Calgary, September 2025
Hans was a mountain climber. He was more than that; he was the best mountain climber in the world. At least, that’s what he thought, and there was a reason for that. He led some of the hardest first ascents, climbs where others failed, and paid for the failure with their lives. But Hans also had other talents. He was good with words, and his presentations about climbing were popular within the climbing circles. In addition, he was a top ski racer and was preparing to compete in Olympic competition. Hans was a person with many talents, but he was also a man who needed a woman in his bed. There were several of them, and every time they made love, he whispered to their ears: “I love you.” At that moment, he believed it, but then came another big climb, another first ascent, and the women were forgotten. Hans was addicted to mountains and to the danger they provided.
But one night, something changed. He was lying in bed with his lover when the woman whispered, “I am pregnant.” That was something he didn’t expect, and it was a real problem. At that time, abortions were illegal and were punished by stiff prison sentences. Also, being a single mother would bring stigma to her whole family.
“I will marry you,” said Hans.
“But you don’t want to do it, do you? Besides, you are planning to join an expedition to the Himalayas in a couple of months.”
“This is true, but in the meantime, we can pretend to be a loving married couple.”
“How can we pretend that if you will leave me alone with a newborn child?”
“The expedition wouldn’t take that long. Only four months.”
“And then what? New climbs, new expeditions, and me staying at home with a child, just like a single mother?”
“Yes. You know I am dedicated to mountains. You knew that before.”
This was not a good beginning to the marriage. The wedding took place in a small Austrian town, but it wasn’t a cheerful event. His wife was from an affluent family, and her parents were not happy that their daughter was marrying a mountain-climbing bum. What followed was the daily routine, which for Hans was filled with preparations for the expedition. He had very little time for his pregnant wife. Then came the day of the departure with the usual confusion. At the railway station, Hans was running around, sorting bags, and then he jumped onto the train and was gone. “He didn’t even kiss me,” thought his wife. What she didn’t know was that he would be gone for more than 12 years.
This is the end of my story, but it is not the end of Hans, whose real name was Heinrich Harrer. The year was 1939, the expedition left Kitzbühel, Austria, in August to climb Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas, and in September, Great Britain declared war on Germany. At that time, the expedition was in India, and the English arrested them as enemy aliens. For five years, the members of the expedition were kept in the detention camp in Dehradun, India, but Heinrich Harrer wasn’t somebody who would accept such a fate. In 1944, after several attempts, he and his friend Peter Aufschnaiter escaped, and after a harrowing journey of two years, in 1946, they reached Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. That was when Heinrich Harrer's skill with words played a crucial role. Instead of being thrown to jail for illegally entering the Forbidden City, he, helped by his friend’s knowledge of Tibetan language, talked himself into a position of an adviser to the Dalai Lama, who at that time was a child. Peter Aufschnaiter became employed by the Tibetan government to help to modernise the city.
Years were passing, Heinrich became the Dalai Lama’s teacher, and Peter Aufschnaiter found friends in the Lhasa community. Both friends were planning to stay, but in 1950, China invaded Tibet, forcing them to join the caravan of the Dalai Lama to retreat to the Chumbi Valley near India. Henrich continued to India, eventually returning to Austria in 1952, while Peter stayed in Asia and became a Nepalese citizen.
Shortly after returning to Austria, Heinrich Harrer published his famous book, Seven Years in Tibet, followed by an equally successful publication, The White Spider. There, he describes the dramatic first ascent of the North Face of Eiger. In Austria, he also contacted his wife and his son, but the reunion was less than friendly. His wife divorced him in 1944 and blamed him for abandoning her. On the brighter side, Heindrich remarried and continued climbing. His post-Tibet trips involved numerous successful first ascents and expeditions to various continents. He also maintained a life-long friendship with Dalai Lama, and they met several times in India, in Switzerland, and in Austria. Their last meeting took place in 2001 in Austria.
Heinrich Harrer was not only a great mountain climber, but also an ambassador of goodwill between people of different cultures and religions. He died in 2006, aged 93, and I wish there were more people like him today.