Adventurer. Born in Kitzbühel, Austria, atended schools in Kufstein and was drafted into military service during World War One. After completing his abitur (high school) he studied agriculture in Munich, Germany. While in Munich he continued mountain climbing and met several German climbers of the era. Participated in expeditions to the third highest mountain in the world, Kangchenjunga (1929 and 1931), and later the 1939 German expedition to Nanga Parbat in Kashmir which included fellow Austrian climber, Heinrich Harrer, and they established a new ascent route. The party learned of the WWII outbreak on the return trip through Karachi when they became prisoners of war of the British in India. He finally escaped the POW camp in April 1944 along with Harrer and they eventually reached Tibet in 1946 where they remained until 1950 when the approaching Chinese Army caused them to flee. The book and resulting film, "Seven Years in Tibet," is based on the two-year escape. Aufschnaiter helped the Tibetan city of Lhasa plan a hydroelectric power plant and a system of canals and also worked as a cartographer while there. He arrived in Nepal in 1952 where he worked as a cartopher and then in New Delhi for the Indian Army. He eventually obtained a Nepalese passport which allowed him access to many restricted remote areas and he discovered valuable early Buddhist frescos. From 1956 on he held a position as an agriculture expert for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He eventually returned to Austria and died in Innsbruck.
Adventurer. Born in Kitzbühel, Austria, atended schools in Kufstein and was drafted into military service during World War One. After completing his abitur (high school) he studied agriculture in Munich, Germany. While in Munich he continued mountain climbing and met several German climbers of the era. Participated in expeditions to the third highest mountain in the world, Kangchenjunga (1929 and 1931), and later the 1939 German expedition to Nanga Parbat in Kashmir which included fellow Austrian climber, Heinrich Harrer, and they established a new ascent route. The party learned of the WWII outbreak on the return trip through Karachi when they became prisoners of war of the British in India. He finally escaped the POW camp in April 1944 along with Harrer and they eventually reached Tibet in 1946 where they remained until 1950 when the approaching Chinese Army caused them to flee. The book and resulting film, "Seven Years in Tibet," is based on the two-year escape. Aufschnaiter helped the Tibetan city of Lhasa plan a hydroelectric power plant and a system of canals and also worked as a cartographer while there. He arrived in Nepal in 1952 where he worked as a cartopher and then in New Delhi for the Indian Army. He eventually obtained a Nepalese passport which allowed him access to many restricted remote areas and he discovered valuable early Buddhist frescos. From 1956 on he held a position as an agriculture expert for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He eventually returned to Austria and died in Innsbruck.
Bio by: Fred Beisser
Advertisement
See more Aufschnaiter memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
