About Hannelore Schmatz, the First German and First Woman to Die on Mount Everest (2024)

Hannelore Schmatz did the inconceivable in 1979: she became the fourth woman in history to reach the peak of Mount Everest. Unfortunately, her impressive Everest climb would be her last.

Hannelore Schmatz, a German climber, enjoyed climbing. Schmatz and her husband, Gerhard, set off on their most ambitious adventure yet in 1979: to climb Everest.

While the pair joyously reached the summit, their descent would end in a tragic disaster when Schmatz died, marking her the first woman and German national to die on Mount Everest.

Hannelore Schmatz’s mummified corpse, recognized by the backpack pressed on it, would serve as a horrific warning to other mountaineers trying the same task that killed her.

Only the world’s most experienced climbers dare to face the life-threatening circ*mstances that accompany the trip to Everest’s summit. Hannelore Schmatz and her husband Gerhard Schmatz were seasoned mountaineers who had trekked to the world’s most invincible mountain peaks.

Hannelore and her husband returned from a successful excursion to the top of Manaslu, Nepal’s eighth-highest peak at 26,781 feet above sea level, in May 1973. Without missing a beat, they quickly decided on their next challenging ascent.

For unclear reasons, the pair decided it was time to conquer Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak.

They applied to the Nepalese authorities for permission to climb the world’s deadliest peak and began their hard preparations.

Since then, the couple has climbed a mountain peak every year to improve their capacity to acclimate to high elevations. The mountains they ascended became taller with time. In June 1977, they received confirmation that their proposal for Mount Everest had been granted after another successful ascent to Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest Himalayan peak.

Hannelore, whom her husband described as “a genius when it came to sourcing and transporting expedition material,” coordinated the technical and logistical planning for their Everest trek.

Because it was still difficult to get suitable climbing gear in Nepal in the 1970s, any equipment they required for their three-month trek to Everest’s peak had to be sent from Europe to Nepal.

Hannelore Schmatz reserved a Nepalese warehouse to keep their equipment, which weighed many tons in total. Aside from supplies, they needed to put together their expedition crew. In addition to Hannelore and Gerhard Schmatz, six additional experienced high-altitude climbers joined them on Everest.

New Zealander Nick Banks, Swiss Hans von Känel, American Ray Genet — an accomplished mountaineer with whom the Schmatzs had previously done adventures — and fellow German climbers Tilman Fischbach, Günter fights, and Hermann Warth were among them. Hannelore was the sole female member of the group.

In July 1979, everything was ready to go, and the group of eight set off on their journey, aided by five sherpas – native Himalayan mountain guides — to lead the way.

The party trekked at a height of around 24,606 feet above the earth during the ascent, a level of altitude known as “the yellow band.”

They next followed the Geneva Spur to the South Col, a sharp-edged mountain point ridge at the lowest point between Lhotse and Everest at an elevation of 26,200 feet above the ground. On September 24, 1979, the group decided to put up their final high camp at the South Col.

However, a multi-day snowfall compels the whole camp to retreat to the Camp III base camp. Finally, they attempt to return to the South Col point, this time in huge groups of two. Hannelore Schmatz is in one group with other climbers and two sherpas, while the rest of the pair is in the other.

Gerhard’s party is the first to return to the South Col, arriving after a three-day climb to set up camp for the night.

The crew, which had been crossing the hard alpine landscape in groups of three, was ready to begin on the final stretch of their trek up the pinnacle of Everest.

Gerhard’s group started their walk up Everest’s peak early on Oct. 1, 1979, while Hannelore Schmatz’s group was still making their way back to the South Col.

Gerhard’s crew reached the south peak of Mount Everest about 2 p.m., becoming Gerhard Schmatz the world’s oldest individual to do so at the age of 50. While the group celebrates, Gerhard describes the perilous circ*mstances from the southern top to the peak on his website:

“The kicks break out again and again due to the steepness and poor snow conditions.” The snow is too soft to attain generally consistent levels, and it’s too deep to find ice for crampons.

How hazardous it is may then be assessed, given that this location is likely to be one of the most dizzying in the world.”

Gerhard’s crew swiftly descends, meeting the same challenges they had on the way up.

When they arrived safely back at the South Col camp at 7 p.m. that night, his wife’s party had already set up camp to prepare for Hannelore’s group’s own journey to the summit, having arrived at the same time Gerhard had reached Everest’s top.

Gerhard and his friends warn Hannelore and the others about the dangerous snow and ice conditions and try to convince them not to go. But Hannelore was “indignant,” according to her husband since she wanted to climb the enormous peak as well.

Events that led to Hannelore Schmatz’s Death

At about 5 a.m., Hannelore Schmatz and her company began their ascent from the South Col to Mount Everest’s summit. While Hannelore climbed to the summit, her husband, Gerhard, descended to the foot of Camp III as the weather began to worsen rapidly.

