Dhaulagiri 1960: The Swiss-Austrian Conquest of the White Mountain

Rising in colossal, isolated isolation above the deepest gorge on Earth—the Kali Gandaki canyon of western Nepal—Dhaulagiri I (8,167m) was long believed in the early nineteenth century to be the highest mountain in the world. Its Sanskrit name translates directly to “White Mountain,” a fitting tribute to the thousands of vertical meters of sheer, hanging glaciers, wind-blasted ice faces, and violent slab avalanches that guard its summit pyramid.

Between 1950 and 1959, Dhaulagiri earned a dark, impenetrable reputation. Seven separate international expeditions—including French reconnaissance under Maurice Herzog in 1950, Swiss attempts in 1953, Argentine assaults in 1954 and 1956, and Austrian expeditions in 1958 and 1959—were beaten back by brutal weather, catastrophic avalanches, and technical dead-ends. By the spring of 1960, Dhaulagiri was the highest unclimbed mountain remaining on Earth.

The Audacious Vision of Max Eiselin and ‘Yeti’

In 1960, a visionary 28-year-old Swiss mountaineer and sports merchant named Max Eiselin organized an international expedition combining elite Swiss, Austrian, and German climbers. Eiselin secured the inclusion of Austrian extreme alpinist Kurt Diemberger—who had already made history three years earlier with the first ascent of Broad Peak—alongside Swiss technical masters Ernst Forrer, Albin Schelbert, Peter Diener, Michel Vaucher, Hugo Weber, and veteran Sherpas led by Sirdar Nawang Dorje.

Eiselin’s plan featured an unprecedented technological gamble: rather than relying solely on weeks of porter caravans through untracked river gorges, the expedition brought a prototype single-engine, ski-equipped Pilatus PC-6 Porter airplane christened “Yeti.” Piloted by Ernst Saxer and Emil Wick, Yeti flew sixteen hazardous reconnaissance and supply missions directly from Pokhara and Kathmandu, setting an aviation world record by landing on the Northeast Col at 5,700 meters.

However, Himalayan aviation in 1960 was fraught with peril. During an attempted takeoff from the rough glacier runway on May 5, Yeti suffered a severe engine failure and crashed into the ice. While pilots Saxer and Wick miraculously escaped unhurt, the aircraft was completely wrecked. Stranded without air support, the climbers had to rely on pure foot power, packing their own supplies across the glaciers in classic alpine fashion.

Assault via the Northeast Ridge

Targeting the daunting Northeast Ridge, the team established a succession of high-altitude camps from the Mayangdi Glacier up to the Northeast Col. Battling sustained sub-zero hurricane winds that shredded canvas tents, the climbers pushed through the upper technical crux: a delicate, wind-scoured ice knife-edge and mixed rock towers above 7,400 meters.

On May 12, 1960, a formidable assault party composed of Kurt Diemberger, Peter Diener, Ernst Forrer, Albin Schelbert, and Sherpas Nawang Dorje and Nyima Dorje crowded into the high tents of Camp VI at 7,800 meters. Temperatures inside the tents plunged below minus thirty-five degrees Celsius. Because the expedition’s supplemental oxygen sets were reserved as medical emergency backups, the entire six-man party committed to attempting the summit push without bottled oxygen.

The Summit Triumph of May 13, 1960

At dawn on May 13, 1960, the six climbers emerged into a bitterly cold, cloudless morning. The wind howled relentlessly across the ridge, threatening to blow them off the narrow crest. Traversing beneath a jagged band of yellow rock, they entered a steep snow couloir flanking the final summit pyramid in the Death Zone.

Moving with rhythmic, disciplined determination, Diemberger, Forrer, and Schelbert kicked steps through hard, brittle blue ice and deep powder drifts. At 12:30 PM, breaking onto the summit ridge, Ernst Forrer and Peter Diener stepped onto the 8,167-meter apex of Dhaulagiri I, followed closely by Kurt Diemberger, Albin Schelbert, Nawang Dorje, and Nyima Dorje.

For Kurt Diemberger, standing on top of Dhaulagiri marked an unparalleled milestone in high-altitude mountaineering history: alongside his late companion Hermann Buhl, Diemberger became one of only two people in world history to achieve the maiden first ascents of two 8,000-meter peaks (Broad Peak in 1957 and Dhaulagiri in 1960).

The Echo of Historic Victory

Ten days later, on May 23, 1960, a second wave comprising Michel Vaucher and Hugo Weber also reached the summit, bringing the expedition’s total to eight summiteers with zero fatalities.

The conquest of Dhaulagiri I stripped the White Mountain of its reputedly invincible aura. By conquering the highest unclimbed mountain on Earth without supplemental oxygen, the 1960 Swiss Dhaulagiri Expedition proved that technical mastery, physical fortitude, and genuine teamwork could triumph over the most intimidating bastion in the Himalayas.