Kurt Diemberger, born March 16, 1932 in Villach (Carinthia), is an Austrian mountaineer, photographer, film director and writer. He is one of only two mountaineers, with Hermann Buhl, to have made a first ascent on two peaks over eight thousand meters. In 1978, he accompanied the first French expedition that succeeded in climbing Everest in the company of the French Jean Afanassieff, Pierre Mazeaud and Nicolas Jaeger. In 1957, Kurt Diemberger