Zuzana Hofmannová

Zuzana Hofmannová

Personal information
Native name	Zuzana Hofmannová
Born	(1959-06-15)15 June 1959 Czechoslovakia
Died	31 July 2012(2012-07-31) (aged 53) Broad Peak
Climbing career
Type of climber	Alpine climbing Traditional climbing

Zuzana Hofmannová, née Charvátová (15 June 1959 – 31 July 2012, Broad Peak, Pakistan) was a Czech mountaineer, alpinist, and rock climber. She summitted four eight-thousanders: Shishapangma, Cho Oyu, Manaslu, and Broad Peak, becoming the first Czech woman on top of Shishapangma, Manaslu and Broad Peak.[1][2]

Climbing career

Hofmannová first encountered mountain climbing from a television documentary about Nanga Parbat when she was 15.[3] She would go on to become one of the top Czech mountaineers of her generation and ranked among the top European alpine climbers in the 1980s.[4] She first started rock climbing in Labské Údolí, in the Elbe Valley, against her parents' permission.[3] She soon gained attention for her climbing in 1982 when she made the first female free ascent and also the first winter ascent of Piz Badile alongside Alenou Stehlíkovou, via the Direttissima Isherwood-Kosterlitz route.[5][6] By 1988 she had made over 100 ascents across different routes in the High Tatras.[7]

In 1984 she made her first Himalayan climb with an ascent attempt at Dhaulagiri, reaching 7,900m.[8] In 1985, she was part of the first ascent by an all female team on the north face of Huascarán in the Peruvian Andes, alongside Blanka Nedvědická, Ewa Szoresniak, Ewa Pankiewicz, and Amalia Kaploniak.[7][9] She returned to Huascarán in 1998, becoming the first woman to summit via the North Face twice.[10]

In 2003 she appeared as herself in Ceské himalájské dobrodruzstvía, a Czech documentary series on the Himalayas.[11] Over the next years she focused on climbing in the Himalayas, and would become the first Czech woman atop Shishapangma (2004) and Manaslu (2006).[2] In 2009, she successfully summitted her third eight-thousander, Cho Oyo.[12]

On 31 July 2012, at age 53, Hofmannová became the first Czech woman to summit Broad Peak, her fourth summit over 8,000m.[1] She summited solo, and died on the descent, possibly due to an avalanche.[13]

Notable climbs

• 1980 – First winter ascent of Monte Civetta, via the Messner Route[6]
• 1982 – First female ascent and first winter ascent of the Isherwood-Kosterlitz Direttissima route, on Piz Badile[5]
• 1984 – Czechoslovak expedition to Dhaulágirí (8 167 m)[8]
• 1985 – All female expedition, summit via North Face of Huascarán[10]
• 1988 – Expedition to Annapurna
• 1998 – North face of Huascarán, becoming the first female climber to summit this route twice[10]
• 2000 – Pamir, Pik Lenina (7 134 m)
• 2002 – Ťan-šan (7 439 m), Chan Tengri (6 995 m)
• 2003 – Pamir, Peak Ozodi (7 105 m), Qullai Ismoili Somoni (7 495 m)
• 2004 – Shishapangma(8 027 m)
• 2006 – Manaslu (8 163 m) via the North East Japanese route, the first ascent by a Czech woman
• 2007 – Expedition to Gasherbrum I
• 2009 – Classic route, Cho Oyo (8 201 m)
• 2011 – Spantik (7 027 m)
• 2012 – Broad Peak (8 051 m)

See also

• Deaths on Broad Peak

References

1. Shahid, Jamal (2012-08-09). "Alpine club confirms deaths on Broad Peak". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
2. "VRCHOLENI.cz". www.vrcholeni.cz. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
3. Krepindl, Martin (2012-08-07). "PROFIL: Zuzana Hofmannová si troufla na dvanáctou nejvyšší horu světa. Už se nevrátila". Hospodářské noviny (HN.cz) (in Czech). Retrieved 2024-06-14.
4. Horosvaz. "Události - Český horolezecký svaz - ČHS". www.horosvaz.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2024-06-14.
5. "Pizzo Badile British route climbed in winter by Silvan Schüpbach, Peter von Känel". PlanetMountain.com. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
6. Griffin, Lindsay (July 28, 2012). "First solo of legendary route on northeast face of Piz Badile". www.thebmc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
7. layout), Jiří Lukáš (phpRS), (c) Petr Suchý (phpRS modification, modules &. "Zuzana Hofmannová zemřela na Broad Peaku". www.horyinfo.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2024-06-14.
8. Horosvaz. "Události - Český horolezecký svaz - ČHS". www.horosvaz.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2024-06-14.
9. "AAC Publications - South America, Peru-Cordillera Blanca, Huascarán Norte, North Face, Women's Ascent". publications.americanalpineclub.org. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
10. "Horolezkyně Hofmanová nesestoupila z Broad Peaku | ČeskéNoviny.cz". www.ceskenoviny.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2024-06-14.
11. Ceské himalájské dobrodruzství (Documentary), Alena Cepelková, Ladislav Drda, Zuzana Hofmannová, retrieved 2024-06-14
12. Horosvaz. "Události - Český horolezecký svaz - ČHS". www.horosvaz.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2024-06-14.
13. "Òscar Cadiach renuncia a intentar el Broad Peak y regresa a casa". Desnivel.com (in Spanish). 2012-08-09. Retrieved 2024-06-14.

Further reading

• "Zuzka". Vol. 23, no. 5. 2012-10-08. pp. 46–50. ISSN 1212-7957.
• "Dvakrát severní stěnou Huarascánu Norte". Vol. 23, no. 5. 2012-10-08. pp. 51–52. ISSN 1212-7957.
• "Báječná léta se Zuzanou". Vol. 14, no. (plus). 2003. pp. 22–23. ISSN 1212-7957.
• "Vzpomínám si na ty časy…". Vol. 14, no. (plus). 2003. pp. 16–20. ISSN 1212-7957.
• BAŤKOVÁ, Šárka; HAINCOVÁ, Jitka; LUKEŠOVÁ, Hana; SLÁMOVÁ, Lenka. Ženy & Frauen: Inspirativní ženy Ústeckého kraje. Ústí nad Labem: Knihovna Ústeckého kraje, 2024. ISBN 978-80-7055-293-3. S. 32–35.

External links

• Zuzana Hofmannová at IMDb