Xaver Bongard
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Xaver Bongard (* 21 December 1963 in Fribourg; † 15 April 1994 in Lauterbrunnen), known to close friends as Toto, was a Swiss rock climber, mountaineer, ice climber and BASE-jumper.
Life[edit]
Xaver Bongard was born into a German speaking family living in Fribourg and learned French growing up.[1] His baptismal name was Xaver, not "Xavier". His close friends called him "Toto".[2][3] By the age of 12, Bongard became a member of the alpine club of Fribourg. In the beginning of his climbing career Bongard was practicing a lot on the limestone cliffs of the Gastlosen (mountain range of the Swiss Prealps).[2] At the age of 18 he climbed the north face of the Eiger and the "Walker Pillar" on the Grandes Jorasses.[2] In 1983 Bongard passed the exam to become a mechanic – he only worked sporadically in his job.[2] Between 1983 and 1993 Bongard became a world-known climber through numerous expeditions and first ascents. Most notably are his expedition on Baffin Island (with Peter Gobet), his solo ascent on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, the ascent of the northeast pillar at the Great Trango Tower in the Karakoram (with John Middendorf) and the first ascent of the icefall on the Breitwandfluh in the Kander valley ("Crack Baby" with Michael Gruber).[2] Being fascinated by the BASE-jumping scene in the United States of America, Bongard became a licensed skydiver in 1990. In the same year he did his first BASE-jump from El Capitan in Yosemite Valley.[2][3] One year after passing the UIAA mountain guide exam, Xaver Bongard died in April 1994 during a BASE-jump from "Staubbach" in the Lauterbrunnen valley.[2]
Notable ascents[edit]
- 1982
- North face of the Eiger (Bernese Alps), until V on rock, until 60° on ice
- Grandes Jorasses, "Walker Pillar" (Mont Blanc massif), VI
- 1983
- Four six-thousanders in Chile
- 1984
- Chacraraju, 6112mASL (Peru), first ascent "Voie de l'amitié", until VI on rock, until 90° on ice
- 1986
- Mount McKinley, 6194mASL (Alaska), Cassin-Ridge
- Four Bigwalls, Yosemite (USA)
- 1987
- Three first ascents on Baffin Island
- El Capitan (Yosemite), "Iron Hawk", 5.9, A4+, First solo ascent
- El Capitan (Yosemite), "Lost in America", 5.10, A5, First solo ascent
- 1988
- El Capitan (Yosemite), "Sea of Dreams", 5.10, A5, First solo ascent
- El Capitan (Yosemite), "Jolly Roger", 5.10, A5, First solo ascent
- 1992
- Great Trango Tower, 6231mASL (Karakoram), first ascent of the northeast pillar, 6b, A4+, until 85° on ice
- 1993
- "Crack Baby" (icefall on the Breitwandfluh, Kander valley), V6, first ascent.
BASE-Jumping[edit]
In 1989 Bongard met Will Oxx in Yosemite National Park.[3] They became close friends and appeared together in the climbing movie "RockNRoad" from 1993.[citation needed] Will Oxx was an experienced climber and one of the first BASE-jumpers in the world (BASE#41).[citation needed] Bongard was fascinated by this young sport and started his BASE-jumping career with a jump from El Capitan in Yosemite Valley together with Oxx in 1990 which made him the first Swiss BASE-jumper.[citation needed] Bongard used to tell Will Oxx about a valley with steep rock walls close to his home (Interlaken) where one could certainly do BASE-jumps. In 1991 Bongard jumped from the exit "Staubbach" in the Lauterbrunnen valley which was opened by French jumper Dominique Gleizes in September 1990.[5] In the same year Bongard and Oxx started jumping from "Yellow Ocean", "Isenfluh" and "Unterbach".[definition needed] These first BASE-jumps in Switzerland were photographed by Thomas Ulrich. After jumping from all four types of objects (Building, Antenna, Span and Earth), Bongard got BASE#362.[3]
On April 15, 1994, Bongard went to "Staubbach"[definition needed] with Franck Konrad. At that time Bongard was using a "Sorcerer" rig from Vertigo BASE Outfitters, a two-parachute BASE-system. After the main parachute did not open properly, he pulled the reserve parachute which opened with line twists causing him to hit the rock and die from his injuries at the scene of the accident.[4][6] According to the "BASE Fatality List" which documents every fatality worldwide since the beginning of the sport, Bongard was the 31st person who died through BASE-jumping and the first BASE-fatality in Switzerland.[7] Bongard left behind his parents, sister and partner. His funeral was held at the catholic church of Interlaken with John Middendorf providing a eulogy.[8]
Legacy[edit]
Bongard and Oxx made Lauterbrunnen a Mecca for BASE-jumping.[citation needed] A memorial plaque for Xaver Bongard was installed at the exit point "Yellow Ocean" by the "Swiss BASE Association".[citation needed]
Further resources[edit]
- John Middendorf (2021-06-07). "RockNRoad. First Clean Ascent of the Shield by Charlie Fowler, Xaver Bongard, Will Oxx, and Beth Wald". YouTube. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
References[edit]
- ↑ Conversation with Rosemarie Delley (mother of Xaver Bongard) in Interlaken, 19th of October 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Ulrich Remanofsky (2011), Wen die Götter lieben - Schicksale von elf Extrembergsteigern (in German) (1., erste Auflage ed.), Bad Häring: Alpinverlag, ISBN 978-3-902656-09-4, OCLC 780135830, retrieved 2021-12-21CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Will Oxx (2021-10-21). "Tribute to Xaver Bongard".
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wen die Götter lieben - Schicksale von elf Extrembergsteigern (1., erste Auflage ed.). Alpinverlag. 2011. ISBN 978-3-902656-09-4. OCLC 780135830. Search this book on
- ↑ "Staubbach". Topo Paralpinisme (in français). Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ↑ Outside Magazine (1994-09-01). "Milestones: Xaver Bongard, 1964-1994". Outside Magazine. Retrieved 2021-12-21. Bongard's year of birth is incorrectly stated here.
- ↑ Base Fatality List. "Xaver Bongard". Retrieved 2021-12-21.
- ↑ John Middendorf. "Xaver Bongard Obituary". Retrieved 2021-12-21.
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