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A mountain guide is a specially trained and experienced professional mountaineer who is certified by local authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered to be high-level experts in mountaineering, and are hired to instruct or lead individuals or small groups who require this advanced expertise. This professional class of guides arose in the middle of the 19th century when alpine climbing became recognized as a sport. A short introduction to the history of mountain guiding SummitPost.org
During the First World War there were mountain guide companies in the Austro-Hungarian army. Its members were used for special tasks and particularly dangerous operations in the mountains with great success. K.u.K. Army mountain guides were, for example, Angelo Dibona, Luis Trenker and Sepp Innerkofler. Soldiers in the high mountains. The development of the military mountain guide system. (German)
The birth of the training to become an Austrian army mountain guide began in 1906 when the first organization of mountain guide courses for the military came about. In 1915, experienced and enthusiastic volunteers from the Kaiserjäger regiments were put together in high mountain companies who were deployed in high alpine terrain. In December 1916, with the help of Georg Bilgeri and Mathias Zdarsky, the establishment of mountain guide companies began. Among the alpine instructors on the individual front sections were mountaineers such as Julius Kugy in the Julian Alps and Leo Handl in the Marmolada. The mountain guide companies had many tasks to perform in the mountains. They carried out the fight in extreme terrain, they were responsible for advising the troops in difficult terrain, they carried out the high-alpine reconnaissance service; organized the rescue service in the high mountains and were responsible for high-alpine pathways and protective structures. In contrast to the high mountain companies, the mountain guide companies were only exceptionally intended for a closed tactical combat mission. Georg Bilgeri's notes show that by January 22, 1918, 146 officers and 2,302 men were trained as military mountain guides. During this time, of course, many regulations and training documents were created that found international recognition and were adopted by other armies. A badge for military mountain guides was also introduced in June 1918, but was only available in small numbers.Kurt Pflügl "1906 bis 2006 – 100 Jahre Heeresbergführer. Die geschichtliche Entwicklung des österreichischen Heeresbergführers und dessen Wirken im Wandel der Zeiten." (2006); Fritz Riegele "Die k. u. k. Bergführertruppe im Weltkrieg" In: Zeitschrift des Deutschen und Österreichischen Alpenvereins (1928 - 59), pp 249.
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