Mountain Culture

Peter Habeler

Friday, November 7, 8:00 p.m.
Eric Harvie Theatre (Live)
Margaret Greenham Theatre (Simulcast)

Peter Habeler’s passion for extreme climbing was sparked at an early age. By 16 he had climbed the most difficult rock and ice routes near his home in the Austrian Alps. At 21 he was a fully certified mountain guide, and soon after, he became the youngest head of the Austrian Mountain and Ski Guiding Association.

In the mid-1960s, Habeler forged a climbing partnership with Reinhold Messner that would make them the founding fathers of lightweight, alpine style climbing. Using the latest technical equipment, the duo pushed the limits, and set the standard for fast and light ascents on difficult routes. After setting speed records on the Eiger North Face and the Nordwand on the Matterhorn, in 1978 they achieved what was then believed to be impossible — the first ascent of Mount Everest without the aid of supplemental oxygen.  Habeler has also summitted Hidden Peak, Cho Oyo, Kanchenjunga and Nanga Parbat.

Today, Habeler runs his own alpine and ski school in Austria.