Gerhard learns, at 6 p.m., via the expedition’s walkie-talkie connections, that his wife has arrived at the summit with the rest of the party. Hannelore Schmatz was the fourth woman in history to climb Everest’s summit.

However, Hannelore’s descent was fraught with peril. Hannelore and the American climber Ray Genet, both strong climbers, became too fatigued to continue, according to the remaining party members.

Before continuing their descent, they planned to pause and put up a bivouac camp (a protected outcropping).

Sherpas Sungdare and Ang Jangbu, who were accompanying Hannelore and Genet at the time, cautioned them against their decision. They were in the center of the so-called Death Zone, where conditions are so perilous that climbers are most likely to perish. The sherpas urged the climbers to press on in order to reach the base camp farther down the mountain.

But Genet had reached his breaking point and remained, eventually dying of hypothermia. Hannelore and the two other sherpas, shaken by the loss of their colleague, decide to continue their descent.

How did Hannelore Schmatz die?

Hannelore Schmatz went to sleep and never woke up. After spending the night in the harsh weather, blistering cold and violent winds, Hannelore’s body had already had enough of it and she succumbed to the ravaging weather, collapsing and dying immediately. Her last words before her death, according to the sherpa who was with her, were “Water, water,” as she sat down to rest. She passed away there, against her backpack.

After Hannelore Schmatz died, one of the sherpas stayed with her body, resulting in the freezing of a finger and some toes.

Hannelore Schmatz was the first woman and German to die on the slopes of Mount Everest.

Her husband Gerhard said after her terrible death on Mount Everest at the age of 39, “Nonetheless, the team came home.” But I’m all alone without Hannelore.”

Hannelore Schmatz’s body on Everest

Hannelore’s body remained in the area where she took her last breath, horribly mummified by the intense cold and snow right on the path many other Everest climbers would go.

Her death became well-known among climbers due to the state of her body, which was frozen in place for climbers to observe along the mountain’s southern path.

Her eyes stayed wide while she continued to wear her climbing gear and clothing, and her hair floated in the breeze. Other climbers began to refer to her appearing serenely positioned physique as the “German Woman.”

Arne Naess, Jr., a Norwegian mountaineer and expedition leader who successfully climbed Everest in 1985, detailed his meeting with her body:

I can’t get away from the menacing guard. She rests leaning on her pack around 100 meters above Camp IV, as though taking a little break. A lady with her eyes wide open and her hair flapping in the breeze. It’s the body of Hannelore Schmatz, the wife of the expedition’s leader in 1979. She reached the peak but died on the way down. Nonetheless, it appears like she is following me with her gaze as I pass by. Her presence reminds me that we are here because of the mountain’s circ*mstances.

In 1984, a sherpa and a Nepalese police inspector attempted to rescue her remains, but both men were killed. Hannelore Schmatz was killed by the mountain after that effort.

A strong blow of wind carried her corpse over the edge of the Kangshung Face, where it would never be seen again, lost forever to the elements.

Who was Hannelore Schmatz?

Hannelore Schmatz, born on February 14, 1940, was a German mountaineer who achieved the remarkable feat of being the fourth woman to successfully reach the summit of Mount Everest. Unfortunately, tragedy struck on her descent from the southern route after conquering Everest. Schmatz, sadly, became the first woman and the first German citizen to lose her life on the treacherous upper slopes of this mighty mountain.

The 1979 expedition

In their journey upward, the team successfully climbed up to approximately 24,606 feet (7,500m) above sea level, navigating through the difficult terrain referred to as “the yellow band.” In order to reach the South Col camp, they had to traverse the hazardous Geneva Spur, a sharp ridge connecting Lhotse and Everest at an elevation of 26,200 feet (7,985m). On September 24, 1979, the team decided to establish their final high camp at the South Col, but unfortunately, an unexpected blizzard that lasted for multiple days forced them to retreat back to Camp III. Undeterred by this setback, they regrouped and made another attempt to reach the South Col, this time splitting into two larger groups. One group, led by Hannelore Schmatz’s husband, Gerhard, reached the South Col before the others after a grueling three-day climb. They set up camp and waited for their teammates to arrive. Reaching the South Col was a pivotal milestone for the team as they were now on the verge of the final phase of their ascent to the summit of Mount Everest. While Hannelore Schmatz’s group continued their trek towards the South Col, Gerhard’s team began their hike towards the peak early in the morning on October 1, 1979.

