Hans Kaufmann (20 December 1874 - 31 March 1930) was a Swiss mountain guide who served clients in the Alps, the Rocky Mountains, the Dolomites, the Carpathians, and the Andes.
Family and early life (1874-1894)
Hans (Johannes) was the son of Peter Kaufmann (1832-1903) and Margaretha (née Baumann, 1839-1903). His father, called Grabenpeter or Grabipeter, was a well-established certified mountain guide during the Golden Age of Alpinism. His brothers—Friederich (Fritz; born 1878), Rudolf (born 1875), and Christian (1872-1939) as well as his half-brother Peter Kaufmann (1858-1924)--all became mountain guides."Zum Hinscheid von Bergführer Hans Kaufmann," Echo von Grindelwald 28 (5 April 1930).
Like his brothers, as a young boy, he tended goats and cows on the upper pastures, learning about and becoming accustomed to alpine conditions. And he worked as a porter alongside his father, Grabipeter, learning the principles of climbing and familiarizing himself with the mountains in the Bernese Oberland.Rubi, Rudolf, "Wie Gletscherhirten Fremdenführer wurden," Im Tal von Grindelwald: Vom Bergbauerndorf zum Fremdenort, II. Grindelwald: Sutter Druck AG, 1986, 149.
Although sledging, curling, and skating were popular winter pastimes in nineteenth-century Grindelwald, it was not until the 1890s that skis first appeared. In 1891, Gerald Fox, an Englishman who had “discovered” skiing in Scandinavia,Dawe, Tony." Pioneer Skis Return to Alps," The Times, London (25 Jan. 1976) approached Hans and his brother Ruedi asking whether they would like to try this new sport. Eager for any adventure, the two teenagers were soon climbing the lower part of the Wengeralp with skis and single ski-poles, so that they could zoom down to Grindelwald on the snow. As Hans Gertsch reported, it was not long before neighboring youngsters "requisitioned" barrel staves for makeshift skis, found old shoes which they nailed to the "skis," used packing string for bindings, and adapted broomsticks for poles. Groups would climb to the Grosse Scheidegg and then race downhill past trees and boulders without an hour of previous instruction.Rubi, Rudolf. Rudolf, Im Tal von Grindelwald: Der Sommer- und Winterkurort III. Grindelwald: Sutter Druck AG, 1987, pp. 143-145.
Early climbing career (1895-1897)
After rigorous study, practical experience as a porter, as well as written and oral examinations, Kaufmann earned his climbing license on 24 June 1895, at the age of 21. Early entries in his FührerbuchKaufmann, Johannes (Hans). Führerbuch. Regierungsstatthalter des Amtsbezirks Interlaken. 1895. Christian and Hans Kaufmann fonds (M385 / V321). Archives and Library, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff, Alberta, Canada, and “The Führerbücher of Hans and Christian Kaufmann,” American Alpine Journal (1943). include client testimonies about successful climbs to the Gleckstein Hut and Wetterhorn summit.
Christian Almer, (1826-1898), who planned to celebrate his golden wedding anniversary with an ascent of the Wetterhorn, asked Kaufmann to serve as porter. So on Friday 20 June 1896, Almer (age 70), his wife Margaretha (age 71), his eldest daughter, two sons (Peter and Hans), the village physician (Dr. Huber), a photographer, Hans Kaufmann, and another porter left Grindelwald, spent the night at the Gleckstein hut, and rested the following day.“An Alpine Golden Wedding,” The Press (New Zealand), 50: Issue 9497 (17 August 1896), p. 4. On Sunday, soon after midnight, the group left the hut, "arriving just hours later on the summit . . . A high wind and intense cold prevented a long or convivial stay, but the weather was otherwise good and Almer's friends in Grindelwald could see the party being photographed on the summit."Clark, Ronald. The Early Alpine Guides. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1950, p. 137. "Gritli" (née Margaretha Kaufmann in 1824) was a distant relative of Hans Kaufmann.
Professional climbing career (1898-1901)
During the early years for his career, Kaufmann guided clients to the summits of the Wetterhorn, the Jungfrau, the Mettenberg, and Blüemlisalp (3,661 m / 12,011 ft), frequently crossing glaciers (e.g. Eismeer, and resting at alpine huts (Gleckstein, Bergli, Concordia). In August 1899 he climbed in the Mont Banc, and Dent du Giant in the French Alps with Otto Schink. For two weeks in August 1899, he worked with Hans Brawand guiding F. E. Robinson, H. N. Fairbanks, Rev. W Stock, Englishmen, to several local peaks, including the Eiger. He praises Kaufmann for his climbing skills and ability to speak English. Dr. Hawkins from Aldershot, England, however, said that Kaufmann "has one fault, viz. that he drinks too much water when he is climbing. When I told him so, he said: 'Not too much for me, sir!' He may be right?"Kaufmann, Hans. Führerbuch, p. 45.
In the Canadian Rockies (1901 & 1902) Although his brother Christian had arrived in Canada with Edward Whymper and three other guides in June 1901, Hans Kaufmann travelled to the Rockies independently a month later. After establishing a base camp at Moraine lake in the Valley of the Ten Peaks with H. Woolley, Hugh E. H. Stutfield, and George M. Weed, Kaufmann spent a week (18-25 July 1901) guiding the group to the summits of Mounts Pinnacle, Temple, Neptuak, and Shagowa [later Mount Tuzo].Stutfield, Hugh E.M. and J Norman Collie. Climbs & Exploration in the Canadian Rockies. London: Longmans, Green and Company, 1903. They also made an unsuccessful attempt to climb Mount Hungabee, turning back 100 feet before the summit because of darkness and snow conditions. Among the other climbs were ascents to Mount Victoria with E.W.D. Holway (Aug. 1), Mount Cascade with John Paton (Aug. 5), Mount Lefroy with Barrett Wendell, Jr. (Aug 30), as well as Mount White with Constance and Harriet Booth (Aug. 20). At the end of each climbing season Hans returned to Grindelwald, as did his brother Christian.Stutfield, pp. 176 ff.
