Pierre Kohlmann

Biography

Pierre Kohlmann was a French mountaineer born on August 24, 1935; he died of exhaustion on July 16, 1961, at the age of 25, on the Italian side of Mont Blanc. Originally from the Paris region, Kohlmann completed several significant first ascents in the Alps and was a friend and climbing partner of Pierre Mazeaud. In the late 1940s, Kohlmann discovered rock climbing in the Fontainebleau forest alongside René Desmaison—who was five years his senior—while both were living in Antony, near Paris. In the spring of 1958, Kohlmann met Pierre Mazeaud; the two became friends and climbed together, notably at Le Saussois, where they established several new routes. It was there, in 1959, that they prepared for a successful first ascent—achieved with Desmaison and Bernard Lagesse—of the overhanging north face of the Cima Ovest in the Dolomites (the Couzy route). Kohlmann completed several first ascents in the Alps (often accompanied by Mazeaud) as well as in the Hoggar mountains. In the film industry, Kohlmann served as a stunt double for Jean Marais in various acrobatic scenes; in 1961, he led a team of mountaineers participating in the filming of the swashbuckler *Le Miracle des loups* (The Miracle of the Wolves) in the Jonte Gorges. Kohlmann was known for his altruistic and generous nature; a devout Christian, he was in the habit of praying at his bivouac in the evenings. He was involved with an association for blind youth, introducing them to rock climbing at Fontainebleau and mountain hiking. Kohlmann was hard of hearing and required a hearing aid; this posed a challenge for communication with his climbing partners, particularly when the device malfunctioned. In July 1961, alongside French climbers Pierre Mazeaud, Antoine Vieille, and Robert Guillaume—and joined by Italians Walter Bonatti, Andrea Oggioni, and Roberto Gallieni—Pierre Kohlmann attempted the first ascent of the Central Pillar of Freney on the Italian side of Mont Blanc. A storm halted their climb after they had already surpassed an altitude of 4,500 meters. Trapped amidst the lightning, they were grazed by a strike that hit Pierre Kohlmann’s hearing aid, rendering it permanently inoperable. They waited for conditions to improve, but the weather did not clear; the ensuing storm forced the climbers into a multi-day retreat that turned into a tragedy. First Antoine Vieille and then Robert Guillaume died of exhaustion. While Pierre Mazeaud remained at the foot of the north face of the Col de l'Innominata beside the dying Andrea Oggioni, a deaf Pierre Kohlmann succumbed to madness brought on by fatigue and dehydration; Walter Bonatti and Roberto Gallieni were forced to leave the deranged Kohlmann at the foot of the col's south face. They then made a rapid night-time descent to the Gamba Hut to alert rescue services. Pierre Mazeaud was saved in the nick of time, but rescuers could do nothing for Pierre Kohlmann, whom they found dying on Sunday, July 16, 1961. Pierre Kohlmann is buried in the Antony cemetery.