Biography Erhard Loretan
Born in 1959 in Bulle, Switzerland, cabinet-maker and mountain guide Erhard Loretan began his mountaineering career at the age of eleven. He climbed his first north face in 1973 at the age of thirteen. In subsequent years he was seen, often alone, on difficult and extremely difficult routes in the Bernese Oberland, the Valais, the Mont Blanc massif and the Dolomites.
His first expedition led him to the Andes in 1980. Since then, hardly a year has gone without Erhard Loretan being seen in the Himalaya. Starting with Nanga Parbat in 1982, he finally reached the main summit of Kangchenjunga in 1985, becoming the third climber to have scaled all fourteen eight-thousand-metre peaks. Climbing mostly new and always difficult routes in extreme altitudes in alpine style, very fast, without oxygen or high-altitude porters and with only a minimum of food and equipment, are his marks of distinction. His most impressive accomplishments include the traverse of the Annapurna range in 1984, the ascent and descent of the northwest face of Mt. Everest in only forty-three hours in 1986, the ascent of the difficult southwest face of Cho Oyu in twenty-seven hours and, a few days later, the ascent and descent of the south face of Shishapangma's central peak in twenty-two hours in 1990. The Trango Tower in the Karakorum range is likewise on his impressive list of expeditions; he was first in climbing the hazardous and extremely exposed east face together with Voytek Kurtyka in 1988.
Erhard Loretan has also proved his stamina and extreme psychic and physical capabilities in the Alps, where he climbed thirteen north faces between Eiger and Doldenhorn in the Bernese Oberland in only thirteen days, in the winter of 1989, together with André Georges. In 1994 and 1995, Loretan went to the Antarctic, where he made two first ascents, solo, including Mt. Epperly (4700 m) via the extremely steep 3000-metre high west face.
Uncommon mental strength and the skill to realistically assess critical situations are among Loretan's top qualities. On numerous occasions, he has turned back just in time under tricky or adverse circumstances, sometimes even within sight of the summit. He places great value on his personal freedom and remains untouched by the enticements of publicity, detached from pressures of the media and independent of expectations of his few sponsors. Such a frame of mind is particularly important when climbing in extreme altitudes, where clarity of thought is already clouded by the lack of oxygen (hypoxia) at a height of over 7000 or 8000 m. Together with his tactical speed in light alpine style during ascent and descent, these qualities form the basis of his own Alpine Style – a style typical of Erhard Loretan – which is opening up new dimensions in commerce-free mountaineering. True to his principles, Loretan has not yet founded a family as he is conscious of the egoism involved in his restless style of life. Responsibility for children would probably force him to rethink his readiness for taking risks.
Erhard Loretan is a member of the Swiss Association of Mountain Guides, the International Union of Mountain Guide Associations and the Swiss Alpine Club. Now, in 1996, he receives the King Albert Medal of Merit.
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