Merzbacher
Gottfried Merzbacher , (1843-1926), inspired by the accounts of Semyenov's expeditions, the German mountaineer and geographer Gotfrid Merzbacher led two expeditions to the Central Tien Shan in 1902 and 1907.
Gottfried was born in Munich where he spent his childhood.
His father, Marcus Merzbacher, was a trader in pelts, and after he finished his schooling, the young Gottfried, followed the family tradition and became apprenticed as a furrier-craftsman. This training involved visits to foreign cities like Paris , London and St. Petersburg . As a result he learned English, French, and Russian.
In 1868 he established his own furrier shop in Munich . The business flourished, and, Gottfried was able to sell it and concentrate on his life-long passion – that of Mountaineering. His expeditions were to bring him a certain amount of fame – and one of the routes he established in the Tyrolean Alps still bears his name. He began writing accounts of his journeys … travel reports and scientific contributions to various specialized journals.
In 1891 he undertook an expedition into the remote and, at that time, still largely unexplored regions of the Caucasus . His account of the journey – a richly illustrated two-volume book called "Aus den Hochregionen des Kaukasus" – was published in 1901.
Other expeditions followed – including the two into the Tien Shan mountains of Central Asia .
It was on the 1902 expedition that he first attempted to reach Khan Tengri. Approaching from the north they found themselves separated from the mountain by the Sarydzhas Range and the North Enilchek glacier. (This led to the discovery that Khan Tengri does not lie on the main water-shed of the Tien Shan as was assumed at that time.) Unable to reach the elusive peak, Khan Tengri, the party attempted to ascend the Mramornaya Stena ('Marble Wall') peak, before returning to Kashgar for the winter.
The following year they returned and discovered the terminus of the 60km long Enilchek glacier. Upon studying the mountain, Merzbacher realized that any attempt at ascent would require a large and well-organised expedition. Apparently, he recorded in his diary that the Tien Shan was not a place for a “mountaineer's ambition”.
Although he didn't succeed in conquering the peak, he did achieve a great deal on these expeditions - reaching the foot of Khan Tengri; discovering one of the longest glaciers in the world (Enilchek); and compiling a detailed map of the Tengri Tag ridge, (but somehow managing to “miss” Peak Pobeda) . His name will always be associated, however, for the discovery of the mysterious lake which now bears his name.
He first discovered the lake on his ascent in 1903. The expedition came across a clear lake, 3500 meters above sea level, trapped between the two branches of the glacier, with the surface studded by floating icebergs. When the group descended again, they were surprised to see that it was empty. When he returned again on his second expedition … it was full once more. An enigma which he could not explain at the time … it was many years before an explanation of the mystery was found.
(As an aside … during the 1907-8 expedition Merzbacher apparently collected some 1234 specimens of “bird pelts” which were later used as the basis of a scientific report which identified some 198 distinct species, and contained notes about their relationship, distribution, etc., and although no new species were identified, the paper is considered a valuable contribution to the study of ornithology in the Chinese Empire.)
Already by the time he entered the Tien Shan in 1903, Merzbacher had already received many accolades – and more were to follow, both at home and abroad.
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