Courmayeur, Cortina or Madonna di Campiglio have always been rather closed against people coming from outside (you must imagine someone coming from lowland Nepal trying to fully integrate with or even out-climb a full blooded Sherpa from, let's say, the Khumbu area.
The role of expedition leader in 1954 should have been also to smooth these differences and try to have everyone going along with everyone else for the good of the expeditions itself. Instead Desio played a lot with these tensions to maintain is authority. Make no mistake, he was no Herligkoffer: he was an excellent scientist, a great adventurer himself (during the Karakorum expedition in '29 he really did a few Indiana Jones tricks), and had a great ability as fundraiser and to deal with the complexities of loccal and international politics. But as climbing leader, he was totally out of his depth.
The original plan for the expedition was to have him as organizer and trekking leader, and Cassin as the responsible for the climb itself. Instead, Cassin wouldn't obviously accept to play second banana to anyone else, and Desio had him excluded from the expedition out of a fabricated health problem. Had the original command structure been used, a lot of grief would have been avoided.
K2 put Bonatti under the limelight, but it was obviously the Drus (and the 1956 accident were Henry and Vincedon died) who "made him". I'm personally convinced that the turning point of his career (and maybe of his life) was the 1961 Central Pillar disaster. I don't think any other death of a climbing partner affected him so much as Oggioni's death. The Col De L'Innominata, where Oggioni died, is a weird, weird place. Been there for the first time at 7, and the feeling I got reading the memorial plaque will always stay with me.
>
> The way he finished his 'climbing careeer' in astonishing stlye and his further works in the worlds great wilderness's make me proud to be a human being (sometimes!).
> The way he finished his 'climbing careeer' in astonishing stlye and his further works in the worlds great wilderness's make me proud to be a human being (sometimes!).
He really did it the way he wanted, as most of what he did in life. In many ways, no climber has ever been so conscious of his public image but at the same time so indipendent in his choices as Bonatti.
In reply to Simon4:
Oh, he did far worse than that. If you take the first edition of "White Spider", the one published before 1961, Harrer insinuates that Corti had actually murdered Northdurft and Mayer to steal their food and tent, and had deliberately abandoned Longhi to his fate.
This crap went to such extents that Harrer financed not one but several search at the base of the Nordwand to find any the missing climbers bodies, or any of their personal belongings to demonstrate that Corti had lied.
In these four years, Corti went through a living hell in his native Lecco. Last year I had the amazing chance to spend one evening discussing this with Romano Perego (who was with Cassin on the Mt. McKinley/Denaly in '61) and with member of the "Ragni di Lecco" Franco Solina and Gildo Airoldi (they all did the first italian ascent of the Eiger NF with Aste, Aquistapace and Mellano in 1962). All this people had a close friendship with Corti and knew a lot of what he had to pass before the bodies of the two German climbers were found . The amount of petty cruelty and downright malice that the people of a small town like Lecco can do to someone whose reputation is smeared it's absolutely terrifying. You're all coming from a country like the UK were privacy is sacred, so you may not understand.
When in 1961 Mayer and Northdurft were found, a lot of people asked to Harrer to retract and apologize to Corti. In the new edition of the book, he elegantly refused, saying "It's not my fault if Corti's version was so confused " (btw, we know now that Corti's version was NOT confused, and that Harrer and his pal Guido Tonella has got the details wrong deliberately. Read the Anker's book for all the repellent details).
Add to this mix the role of the Swiss guides, who flatly refused to recover Longhi's body for two years, leaving him exposed to the curiosity of thousands of people at the Kleine Scheidegg (until a Belgian magazine paid them handsomely to do that!) and the inertness of the Italian CAI, who didn't make any pressure on Swiss authorities to begin the body recovery operation, and the result is truly nauseating.
The worst thing is - for all the small-minded crap that was at the base of this nonsense, we know now that the two teams, Longhi and Corti on one side and Northdurft and Mayer on the other, actually collaborated a lot on the wall, they all fought bravely together to get out of the NF alive, and were killed (for once this clichèe is true!) by a terrible sequence of bad luck. It always drive me crazy to think that Harrer (whose survival on Eiger was exclusively the result of his chance encounter with Anderl Heckmair!) may have ignored this to play his game. I was extremely happy to hear that Northdurt's brother was last winter in Grindenwald at Anker's book presentation and spoke in this sense.
Seen with 50 years of hindsight, the whole Corti affair is an incredible mix of everything that can be wrong with mountaineering - selfish interest, media gone wild, nationalism, politics, cowardice, everything. At the same time, the climb itself and the rescue operation are an example of everything that can be right
No doubt about this, as Harrer's opinion doesn't seems to have anything to do with what Bonington wrote (and I'm inclined to believe Bonington!).
