Carlos Buhler (born October 17, 1954 in Harrison, New York) is one of America's leading high altitude mountaineers. Buhler's specialty is high-standard mountaineering characterized by small teams, no oxygen, minimal gear and equipment, and relatively low amounts of funding; yielding first ascents of difficult routes in challenging conditions, such as the Himalayan winter season.
Buhler is a graduate of The Putney School and is a 1978 graduate of the Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University. He is a recipient of the university's Distinguished Alumni Award, and currently resides in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. He has two children.
Notable ascents
1980 East Ridge, Baruntse, Barun Valley, Himalaya, Nepal. New route and 2nd ascent with Lorenzo Ortas, Javier Escartin, and Jeronimo Lopez (all Spanish). April 27, 1980.
1983 Kangshung Face, Mount Everest, Himalaya, Nepal/Tibet. First ascent of face and route with Kim Momb and Louis Reichardt. October 8, 1983. George Lowe, Dan Reid and Jay Cassell reached summit next day.
1985 Northeast Face, Ama Dablam, Himalaya, Nepal. First ascent of face and route with Michael Kennedy, Dec 1-7, 1985.
1988 Northwest Face/North Ridge, Kangchenjunga, Himalaya, Nepal. First American ascent with Peter Habeler (Austria) and Martin Zabaleta (Spain/Basque). May 3, 1988.
1989 West (Polish) Ridge, Cho Oyu, Himalaya, Tibet/Nepal. First alpine style ascent with Martin Zabaleta (Spain/Basque). April 8, 1989.
1990 Northeast Ridge, Dhaulagiri, Himalaya, Nepal. Summit reached with Nuru Sherpa (Nepal) and Dainius Makauskas (Lithuania), October 31, 1990. Makauskas disappeared on the descent. Buhler and Nuru Sherpa suffered severe frostbite.
1992 West Ridge, Dorje Lhakpa or Dorje Lakpa, Jugal Himal, Himalaya, Nepal. First solo ascent. April 12–13, 1992.
1996 West Ridge, Mount Miller, Saint Elias Mountains, Alaska USA. First ascent with Charles Sassara, Paul Claus, Ruedi Homberger (Swiss), Reto Ruesh (Swiss), April 12, 1996.
1996 North Ridge, K2, Karakoram, China/Pakistan. Russian American ascent. Summit reached with Sergei Penzov and Igor Benkin (both Russian), August 14, 1996. Benkin died on the descent.
1997 Diamir Face, Nanga Parbat, Himalaya, Pakistan. First Russian and Second American Ascent. Summit reached with Ivan Dusharin (Russian), July 14, 1997. Viktor Kolishnichenko and Andrei Volkov (both Russian) reached the summit on July 18, 1997.
1998 The Lightening Route (VII 5.9 A4 WI4, 1580m), North Face of Changabang, Garhwal Himalaya, India. New route with Andrei Volkov, Andrei Mariev, Ivan Dusharin and Pavel Chabaline (all Russian). April 16 - June 6, 1998.
2002 West Thong Wok Glacier, Sepu Kangri, Nyanchen Tangla Range, Eastern Tibet, First ascent with Mark Newcomb. October 2, 2002.
2003 West Face, Pukahirka North I, Cordillera Blanca, Andes, Peru, New route with Thaddeus Josephson. July 21–28, 2003.
2008 East Face, Cerro Castillo, Aisen Region Andes, Chilean Patagonia. New route with Joan Sole Rovirosa. October 6–9, 2008.
Notable events
Fulfilled dying wish of Russian composer, Alexander Scriabin, to have his last composition, Mysterium, performed in the Himalaya (at Menlungtse/Milarepa Base Camp, Tibet).
Selected by the American Alpine Club at age 23 to join the high-profile 1978 Soviet-American team to climb in the Pamir Range of Tajikistan in Central Asia.
Honors
1988 Mugs Stump Award, first year awarded. (Award honors “climbers attempting alpine climbing objectives that exemplify fast, light and clean tactics.”)
1988 American Mountain Foundation Award, for 1st American ascent of Kangchenjunga, world’s 3rd highest mountain.
1994 Mugs Stump Award for the West Face of K2.
1999 Mugs Stump Award for Menlungtse/Milarepa.
2001 Polartec Challenge Award, for “vision, commitment, credibility and respect for the local culture and environment [which] serve as role models to outdoor enthusiasts worldwide.”
2002 Ranked “Best of the Best”, and only American among the top four international high altitude climbers, by Everestnews.com. (2002 was the last year ranking was compiled.)
2003 Western Washington University, Distinguished Alumni Award.
2004 Lyman Spitzer Cutting Edge Grant (awarded for cutting edge “bold first ascents or difficult repeats of most challenging routes”)
2007 Robert and Miriam Underhill Award, for outstanding mountaineering achievement, by the American Alpine Club
Keynote speaker and juror at leading mountain and wilderness film festivals:
2002 Mountainfilm in Telluride Festival, Telluride, Colorado
2003 Wild and Scenic Film Festival, Nevada City, California
2006 Juror, Trento Mountain Film Festival, Trento, Italy
2008 Juror, Inkafest Mountain Film Festival, Huaraz, Peru
Writings
Buhler, Carlos (1989). "Kangchenjunga's North Face". American Alpine Journal. Golden, CO, USA: American Alpine Club. 31 (63): 23–30. ISBN 0-930410-39-4.
Buhler, Carlos (1998). "University Peak, The wild card of the Wrangell-St. Elias". American Alpine Journal. Golden, CO, USA: American Alpine Club. 40 (72): 78–87. ISBN 0-930410-78-5.
Buhler, Carlos (1999). "Russian Style on Changabang". American Alpine Journal. Golden, CO, USA: American Alpine Club. 41 (73): 106–113. ISBN 0-930410-84-X.
