- Hans Kraus
Hans Kraus (1905-1995) was a pioneer of modern
rock climbing , as well as being one of the fathers ofsports medicine andphysical medicine and rehabilitation .Born in
Trieste ,Austria , the Kraus family fled toSwitzerland just prior toWorld War I . As a young man Kraus fell in love with the mountains, spending as much time as possible hiking and climbing. In his teenage years, Hans learned to climb in theDolomite s. Among his friends and climbing partners wereEmilio Comici andGino Solda He would later bring the Dolomite techniques of high-angle face climbing to the United States.Hans was taught English as a youth by
James Joyce . He would later quip (in his thickest, drollest accent) "He didn't do zush a goot chob, dit he!".Kraus attended medical school in
Vienna in the 1920s, against his fathers' wishes, becoming anorthopedic surgeon. Through his subsequent practice he developed a philosophy of treatment at odds with traditional medicine of the time. He would evolve this method, called "immediate mobilization", over his entire medical career.Sometime in the late 1930s (precise date unknown; pre-1938), Kraus married Susanne Simon. The marriage was apparently not a happy one. They separated in 1944, and were divorced in the 1950s.
In 1938 the Kraus family fled Europe, just ahead of
World War II , this time to the United States. They settled inNew York . Kraus was not allowed to enlist in the U.S. military because he had been born in Trieste, which had belonged to theHabsburg Empire at the time of Kraus' birth. Technically therefor, he was considered an "enemy alien", even though he was a legal immigrant, and aJew . He became a U.S. citizen in 1945.Passing his medical exams in New York, Kraus continued developing unique methods of fracture treatment, applying them to all kinds of athletes. He become especially well known in the skiing circles, performing some amazing cures.
In 1940 he met
Fritz Wiessner , who would become a lifelong friend and climbing partner. Wiessner had discovered theShawangunks in 1935 and together Hans and Fritz spent every spare day developing routes in the area. Wiessner was known for his outstandingfree climbing technique; Kraus' specialty wasaid climbing . Thus, the two men's climbing skills complimented each other. While both men enjoyed climbing with women (notably withBonnie Prudden , an accomplished climber in her own right), they continued to climb together, with often spectacular results. One of Kraus' and Fritz' most significant efforts at theGunks was High Exposure, a bold 5.6 that involves a blind reach around an overhung corner 150 feet up in the air; the route still confounds novice climbers. Done in 1941, with a hemp rope and three soft-ironpiton s for protection, High Exposure was a world-class accomplishment. Other significant Krausfirst ascents in the Gunks included: Northern Pillar 5.2 (The first technical rock climb in "The Trapps"; Three Pines 5.3; Horseman 5.5; Madame Grunnebaum's Wulst 5.6; Easy Overhang 5.2;Bitchy Virgin5.7R (the first "R" rated climb in the Shawangunks); and Emilio 5.7 (The first aid climb in the Gunks- Hans and Fritz employed a shoulder stand)By the end of the 1940s, the Shawangunks had fifty-eight documented climbing routes. 26 of these were first ascents by Kraus; 23 were by Wiessner.
In the 1950s, Kraus was behind a push by the
Appalachian Mountain Club to regulate climbing in the Shawangunks, and to install a safety code to prevent climbing accidents. This safety code led to conflicts withLester Germer andThe Vulgarians , and was later abandoned.It was Kraus, based on his landmark research during the 1940s at
New York-Presbyterian Hospital inManhattan , who first made the connection between exercise and health. Along withBonnie Prudden , he campaigned for better physical exercise programs for children, and authored several books on exercise, sports medicine, and physical therapy.Kraus also continued to develop a unique approach to treating back pain in collaboration with another doctor, Sonja Weber. They developed an understanding of the underlying causes of back pain and devised the
K-W Test and exercises to alleviate it.Kraus was an Associate Professor at the
State University of New York Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine . His studies on children led to PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower establishing thePresident's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports . He was PresidentJohn F. Kennedy 's back doctor and had as patients a long list of other celebrities (Arthur Godfrey ,Katharine Hepburn , etc.). Kraus maintained at multi-tiered, elastic billing system; for climbers and people he knew personally, or anyone who he thought would have trouble paying, he charged nothing; he charged partial payment for middle class patients, and regular rates for wealthy patients and celebrities.In 1951, Kraus made the acquaintance of
Jim McCarthy , a youngPrinceton University undergraduate and up and coming climber. The two soon became fast friends and climbing partners, and McCarthy would go on to be Kraus' personal lawyer.In 1959 Kraus married Madi Springer-Miller, a champion skier and the first woman to ski the "Lip" of Tuckerman's Ravine on Mount Washington. They had two daughters, Ann and Mary.
Kraus was elected to the U.S.
National Ski Hall of Fame in 1974. By his own account, he was a lousy skier.In 1984 at the age of 79, Kraus stopped climbing completely, due to arthritis, and the cumulative effects of various injuries. His last climb was "Easy Overhang", a route he had done the first ascent of in 1941.
In 1995 Kraus was diagnosed with
prostate cancer . He died peacefully on the morning ofMarch 6 1996 in his New York City apartment, holding his daughters hand. His ashes were carried up the "High Exposure" buttress by an old friend and scattered into the air at the top.References
* Schwartz, Susan EB (2005) "Into The Unknown: The Remarkable Life of Hans Kraus"
* Williams, Richard (2005) "Shawangunk Rock Climbs: The Trapps" esp "History"External links
* [http://www.climbaz.com/interviews/kraus.html Short Bio of Hans Kraus]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.