In 1902, Kaufmann spent six weeks in the Rockies with J. Norman Collie,Collie's pioneering work in climbing, mapping, and surveying the Canadian Rockies was detailed in Climbs and Exploration in the Canadian Rockies (1903), which he co-authored with Hugh E. M. Stutfield. Herman Woolley, Hugh E. M. Stutfield (1858-1929), and George M. Weed. Hans led the group to the summits of Mts. Murchison, Howse Peak, and Neptuak, and accomplished two first-ascents, working with his brother Christian: Mts. Freshfield (3,337 m / 10,948 ft) and Forbes (3,612 m / 11,850 ft). For eight weeks in July and August 1902, Christian Kaufmann guided James Outram, Collie's rival, to some of the highest peaks in Canadian Rockies. However, on one occasion, Collie's group reluctantly joined forces with Christian and Outram; so that the two Kaufmanns guided their clients to the summit of Mount Freshfield, where they might study the needed rock work to summit Mount Forbes, the challenging next peak. During the ascent of Mount Forbes, "Hans Kaufmann at one point had a lucky escape when by chance a rock came away in his hands. He only fell a few feet and managed to grab the edge go the arête in time. The ridge, according to Woolley, seemed only held together by frozen snow."Mill, Christine. Norman Collie: A Life in Two Worlds: Mountain Explorer and Scientist 1859-1942. Aberdeen: Aberdeen Press, 1987, p. 138.
Collie and Outram put aside their rivalry and behaved like Victorian gentlemen: "At one point Collie, rather than increase the risk to his companions of being the fourth on the rope, abandoned the ascent. After Outram successfully climbed the second cliff, he sent Christian and Hans Kaufmann back down to accompany Collie up the difficult section, feeling that Collie, 'more than all the rest, deserved the gratification and honour of being the first to conquer Mount Forbes'."Birrell, Dave. 50 Roadside Panoramas in the Canadian Rockies. Surrey, BC: Rocky Mountain Books, 2000, p. 43. Outram had suggested that the two teams do an expedition together, but Collie decided against it, and the two parted: Christian and Outram headed for their spectacular ascent of Mount Bryce; Collie, his group, and Hans went toward via Bear Creek to the Freshfield glacier.
At one point, it was necessary to cross Bear Creek, and Collie reported: "It was Hans' first experience of fording streams on horseback, and, though brave as a lion on mountains, this sort of thing was not at all to his taste: which was not surprising, as Bear Creek even when low is always more or less of a trial to the inexperienced. However, he faced the ordeal with exemplary fortitude: only, when safe on the further side, he shook his head gravely and in his broken English enigmatically observed, 'Several times you cross it; but once is the last time'."Stutfield and Collie, p. 258.
Later in their journey, the group encountered a forest fire that Collie surmised might have been spitefully started by Outram by preventing Hans and the others from continuing. The group solved the problem by building a raft, christened the Glacier Belle, after the lake they were to navigate, Glacier Lake. "Raft, freight, and passengers must have weighed two or three tons. . . . [W]ith a tow-rope on the bank, when towing was practical and punting, pushing, paddling, and hauling for some hours, we gradually approached the further end of the lake. The scenery grew grander as we advanced. Eastwards Mount Murchison came into view, a must imposing mass: in the opposite direction was Lyell glacier, withers attendant peaks and magnificent ice-fall brilliantly mirrored in the turquoise, or rather peacock-blue water."Stutfield and Collie, p. 298. On their return voyage, they attached a canvas pack-cover onto two poles, making a sail to move them across the lake: Dave [the team's lumberman] was at the helm and Hans at the prow.Stutfield and Collie, p. 303.
Although Collie was Kaufmann's employer, he clearly viewed him professional and personally as more than a personal valet: Hans "was an excellent fellow--very keen and good-tempered, and willing to do all the sorts of things, from hard work on the mountain-side to carrying gigantic logs on his back for the camp-fire, or mending boots. In short, he was everything that a British climber is wont to write (with more or less truth) in his guide's Führer Buch at the close of his season in the Alps--and more besides." Indeed, Collie's entry in Hans Kaufmann's Führerbuch reads: Hans is "an excellent rock climber with a good knowledge of snow and ice, very strong, most willing and obliging, and a charming companion."Kaufmann, Hans. Führerbuch, pp. 88-89.
Upon their return to Switzerland at the end of the climbing season (October 1902), Hans and Christian Kaufmann reported that the season had been most successful, saying "that many of the climbers they go out with return regularly each season. The Rockies, they think, are destined to become a second and greater Switzerland.""Hardy Crag Climbers Return from Rockies: Häsler and Kauffmans [sic] say the season has been most successful," The Gazette, Montreal (07 Oct 1902), p. 6.
In the Canadian Rockies (1903 & 1904)
Hans Kaufmann began his 1903 season by climbing Mount Stephen with Gouverneur Paulding (1829-1931), a member and secretary of the American Geological Society. Ascents of Mounts Whyte, Niblock and Lefroy followed with the world explorer, archeologist, and mountaineer, Gertrude Lowthian Bell (1868-1926), and there was a climb of Mount Victoria with Marion Porter Raymond (1881-1959), with whom Kaufmann established a long-term climbing relationship.Kaufmann, Hans. Führerbuch, pp. 90-101.