Swiss Everest pioneer dies at 95

[Maddy McCall]

Source: AP

Ernest Hofstetter, part of the Swiss team that first traced the route to "The Roof of the World" used by Sir Edmund Hillary to conquer Mount Everest, has died, his son said Friday. He was 95.

Hofstetter, who died June 1 at his French chalet with a view of Mont Blanc, was a member of the Swiss expedition that had to turn back just short of the peak in 1952 but is credited with forging the path that Hillary and Tenzing Norgay used in their successful assault a year later. The path is still used today in climbs to the 29,035-foot peak.

Acknowledging the Swiss contribution, Hillary's team sent them a telegram after peaking: "To you goes half the glory."

"He was kind, but he could also be hard. But it's not a softy who climbs Mount Everest," his son, Michel Hofstetter, told The Associated Press.



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He died June 1, but this is the first I've heard of his death. I understand that the family just released this info.

:(


The participants in the spring expedition (from left): Jean-Jacques Asper, René Dittert, Ernst Hofstetter, Gabriel Chevalley and René Aubert