Talk:Franz Oppurg

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by SL93 (talk) 04:07, 9 January 2022 (UTC)

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• ... that Austrian mountaineer Franz Oppurg (1948-1981) was the first person to achieve a solo ascent of Mount Everest? Source: https://books.google.com/books?id=lkl4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT157#v=onepage&q&f=false

Created by Drmies (talk). Self-nominated at 00:54, 27 December 2021 (UTC). I reviewed Template:Did you know nominations/Tristan and Isolde (Egusquiza).

• Hi Drmies, could you check your source? I looked on Britannica, for example, and it gives Reinhold Messner as the first solo ascent (in 1980). I'll finish the rest of the review after this is cleared up - Dumelow (talk) 08:00, 27 December 2021 (UTC)
  • Ah, I've read a few other sources. It seems he was the first to climb it solo from the point of the highest camp (South Col), not to make the entire climb solo. Perhaps this could be clarified in the hook? - Dumelow (talk) 08:21, 27 December 2021 (UTC)
    • Dumelow, it's pretty amazing that Britannica states that without clarification or reservation, but my source is unequivocal, and there's plenty others (the book by West, cited in the notes, for instance, and the ORF article). There's a few fun things here: a. Messner gives a pretty complete history of Everest climbs in his Crystal Horizon, but mysteriously leaves out Opporg (a fellow Tyrolian!). b. Yes, everything here hinges on the definition of "solo"--but no one does anything alone, not even Messner, who started his solo part just below the North Col (Oppurg, as you know, started from the South Col). Now, I don't mind clarifying that a bit, but I don't want to phrase it in a way that makes it look like an Asterisk#Competitive_sports_and_games. Drmies (talk) 15:50, 28 December 2021 (UTC)

• ALT1 ... that Austrian mountaineer Franz Oppurg (1948-1981) was the first person to achieve a solo ascent of Mount Everest, climbing alone from South Col to the summit on 14 May 1978?

Hi Drmies, thanks for clarifying; I know next to nothing about Everest climbs. I am fine with the situation and happy to accept that Britannica is wrong (wouldn't be the first time) or using a different definition (from the look of the title of Messner's book he claims the first solo ascent for himself). ALT1 is fine, I think. The hook fact checks out to the Tirol source (which I am unfamiliar with but happy to assume is reliable) and happy to AGF that West also supports it (others such as 1981 press report also give Oppurg as the first solo climber). Oppurg's article was created 24 December; exceeds minimum length; is well written; has no obvious copyright violation and a QPQ has been carried out. One minor thing, in the fourth from last word in the "Death" section have you written Mayr instead of Oppurg? - Dumelow (talk) 17:43, 28 December 2021 (UTC)

Dumelow, YES you are right: thank you so much. I corrected another typo as well. Messner has sort of a point, also because Oppurg was part of a larger expedition and Messner moved to his base camp only with his girlfriend (he doesn't even call her that), a Chinese agent, and one porter. At the same time, without clarity of definition it's all very muddy, and that he doesn't even mention Oppurg is a bit low. Anyway, that's all by the by--thank you for your assistance. Drmies (talk) 23:16, 28 December 2021 (UTC)