Hannelore Schmatz

Hannelore Schmatz (née Ledermann; 14 February 1940 – 2 October 1979) was a German mountaineer and the fourth woman to summit Mount Everest. She collapsed and died as she was returning from summiting Everest via the southern route; Schmatz was the first woman and first German citizen to die on the upper slopes of Everest.

Biography In 1962, Schmatz married her husband, , who was the first European to climb all Seven Summits. The pair lived in Neu-Ulm, where Gerhard ran a notary office. Her husband introduced Schmatz to mountaineering and together, they climbed Manaslu in May 1973, Tirich Mir in July 1975, and Lhotse in June 1977. Between 1973 and 1976, the couple made it an annual tradition to scale one of the highest mountains.

Death Schmatz was on an expedition via the South East Ridge route with her husband Gerhard Schmatz, who was the expedition leader and the oldest man to summit Everest at the time at age 50. Hannelore Schmatz initially didn't plan to go to the summit, but decided to do so shortly after her husband began making his way down the day before. On the same expedition was the American Ray Genet, who also died while descending from the summit. Exhausted from the climb, they had stopped to bivouac at as the night approached, despite their Sherpa guides urging them not to stop. Ray Genet died later that night and both the Sherpa and Schmatz were distressed, but decided to continue their descent. Then at Schmatz sat down, said "Water, Water" to her Sherpa and died. Sungdare Sherpa, one of the Sherpa guides, remained with her body, and as a result, lost most of his fingers and toes.

Genet's body ultimately disappeared under the snow, but Schmatz's body remained where she died on the mountain.

It was in 1999, 20 years later, that was the first German woman to survive reaching the summit of Mount Everest. She made the ascent from Tibet via the North Side route. In 2009, followed Hannelore Schmatz's route from the south to the summit and back.

Body For years, Schmatz's remains could be seen by anyone attempting to summit Everest by the southern route. Her body was frozen in a sitting position, leaning against her backpack with eyes open and hair blowing in the wind, about above Camp IV.

In 1980, while travelling through Kathmandu, her husband unexpectedly found the Leica camera Schmatz was carrying at the time of her death in a local shop, and bought it for $200. Schmatz's husband assumes that someone stole the camera from her body while on the mountain.

Her body was held in place by her climbing rope during gale gusts until 1982, when an unidentified climber is presumed to have cut the cord.

British mountaineer Chris Bonington spotted Schmatz from a distance in April 1985, and initially mistook her body for a tent until he got a closer look. Næss' description is as follows:

The wind eventually blew Schmatz's remains over the edge and down the Kangshung Face.