1. Biography

2. Professional accomplishments.

3. Legacy

4. See also

5. References

Schmidt and his son, Denali, died in 2013, while attempting to summit the mountain K2.^[2][3]

Biography

Martin Walter Schmidt was born in Lodi, California on June 10, 1960, of German/American parents. He attended Castro Valley High School in Castro Valley, California.^[4] He began climbing as a young boy, mostly in the Sierra Nevada range where he moved after finishing high school in 1978. At the age of 20, Schmidt joined the United States Air Force (USAF) and served in the United States Air Force Pararescue unit known as the "PJs". As a USAF airman he served at a number of posts including the Philippines, where he earned the USAF Air Medal in 1984, for his rescues in a hotel fire; and in Alaska, where he first climbed Denali in 1983.^[5] Schmidt and his son had dual American and New Zealand citizenship.^[6]

Professional accomplishments.

Schmidt climbed and guided in the mountains of Europe, South America, Africa and the Himalayas.^[1][8] His first high altitude ascents on Denali in Alaska were from 1983-1986. Schmidt acted as an assistant guide on Aconcagua in Argentina in 1988, before creating his own company and guiding in the Andes as MSIG (Marty Schmidt International Guiding). He made his first ascent of Mount Cook in New Zealand in November 1988.

In the Himalayas, Schmidt attempted to climb Mount Everest in 1994 and 2008. He summited Kangchenjunga in 2001, and summited Cho Oyu in 2001, 2004 and 2009. In the Karakoram, he made unsuccessful attempts on K2 in 1992 and 2000, and summitted Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II in 2010.^[8] In the 2010 Himalayan climbing season, Schmidt became the third New Zealander to summit Makalu solo and the first to do so without bottled oxygen. Schmidt summitted Ama Dablam and attempted Lhotse in the same season.^[8]

Schmidt led two successful expeditions to Mount Everest guiding for the Canada-based company Peak Freaks in 2012 and 2013. In 2012, he became the oldest New Zealander to summit Everest at the age of 51.^[1] He summitted Everest again in May 2013.

Marty and Denali Schmidt created a new route on Denali in 2011. They named this route "Dad and Son".

In 2013, Marty and Denali Schmidt summitted Broad Peak, an 8,000 meter climb in Pakistan before attempting to summit K2. Marty, Denali and Mike Horn participated in a rescue attempt on Broad Peak for the three young Iranian climbers in July 2013, but they were unsuccessful and the Iranian climbers were never found. After this rescue work, Marty, Denali and other climbers started on their ascent of K2. However, they were advised by expedition sherpas that conditions were too dangerous to attempt to climb higher at that time. All the other teams and climbers turned around except for Marty who made the decision to continue on alone with his son, Denali. Marty and Denali climbed toward K2's Camp 3, but went missing after an avalanche hit their camp on 26 July; Marty Schmidt's daughter, Sequoia Di Angelo confirmed their deaths via Twitter on 29 July 2013.^[1]

Schmidt climbed and guided clients on all of the Seven Summits—the highest mountains on each continent—and climbed five of the world's fourteen 8,000 meter peaks.^[1] Throughout his career, he climbed and summited - Denali 29 times, Aconcagua 34 times (five different routes including the south face), Mount Cook 26 times, Mount Aspiring 16 times, Mount Tasman 7 times and Mount Everest two times.^[8]

Schmidt was a member of the American Alpine Guides and became a member of the New Zealand Alpine guides in 2003.

Legacy

See also

• Listing of deaths on K2

References

• Latin Rite dioceses directly subject to the Holy See
• Latin rite (disambiguation)
• LatinSat 1
• LatinSat 2
• LatinSat C
• LatinSat D
• Latin satire
• Latin-script
• Latin-script alphabet
• Latin-script alphabets
• Latin-script multigraph
• Latin-script multigraphs
• Latin-script non-QWERTY keyboards
• Latin-script spelling alphabet
• Latin Shadows
• Latin Songbird: Mi Alma Y Corazon
• Latin Songbird: Mi Alma Y Corazón
• Latin Songs
• Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame
• Latin spelling & pronunciation
• Latin Syndicate
• Latin/Thai
• Latin Times
• Latin Tinge
• Latin-to-Catalan sound changes