Maurice Herzog | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Secretary of State for Youth Affairs and Sports | |
| In office 1958–1966 | |
| President | Charles de Gaulle |
| Prime Minister | Georges Pompidou |
| Preceded by | René Billères |
| Succeeded by | François Missoffe |
| Mayor ofChamonix | |
| In office 1968–1977 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1919-01-15)15 January 1919 Lyon,France |
| Died | 13 December 2012(2012-12-13) (aged 93) Neuilly-sur-Seine,Île-de-France, France |
| Political party | UNR |
| Spouse(s) | Marie-Pierre de Cossé-Brissac (1964–1976) Élisabeth Gamper (1976) |
| Children | Laurent, Félicité, Mathias, Sébastien |
| Alma mater | HEC Paris |
| Occupation | Mountaineer |
Maurice André Raymond Herzog (French pronunciation:[mɔʁisɑ̃dʁeʁemɔ̃ɛʁzɔɡ]; 15 January 1919 – 13 December 2012)[1][2][3] was a Frenchmountaineer and administrator who was born inLyon, France. He led the1950 French Annapurna expedition that first climbeda peak over 8000m,Annapurna, in 1950, and reached the summit withLouis Lachenal. Upon his return, he wrote a best-selling book about the expedition,Annapurna.
On 3 June 1950, Herzog andLouis Lachenal became the first climbers in modern history to climba peak over 8000m when, on the 1950 French Annapurna expedition, they summited theHimalayan mountainAnnapurna I, the 10th-highest mountain in the world.[4] The ascent was all the more remarkable because the peak was explored, reconnoitered and climbed all within one season; and was climbed without the use of supplemental oxygen. It is also the only 8000 meter summit that was reached at the first attempt. Herzog was awarded the 1950Gold Medal of theSociété de Géographie.[5]
The event caused a huge sensation that was only matched when Everest was summited in 1953 byEdmund Hillary andTenzing Norgay.
The two-week retreat from the peak proved very challenging. Both climbers had opted for light boots for the summit dash. This, combined with Herzog losing his gloves near the summit and a night spent bivouacked in a crevasse on the descent with one sleeping bag for four climbers (Lachenal,Gaston Rébuffat,Lionel Terray, and Herzog) resulted in severefrostbite, with consequentgangrene requiring theexpedition doctor to perform emergencyamputations in the field.[6] Both summit climbers lost all of their toes and Herzog most of his fingers.
Annapurna I was not climbed again until 1970, when the French north face route was climbed by a British Army expedition led by ColonelHenry Day, simultaneously with an ascent of the south face by an expedition led by British climberChris Bonington. The mountain's fourth ascent was not until 1977.[7]
Herzog's account of the expedition was published first in 1951 in French,[8] then in English in 1952 under the titleAnnapurna. The book has sold over 11 million copies as of 2000, more than any other mountaineering title.[9] Ending with the stirring line "there are other Annapurnas in the lives of men" (in the context of the book, an exhortation to answer the challenges that life offers), the book gave an account of the expedition that established Herzog's climbing reputation and inspired a generation of mountaineers.
Some aspects of Herzog's account of the summit day have been called into question with the publication of other members’ accounts of the expedition, most significantly by a biography ofGaston Rébuffat and the posthumous publication, in 1996, of Lachenal's contemporaneous journals. The 2000 bookTrue Summit: What Really Happened on the Legendary Ascent of Annapurna byDavid Roberts gives one view of the controversy.[9]
Herzog went on to become the FrenchMinister of Youth and Sport from 1958 to 1963, and mayor of the alpine town ofChamonix-Mont-Blanc. He was a member of theInternational Olympic Committee for 25 years from 1970, and has an honorary member after 1995. He was a Grand Officer of theLegion d'Honneur and holder of theCroix de Guerre for military service 1939–45.[10]
Herzog was a 1944 graduate of the French business schoolHEC Paris.[4]
