Erhard Loretan

Erhard Loretan (1959 to 2011) was a Swiss mountain climber, the third man to climb all fourteen peaks over 8,000 metres and the second to do so without supplementary oxygen. He was born in Bulle in the canton of Fribourg, climbed his first mountain, the Dent de Broc, at the age of 11 and made his first north face ascent at 14. At 15 he climbed the east face of the Doldenhorn in the Bernese Alps. He trained as a cabinet maker in 1979 and became a mountain guide in 1981. He made his first expedition to the Andes in 1980 and began climbing the eight-thousanders in 1982 with an ascent of Nanga Parbat.