Joëlle Catherine Brupbacher (3 August 1978 – 22 May 2011) was a Swiss mountaineer.
Joëlle Brupbacher | |
---|---|
Born | August 3, 1978 |
Died | |
Cause of death | Altitude sickness, exhaustion |
Burial place | Makalu |
Occupation | IT Specialist |
Known for | First Swiss woman to summit 5 eight-thousanders |
Spouse(s) | Jorge Egocheaga (Spanish summiter of all 14 eight-thousanders), 2011 |
Brupbacher lived in Muri bei Bern and was employed as an IT specialist with Swiss Federal Railways.[1] Before she turned to mountaineering, she was a sport climber. She would go on to be the first Swiss woman to summit five of the fourteen eight-thousanders, all without the use of supplementary oxygen.[2]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Makalu_%283to4%29.jpg/220px-Makalu_%283to4%29.jpg)
Final climb
editBrupbacher was climbing Makalu with a small expedition team on the mountain that day, including her husband, Jorge Egocheaga and Oscar Fernandez.[3] Brupabacher and Egocheaga were married only a month before the climb.[4] It was her second attempt at Makalu, after an attempt in the previous season that was aborted at 7800m.[5] Brupacher was climbing with a cold, and making slower progress than the others. Egocheaga summitted first, meeting Brupbacher on the descent, where he encouraged her to turn around.[6] According to the expedition report, she refused and continued to the summit alongside her sherpa, Pasang Gyalzen Sherpa.[7]
After reaching the summit of Makalu, and descending to Camp 4 on 21 May, Brupbacher died of acute mountain sickness (AMS) in her tent at Camp 3 at an altitude of 7400 m on the 22 May 2011.[1][8][9] Egocheaga was already in base camp.[10] On May 21, before Brupbacher died, Egocheaga and Ramos tried to organize a rescue, however efforts were unsuccessful.[11] [12]After her death, her body was left in the tent at camp 3. Fabrizio Zangrilli, a climber from the team sent to render aid to Brupbacher before she died, went up, collapsed the tent over her, and packed snow over the tent to bury her body.[5]
After her death, her family started Joëlle Ayuda, a Nepalese non-profit organization to help disadvantaged children with education and medical care in Nepal's Makalu Valley.[13][14]
Notable ascents
edit- 2006: Broad Peak, 8051 m, Pakistan-China[15]
- 2007: Dhaulagiri, 8167 m, Nepal[16]
- 2007: Cho Oyu, 8188 m, Nepal-China[15]
- Gasherbrum II, 8035 m, Pakistan-China[15]
- 2010: Ama Dablam 6814 m, Nepal - summit disputed[5]
- 2011: Makalu, 8485 m, Nepal-China - summit disputed[8]
References
edit- ^ a b Schulthess, Adrian (27 May 2011). "Drama am Makalu: Berner Alpinistin stirbt am 5. Achttausender". Blick. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ^ "Schweizer Alpinistin kommt im Himalaya-Massiv ums Leben". Neue Zürcher Zeitung / SDA. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ^ "«Te lo dedico, Joëlle»". La Nueva España (in Spanish). 2011-12-29. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
- ^ Amorós, Marta (2021-03-31). ""Haber conocido a mi mujer es más significativo que haberla perdido" Jorge Egocheaga, médico y alpinista". Instituto Kern (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-06-30.
- ^ a b c "Himalayan Database Online". Himalayan Database. p. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
- ^ "Joëlle Brupbacher, el rescate que no fue". Desnivel.com (in Spanish). 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
- ^ L, A. (2011-05-26). "Muere una compañera de escalada de Egocheaga". La Nueva España (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-06-30.
- ^ a b "Swiss female mountaineer claimed by Makalu". Explorersweb.com. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ^ L, A. (2011-05-26). "Muere una compañera de escalada de Egocheaga". La Nueva España (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-06-30.
- ^ S.L.U, Barrabes Esquí Montaña. "Cumbre en el Makalu para Martín Ramos, Jorge Egocheaga, Horia Colibasanu y Peter Hámor | Blog Barrabes". www.barrabes.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-06-30.
- ^ d'Angella, Valentina (2011-05-27). "Muore alpinista svizzera al Makalu, dubbi e polemiche al base". Montagna.TV (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-06-30.
- ^ "Nessuno ascolta JoëlleMorte sull'Himalaya". La Stampa (in Italian). 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
- ^ VÁZQUEZ, SOLANGE (2021-02-10). "Jorge Egocheaga: «Vivimos en la cultura de la queja y no nos hace ningún favor»". El Diario Montañés (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-06-30.
- ^ Lorca, Antonio (2024-01-04). "Jorge Egocheaga siembra en el cielo: el montañero ayuda a que niños de Nepal puedan estudiar". www.epe.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-06-30.
- ^ a b c "Joelle Brupbacher | Athletes | Arc'teryx". Arc'teryx Equipment. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
- ^ Lane, Keese (2011-05-26). "Climber Dead on Makalu". Alpinist. Retrieved 2024-06-30.