Jenseits des Manaslu FRIEDL MUTSCHLECHNER – Mountaineer and photographer

Friedl Mutschlechner (1949–1991)
Born in 1949 in Bruneck/Brunico as the eighth of ten children. Coming from a humble background, he grows up in Dietenheim/Teodone and in Bruneck. After finishing secondary school, he completes an apprenticeship as a plumber. At age 15 he begins scaling the surrounding mountains, and by the 1970s, after completing numerous first and solo ascents in the Dolomites and the Eastern Alps, he becomes a well-known figure in the mountaineering world. Mutschlechner works at Reinhold Messner’s mountaineering school (attaining his mountain guide certification in 1979) and accompanies Messner on several expeditions to eight-thousanders in the Himalaya region. He successfully reaches three summits: Shishapangma (1981), Kangchenjunga (1982) and Makalu (1986). In 1991, the alpinist from Bruneck attempts to scale the Manaslu along with his guide, Hans Kammerlander. After turning back at an altitude of 7,100 m (23,300 ft), they are waylaid by a thunderstorm. Friedl Mutschlechner dies after being struck by lightning. His body remains on the Manaslu, encased in eternal ice.