Max Eiselin, Swiss Alpine Pioneer, Dies at 94

Herz — Switzerland Desk · 14 July 2026 at 05:16 · 30s summary · 2 min read

What we know

Max Eiselin, a Swiss mountaineer from Lucerne, died on July 9, 2026, at the age of 94. According to Le Temps, the information comes from an obituary published in the Luzerner Zeitung.

Eiselin led, in May 1960, the eighth attempt at the first ascent of Dhaulagiri — a Himalayan peak in Nepal rising to 8,167 metres, the world's seventh-highest. This attempt was the first to succeed.

The expedition operated under extremely precarious conditions: reindeer-skin boots, tents sewn by the climbers themselves. With oxygen bottles insufficiently pressurised, the team reached the summit without respiratory assistance — a first at this altitude.

Eiselin himself could not reach the summit. The transport plane nicknamed 'Yeti' — a Pilatus PC-6 Porter, a single-engine short take-off and landing (STOL) utility aircraft designed by Swiss aircraft manufacturer Pilatus Aircraft — suffered an engine failure that prevented it from meeting up with his team.

Context

Alongside his mountaineering accomplishments, Eiselin was a pioneer of mountain retail in Switzerland. In the 1950s, he opened the country's first specialised mountain sports store.

The chain operated for several decades. In 2017, Keystone-ATS — Switzerland's leading news agency, formed from the merger of the Swiss Telegraph Agency (founded in 1894) with the Keystone photo agency in 2018 — reported the closure of the last store.

Chronology

1. 1950s
   Max Eiselin opens Switzerland's first specialised mountain sports store.
2. May 1960
   Under Eiselin's leadership, the expedition succeeds in the first ascent of Dhaulagiri, without supplementary oxygen. An engine failure of the Pilatus Porter 'Yeti' prevents Eiselin himself from reaching the summit.
3. 2017
   Closure of the last Eiselin store reported by Keystone-ATS.
4. July 9, 2026
   Max Eiselin dies at age 94, announced by an obituary published in the Luzerner Zeitung.