1912day.year
Heinrich Harrer
(1912 - 2006)
Austrian geographer and mountaineer
Austrian geographer and mountaineer
Heinrich Harrer was an Austrian mountaineer and geographer famed for summiting the Eiger North Face and exploring Tibet.
Born in Hüttenberg, Austria, in 1912, Heinrich Harrer first gained fame by conquering the Eiger’s treacherous North Face in 1938.
Interned as a prisoner of war in India during World War II, he escaped and trekked through the Himalayas to Tibet.
In Lhasa, Harrer served as a tutor and friend to the young Dalai Lama, documenting Tibetan culture in his memoir Seven Years in Tibet.
After returning to Europe, he continued geographic research, lecturing worldwide and authoring numerous books on exploration.
Harrer’s blend of adventurous spirit and scholarly insight left a lasting legacy in both mountaineering and Tibetan studies.
1912
Heinrich Harrer