Edouard Wyss-Dunant
Encyclopedia
Dr. Edouard Wyss-Dunant is a Swiss physician and alpinist. He had a distinguished career in medicine
, both in his own country and abroad. He published a number of treatises in hi s professional capacity and was the author of several mountaineering books. His name will, however, always be associated primarily with his leadership of the Swiss Expedition to Everest of 1952
.
oise mother. He spent his childhood in Alsace
, where his father managed a chemical works. He went on to study medicine in Geneva
. After receiving a doctorate in radiology in Zurich
he set himself up as a practitioner in radiology
in Bern and became a member of the Berner Akademische Alpen-Klub (Bern Academical Alpine Club). Later, he moved into a practice in Geneva, where he met his future wife, Lucrece, and there, with the exception of a period spent in North Africa, he made his home for the rest of his life.
During his stay in Bern, Wyss-Dunant climbed all the main summits of the Bernese Oberland
: among the classic routes in his record at that time were the Mittellegi Ridge of the Eiger
, the North Ridge of the Mönch
and many good ascents in the chain of the Grosses Engelhorn
. In his early twenties, he traversed the Dent d'Hérens
from the Tiefenmatten-Joch to the Col du Lion and made a double traverse, in two days, of both the Matterhorn
and the Dent d'Hérens. He also achieved a solo traverse of the Matterhorn and climbed it by its formidable Furggen-Grat with Alexander Taugwalder. He also climbed extensively in the Mont Blanc
massif with Marcel Kurz.
Wyss-Dunant also participated in several expeditions further afield: in Mexico
(1936), East Africa
(1937), Greenland
(1938), Tibesti (Chad
) (1946) and in the Himalaya (1947 and 1952). The accounts of these exploits are recorded in his books: "Appels des Sommets", "Au dela des Cîmes", "Sur les Hauts Plateaux Mexicains", "Mes Ascensions en Afrique", "Mirages Groenlandais" and "Forets et Cîmes Himalayennes".
The climax of his career as an alpinist was his selection by the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Exploration as leader of the Geneva-based Swiss Expedition to Everest in the spring of 1952.
Wyss-Dunant also served as president of the Swiss Alpine Club
and the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme
. In tribute to these services and to his life-long record as a climber he was made an honorary member of the Alpine Club
in 1963.
Edouard Wyss-Dunant, was appointed leader of this expedition. All the expedition’s participants were from Geneva, they almost all belonged to the exclusive «L'Androsace» climbing club and knew each other very well. The city and Canton of Geneva provided moral and financial support for the expedition, and the University of Geneva provided the scientific contingent.
The mountaineering task that this team had set itself was primarily exploring the access to the South Col
, the conquest of the labyrinthine Khumbu Icefall
, and possibly the advance to the South Col
. The team never even considered attempt at an ascent of Everest.
Raymond Lambert
and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay
were able to reach a height of about 8595 metres (28,199 ft) on the southeast ridge, setting a new climbing altitude record. Tenzing's experience was useful when he was hired to be part of the British expedition in 1953 during which he summited with Edmund Hillary
.
The results of this first Swiss Everest expedition are remarkable, and exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. At the first attempt, they had opened up a new route to Everest, and had reached an extraordinary height on the south-western ridge in difficult conditions. In the opinion of the extremely critical Marcel Kurz, this expedition could almost be compared to a victory. It paved the way for further successes by other expeditions.
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, both in his own country and abroad. He published a number of treatises in hi s professional capacity and was the author of several mountaineering books. His name will, however, always be associated primarily with his leadership of the Swiss Expedition to Everest of 1952
1952 Swiss Mount Everest Expedition
Led by Edouard Wyss-Dunant, the 1952 Swiss Mount Everest Expedition saw Raymond Lambert and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reach a height of about on the southeast ridge, setting a new climbing altitude record, opening up a new route to Mount Everest and the paving way for further successes by other...
.
Biography
Wyss-Dunant had a Swiss-German father and a VaudVaud
Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...
oise mother. He spent his childhood in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, where his father managed a chemical works. He went on to study medicine in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. After receiving a doctorate in radiology in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
he set himself up as a practitioner in radiology
Radiology
Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...
in Bern and became a member of the Berner Akademische Alpen-Klub (Bern Academical Alpine Club). Later, he moved into a practice in Geneva, where he met his future wife, Lucrece, and there, with the exception of a period spent in North Africa, he made his home for the rest of his life.
During his stay in Bern, Wyss-Dunant climbed all the main summits of the Bernese Oberland
Bernese Oberland
The Bernese Oberland is the higher part of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, in the southern end of the canton: The area around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and the valleys of the Bernese Alps .The flag of the Bernese Oberland consists of a black eagle in a gold field The Bernese Oberland (Bernese...
: among the classic routes in his record at that time were the Mittellegi Ridge of the Eiger
Eiger
The Eiger is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends across the Mönch to the Jungfrau at 4,158 m...