Gerhard Schmatz, husband to Hannelore Schmatz

Gerhard Schmatz completed high school in 1949 and went on to pursue a law degree at the University of Erlangen. After passing two challenging examinations, he joined the Bavarian notary service. From 1962 to 1994, Schmatz operated a notary’s office in Neu-Ulm with a partner. Following his retirement, he dedicated his time to volunteer work for the Free Voters on the Ulm municipal council from 1994 to 2004. Alongside his legal career, Schmatz achieved notable success as a high-altitude alpinist. He conquered the Seven Summits, becoming the third North American to do so. Additionally, he made history by being the first person to summit the highest peaks on the seven largest islands, known as the 7+7 Summits. Schmatz’s adventurous spirit did not stop there. He embarked on ski tours to the North Pole and completed several circumnavigations of Cape Horn. In 1979, at the age of 50, Schmatz triumphed over Mount Everest’s towering summit, becoming the oldest person to achieve such a feat. Notably, his wife Hannelore Schmatz also reached the summit the following day, making her the first German to conquer the peak. However, tragedy struck during their descent when Hannelore tragically succumbed to exhaustion, shortly after the passing of her climbing partner, Ray Genet. During their ascent, the team faced the challenge of scaling around 24,606 feet (7,500m) in the treacherous terrain known as “the yellow band.” They crossed the sharp-edged ridge called the Geneva Spur, connecting Lhotse and Everest at an altitude of 26,200 feet (7,985m). After encountering an unexpected blizzard, the team retreated to Camp III before making another attempt to reach the South Col. Splitting into two groups, Hannelore joined one group while Gerhard led the other. Gerhard’s group reached the South Col ahead of the others and set up camp while awaiting their teammates. The South Col marked a crucial milestone for the team as they approached the final phase of their ascent to Everest’s summit. On October 1, 1979, Gerhard’s group began their hike towards the peak, while Hannelore’s group continued their trek to the South Col. By 2 p.m., Gerhard’s group reached the south summit of Mount Everest, with Gerhard becoming the oldest person to stand atop the world’s highest peak at 50 years old. Recognizing the perilous conditions, they swiftly began their descent. Upon reaching the South Col camp at 7 p.m., they found Hannelore’s group already preparing their camp for their own ascent to the peak. Despite warnings about the treacherous conditions, Hannelore remained determined to conquer Everest, unwavering in her quest.

Ray genet

Ray Genet, also known as Pirate, was an American mountaineer born in Switzerland. He gained recognition as the first guide to conquer Alaska’s Denali, also known as Mount McKinley. Genet’s connection with Denali began in 1967 when he joined a winter expedition led by Gregg Blomberg, despite having no prior experience in mountaineering. The remarkable journey is chronicled in the book “Minus 148 Degrees: The First Winter Ascent of Mount McKinley” by Art Davidson. Unfortunately, Genet met his demise on October 2, 1979, while descending Mount Everest alongside fellow climber Hannelore Schmatz. Despite warnings from their Sherpa guides, they decided to bivouac at a height of 28,000 feet as darkness fell. Tragically, Genet succumbed to hypothermia during the night. The group, already low on bottled oxygen, faced further tragedy as Schmatz passed away while trying to descend to South Col with her Sherpa guide, Sungdare. Ray genet was grandfather to American Actress Q’orianka Kilcher, pictured below.

Legacy

Schmatz’s body was part of the Death Zone, where ultra-low oxygen levels strip climbers of their capacity to breathe at 24,000 feet. Mount Everest is home to 150 bodies, many of which are in the so-called Death Zone.
In terms of relative humidity, Everest stays mainly dry despite the snow and ice. The remains are admirably preserved and should serve as a caution to anyone who does something stupid. Aside from Hannelore’s, the most well-known of these remains is George Mallory, who attempted but failed to reach the summit in 1924. Climbers discovered his remains 75 years later, in 1999.

Over the years, an estimated 280 individuals have perished on Everest. Until 2007, one out of every 10 persons who attempted to climb the world’s highest mountain died. Because of more frequent excursions to the summit, the fatality rate has actually grown and deteriorated since 2007.

Fatigue is a common cause of mortality on Mount Everest. Climbers are just too weary, whether from exertion, a lack of oxygen, or using too much energy, to return down the mountain once they reach the summit. Tiredness results in a loss of coordination, disorientation, and incoherence. The brain may bleed from inside, exacerbating the problem.

Hannelore Schmatz died as a result of exhaustion and maybe disorientation. It made more sense to go to base camp, but the experienced climber believed that taking a break was the better option. In the end, if you’re too weak to continue in the Death Zone beyond 24,000 feet, the mountain always triumphs.
Over the years, an estimated 280 individuals have perished on Everest. Until 2007, one out of every 10 persons who attempted to climb the world’s highest mountain died. Because of more frequent excursions to the summit, the fatality rate has actually grown and deteriorated since 2007.

Fatigue is a common cause of mortality on Mount Everest. Climbers are just too weary, either from the exertion or from a lack of oxygen.

Climbers are just too weary, whether from exertion, a lack of oxygen, or using too much energy, to return down the mountain once they reach the summit. Tiredness results in a loss of coordination, disorientation, and incoherence. The brain may bleed from inside, exacerbating the problem.
Hannelore Schmatz died as a result of exhaustion and maybe disorientation. It made more sense to go to base camp, but the experienced climber believed that taking a break was the better option. In the end, if you’re too weak to continue in the Death Zone beyond 24,000 feet, the mountain always triumphs.

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