- Hofstetter, Ernest
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▪ 2008Swiss mountaineerborn Aug. 14, 1911, Davos, Switz.died June 1, 2007 , Argentière, Francewas a member of the Swiss team of amateur climbers who in the spring of 1952 forged a passage up the South Face of Mt. Everest, across the treacherous Khumbu Icefall and the glacial basin called the Western Cwm, to reach the South Col, close to the top. Their route was followed by the 1953 expedition on which Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first reached the mountain's summit and by most subsequent climbers. The Swiss summit party, which included Tenzing himself but not Hofstetter, came within 198 m (650 ft) of the summit before they were forced to turn back. Hofstetter was instrumental in the safe return of the team down the mountain.
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Universalium. 2010.