, the North Ridge of the Mönch
Mönch
The Mönch is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, in Switzerland. Together with the Eiger and the Jungfrau it forms a highly recognisable group of mountains visible from far away....
and many good ascents in the chain of the Grosses Engelhorn
Grosses Engelhorn
The Grosses Engelhorn is a mountain in the Bernese Alps. It is the highest summit of the Engelhörner chain.-External links:*...
. In his early twenties, he traversed the Dent d'Hérens
Dent d'Hérens
The Dent d'Hérens is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, lying on the border between Italy and Switzerland. The mountain lies a few kilometres west of the Matterhorn.The Aosta hut is used for the normal route.-Naming:...
from the Tiefenmatten-Joch to the Col du Lion and made a double traverse, in two days, of both the Matterhorn
Matterhorn
The Matterhorn , Monte Cervino or Mont Cervin , is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its summit is 4,478 metres high, making it one of the highest peaks in the Alps. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points...
and the Dent d'Hérens. He also achieved a solo traverse of the Matterhorn and climbed it by its formidable Furggen-Grat with Alexander Taugwalder. He also climbed extensively in the Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
massif with Marcel Kurz.
Wyss-Dunant also participated in several expeditions further afield: in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
(1936), East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
(1937), Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
(1938), Tibesti (Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
) (1946) and in the Himalaya (1947 and 1952). The accounts of these exploits are recorded in his books: "Appels des Sommets", "Au dela des Cîmes", "Sur les Hauts Plateaux Mexicains", "Mes Ascensions en Afrique", "Mirages Groenlandais" and "Forets et Cîmes Himalayennes".
The climax of his career as an alpinist was his selection by the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Exploration as leader of the Geneva-based Swiss Expedition to Everest in the spring of 1952.
Wyss-Dunant also served as president of the Swiss Alpine Club
Swiss Alpine Club
The Swiss Alpine Club is the largest mountaineering club in Switzerland. It was founded in 1863 in Olten and it is now composed of 111 sections with 110,000 members...
and the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme
Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme
The UIAA or Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme, is the organization that represents several million mountaineers and climbers, world-wide, on international issues. Formed in 1932 in Chamonix, France, it now has over 88 members associations from some 76 countries, all of national...
. In tribute to these services and to his life-long record as a climber he was made an honorary member of the Alpine Club
Alpine Club (UK)
The Alpine Club was founded in London in 1857 and was probably the world's first mountaineering club. It is UK mountaineering's acknowledged 'senior club'.-History:...
in 1963.
Spring 1952 expedition to the Everest
- For more details, see 1952 Swiss Mount Everest Expedition1952 Swiss Mount Everest ExpeditionLed by Edouard Wyss-Dunant, the 1952 Swiss Mount Everest Expedition saw Raymond Lambert and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reach a height of about on the southeast ridge, setting a new climbing altitude record, opening up a new route to Mount Everest and the paving way for further successes by other...
Edouard Wyss-Dunant, was appointed leader of this expedition. All the expedition’s participants were from Geneva, they almost all belonged to the exclusive «L'Androsace» climbing club and knew each other very well. The city and Canton of Geneva provided moral and financial support for the expedition, and the University of Geneva provided the scientific contingent.
The mountaineering task that this team had set itself was primarily exploring the access to the South Col
South Col
The South Col usually refers to the southern col between Mount Everest and Lhotse, the first and fourth highest mountains in the world. When climbers attempt to climb Everest from the southeast ridge in Nepal, their final camp is situated on the South Col...
, the conquest of the labyrinthine Khumbu Icefall
Khumbu Icefall
The Khumbu Icefall is an icefall at the head of the Khumbu Glacier.The icefall is found at on the Nepali slopes of Mount Everest not far above Base Camp and southwest of the summit. The icefall is regarded as one of the most dangerous stages of the South Col route to Everest's summit...
, and possibly the advance to the South Col
South Col
The South Col usually refers to the southern col between Mount Everest and Lhotse, the first and fourth highest mountains in the world. When climbers attempt to climb Everest from the southeast ridge in Nepal, their final camp is situated on the South Col...
. The team never even considered attempt at an ascent of Everest.
Raymond Lambert
Raymond Lambert
Raymond Lambert was a Swiss mountaineer, who with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached an altitude of 8611 metres of Mount Everest in May 1952. At the time it was the highest point that a climber had ever reached...
and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay
Tenzing Norgay
Padma Bhushan, Supradipta-Manyabara-Nepal-Tara Tenzing Norgay, GM born Namgyal Wangdi and often referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer...
were able to reach a height of about 8595 metres (28,199 ft) on the southeast ridge, setting a new climbing altitude record. Tenzing's experience was useful when he was hired to be part of the British expedition in 1953 during which he summited with Edmund Hillary
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...
.
The results of this first Swiss Everest expedition are remarkable, and exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. At the first attempt, they had opened up a new route to Everest, and had reached an extraordinary height on the south-western ridge in difficult conditions. In the opinion of the extremely critical Marcel Kurz, this expedition could almost be compared to a victory. It paved the way for further successes by other expeditions.