Bill Denz

Bill Denz
Born	Matthew William Denz 27 December 1951 Surrey, England
Died	3 October 1983 (aged 31) Makalu, Nepal
Cause of death	Falling, due to an avalanche
Known for	Free solo climbing Reputedly climbing the Machapuchare illegally in 1983

Bill Denz, formally Matthew William Denz, ^[1] was a mountain climber from New Zealand, famous for his free solo climbing and reputed climbing of the Machapuchare illegally in 1983.

Early life

Denz was born on 27 September 1951 in Surrey, England. However, at the age of 2, his family decided to move to New Zealand in 1953, ^[1] which led to him growing up in Dunedin, where he began his climbing journey. He reached his first successes when climbing the area around Mount Cook in 1970. ^[2]

Mountain climbing

Denz had become pretty famous due to his effective ways of climbing the harsh routes in the Southern Alps, Darran Mountains and Patagonia. ^[3] He was described as a free solo climber, who loved mountains that hadn't been climbed, would refuse to choose easy routes and ice climb in harsh areas. ^{[4] [5]}

One of his friends, Philipp Herron, died when climbing the Cerro Torre with him. ^[6] Due to his friend's death and the extremely harsh environment, Denz would only manage to climb the finale rime mushroom twice, instead of the summit. ^[7]

According to unconfirmed sources, Denz reputedly climbed the Machapuchare in Nepal illegally in either 1973 ^[8] or 1983. Due to his death in 1983, it is still uncertain whether the story is true. ^{[9] [4]} He had also tried illegally climbing the Melungtse in Tibet ^{[7] [10]}

In 1981, Denz had become the first person ever to climb the Kusum Kanguru in Nepal. ^[11]

Death

Bill Denz died on 3 October 1983 due to an avalanche, when climbing the Makalu with his friends Peter Hillary, Mark Moorhead and Fred From. Moorhead and Fred had reached a height of 7,600 metres (24,900 ft), but Moorhead died on 15 October, when he fell while getting back down. ^{[12] [3] [13]}

Literature

• Paul Maxim, Bold beyond belief. Bill Denz. New Zealand´s Mountain Warrior. Wellington 2011.

References

1. New Zealand Alpine Journal. New Zealand Alpine Club. 1991.
2. Bob Mckerrow-Wayfarer (18 January 2012). "Bob McKerrow - Wayfarer: Bill Denz - the coffee jar and Vern Leader". Bob McKerrow - Wayfarer. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
3. Himalayan Dreaming: Australian mountaineering in the great ranges of Asia, 1922-1990. The Australian National University E-Press. 2010. pp. 346, 558.
4. Notes from Nepal. Notion Press. 5 November 2020. ISBN   978-1-64951-806-4.
5. The Alpine Journal. Vol. 91. Alpine Club. 1986. p. 133.
6. Patagonien: Von Horizont zu Horizont. Piper ebooks. 12 October 2020. ISBN   978-3-492-99787-4.
7. Postcards from the Ledge: Collected Mountaineering Writings of Greg Child. The Mountaineers Books. 2 October 2012. ISBN   978-1-59485-355-5.
8. India and Nepal – Truth is Stranger Than Fiction. A Himalayan Adventure 1984. Books on Demand. 2016. p. 105.
9. Annapurna Treks. Bergverlag Rother. 2020. p. 218.
10. Mixed Emotions: Mountaineering Writings of Greg Child. The Mountaineers Books. 21 August 2012. ISBN   978-1-59485-314-2.
11. Insight Guides Nepal (Travel Guide eBook). Rough Guides UK. 1 December 2017. ISBN   978-1-78671-853-2.
12. "Erstbesteiger Detail" . Retrieved 9 October 2024.
13. In the Ghost Country: A Lifetime Spent on the Edge. Simon and Schuster. 30 December 2003. ISBN   978-0-7432-4369-8.