It's interesting to note how Harrer repeats his own favourite mantra "Obviously, XXX didn't knew how to use the Prusik knot" with Nally, has he did before with Longhi. He was totally wrong with Longhi, so I'm pretty much sure he was totally wrong with Nally too!
> (In reply to Luca Signorelli)
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> Wasn't Harrer in The White Spider also doing a pretty blatant hatchet job on Corti, suggesting that he was a bumbling idiot totally out of his depth, while all Germans who ran into trouble on the face were heroic and noble but overcome by a terrible fate? Not totally amazing, given Harrers' "opinions".
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> Wasn't Harrer in The White Spider also doing a pretty blatant hatchet job on Corti, suggesting that he was a bumbling idiot totally out of his depth, while all Germans who ran into trouble on the face were heroic and noble but overcome by a terrible fate? Not totally amazing, given Harrers' "opinions".
Oh, he did far worse than that. If you take the first edition of "White Spider", the one published before 1961, Harrer insinuates that Corti had actually murdered Northdurft and Mayer to steal their food and tent, and had deliberately abandoned Longhi to his fate.
This crap went to such extents that Harrer financed not one but several search at the base of the Nordwand to find any the missing climbers bodies, or any of their personal belongings to demonstrate that Corti had lied.
In these four years, Corti went through a living hell in his native Lecco. Last year I had the amazing chance to spend one evening discussing this with Romano Perego (who was with Cassin on the Mt. McKinley/Denaly in '61) and with member of the "Ragni di Lecco" Franco Solina and Gildo Airoldi (they all did the first italian ascent of the Eiger NF with Aste, Aquistapace and Mellano in 1962). All this people had a close friendship with Corti and knew a lot of what he had to pass before the bodies of the two German climbers were found . The amount of petty cruelty and downright malice that the people of a small town like Lecco can do to someone whose reputation is smeared it's absolutely terrifying. You're all coming from a country like the UK were privacy is sacred, so you may not understand.
When in 1961 Mayer and Northdurft were found, a lot of people asked to Harrer to retract and apologize to Corti. In the new edition of the book, he elegantly refused, saying "It's not my fault if Corti's version was so confused " (btw, we know now that Corti's version was NOT confused, and that Harrer and his pal Guido Tonella has got the details wrong deliberately. Read the Anker's book for all the repellent details).
Add to this mix the role of the Swiss guides, who flatly refused to recover Longhi's body for two years, leaving him exposed to the curiosity of thousands of people at the Kleine Scheidegg (until a Belgian magazine paid them handsomely to do that!) and the inertness of the Italian CAI, who didn't make any pressure on Swiss authorities to begin the body recovery operation, and the result is truly nauseating.
The worst thing is - for all the small-minded crap that was at the base of this nonsense, we know now that the two teams, Longhi and Corti on one side and Northdurft and Mayer on the other, actually collaborated a lot on the wall, they all fought bravely together to get out of the NF alive, and were killed (for once this clichèe is true!) by a terrible sequence of bad luck. It always drive me crazy to think that Harrer (whose survival on Eiger was exclusively the result of his chance encounter with Anderl Heckmair!) may have ignored this to play his game. I was extremely happy to hear that Northdurt's brother was last winter in Grindenwald at Anker's book presentation and spoke in this sense.
Seen with 50 years of hindsight, the whole Corti affair is an incredible mix of everything that can be wrong with mountaineering - selfish interest, media gone wild, nationalism, politics, cowardice, everything. At the same time, the climb itself and the rescue operation are an example of everything that can be right
> Similarly the survivor of the British pair that ran into trouble and were brought off by Bonnington and Whillans felt he had been totally traduced by Harrer (and by the press, but that is another matter).
No doubt about this, as Harrer's opinion doesn't seems to have anything to do with what Bonington wrote (and I'm inclined to believe Bonington!).
It's interesting to note how Harrer repeats his own favourite mantra "Obviously, XXX didn't knew how to use the Prusik knot" with Nally, has he did before with Longhi. He was totally wrong with Longhi, so I'm pretty much sure he was totally wrong with Nally too!
In reply to Luca Signorelli:
Looks like I got this one wrong - Nothdurft's family visited Corti and they had a very cordial encounter, but no one of his relatives was present at the book's presentation.
Thanks to Rainer Rettner (co-author of the book and super-ultra Eiger expert) for pointing out that!
> (In reply to Simon4)
Ooops...
> It always drive me crazy to think that Harrer (whose survival on Eiger was exclusively the result of his chance encounter with Anderl Heckmair!) may have ignored this to play his game. I was extremely happy to hear that Northdurt's brother was last winter in Grindenwald at Anker's book presentation and spoke in this sense.
Looks like I got this one wrong - Nothdurft's family visited Corti and they had a very cordial encounter, but no one of his relatives was present at the book's presentation.
Thanks to Rainer Rettner (co-author of the book and super-ultra Eiger expert) for pointing out that!
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