Fritz Kasparek

Who was Fritz Kasparek?

Fritz Kasparek was an Austrian mountaineer who was on the team that made the first ascent of the Eiger north face.

Kasparek gained his first alpine experiences on the Peilstein in the Wienerwald and in the Ennstaler Alps. After Emilio Comici had been the first to climb the north face of the Cima Grande of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo in 1933, in February 1938 Kasparek and Sepp Brunnhuber made the first winter ascent.

On 24 July 1938, with Anderl Heckmair, Ludwig Vörg and Heinrich Harrer, he made the first ascent of the north face of the Eiger. This climb, previously deemed impossible and described by Reinhold Messner as "a glorious moment in the history of mountaineering and a great sensation, since several climbers had previously perished on the face", made headlines around the world and is recounted in Heinrich Harrer's 1958 book, The White Spider.

Kasparek died in 1954, falling to his death through a broken snow cornice near the peak of the Salcantay in Peru.