Georg Bilgeri

{{Short description|Austrian military officer and ski pioneer (1873 – 1934)}}

{{Infobox military person

| honorific_prefix = Colonel

| name = Georg Bilgeri

| image = File: Postcard_of_Georg_Bilgeri.jpg

| image_size =

| caption =

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1873|10|11}}

| birth_place = Bregenz, Austria-Hungary

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1934|12|04|1873|10|11}}

| death_place = Patscherkofel, Federal State of Austria

| placeofburial = St. Gallus Cemetery, Bregenz

| allegiance = {{flag|Austria-Hungary}}

| branch = Austro-Hungarian Army

| serviceyears = 1894–1920

| rank = Oberst

| unit =

| commands =

| battles = World War I

| awards =

| relations =

| laterwork = Gendarmerie, ski school

}}

Georg Bilgeri (11 October 1873 – 4 December 1934) was an officer in the Austro–Hungarian Army, mountaineer, and Austrian pioneer of skiing.[https://austria-forum.org/af/AEIOU/Bilgeri%2C_Georg/Bilgeri%2C_Georg_english "Bilgeri, Georg"] at Austria-Forum

Bilgeri learned to ski in Gargellen about 1893.Kirnbauer, Gudrun (2001) Skipionier Georg Bilgeri Graz: Verlag Neugebauer {{ISBN|9783853760666}}

Military career

As a Lieutenant in the Tyrolean Imperial Hunters (Tiroler Kaiserjäger Regiment No. 4), Bilgeri instituted ski training in the high Alps as early as 1896 and became the creator of mountain and ski training in the Austro-Hungarian army. Bilgeri led military patrols in winter treks in the Zillertal Alps (1899) and to Kitzbühel (1905).[https://books.google.com/books?id=JeMqAAAAYAAJ&q=Bilgeri&pg=RA2-PA20 Alpina] (1906) Bulletin du Club Alpin Suisse Volume 14 pg 17 From 1905-08 he led instructor courses for officers. Bilgeri directed a military ski factory in Salzburg from 1906-10. In 1908-09 he was a commander of border guards in the Dolomites. He was an officer of the World War I National Defense Command in Tyrol, leading the formation and training of the Mountain guide companies. He retired in 1920 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and later was awarded Colonel.Regele, Oskar (1955) [https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/gnd120908050.html "Bilgeri, Georg"] in: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 2 Berlin: Duncker & Humblot {{ISBN|3-428-00183-4}} S. 236

Alpine ski instructor

He provided free ski instruction in Austria (starting 1906), Sweden, Switzerland, Hungary and Turkey and wrote an early ski manual advocating the use of two shorter ski poles, Der alpine Skilauf (1910). Bilgeri was involved with the creation of the Salzburg Ski Club in 1910. Starting in 1919 he was a member of the Swiss Alpine Club. He devised improvements to mountain boot shoelace fasteners, crampons, ice axes, anti-slip skins, collapsible ski poles, ski wax, ski bindings, rucksacks, and crevasse rescue. He provided ski training for the police and customs starting in 1921. The first Alpine manual for the Austrian gendarmerie was published in 1927, which had been developed by Bilgeri and Colonel Josef Albert. In 1930 he founded a ski school at Patscherkofel in the Tyrol.[https://biographien.ac.at/ID-0.3021356-1 "Bilgeri, Georg"] in: Austrian Biographical Encyclopaedia 1815-1950 (ÖBL). Volume 1, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1957 {{ISBN|3-7001-1327-7}} S. 84th

Works

[https://diglib.uibk.ac.at/urn:nbn:at:at-ubi:2-16648 Der alpine Skilauf] München: Deutsche Alpenzeitung, 1910

Alpine Weisungen für den Gebirgskrieg Verlag K. u. K. Landesverteidigungs-Kondo in Tirol, 1917

Alpin-Vorschrift für die österr. Bundesgendarmerie: nebst einem Anhang über die Zentralmeldestelle für alpine Unfälle in Wien und der Instruktion für alpine Rettungspatrouillen des Bundesheeres Wien: Gendarmerie-Zentraldirektion, 1927

Méthode Bilgeri pour l'Enseignement du Ski Swiss Alpine Club Lausanne: F. Rouge & Cie S.A., 1931

Alpiner Skilauf Skihochtouren Bregenz: Bilgeri-Werk, 1934

Legacy

Popularized Alpine skiing through his teaching, providing instruction to reportedly more than 40,000 pupilsLyttle, Richard B. (1978) [https://books.google.com/books?id=xX1xxuy7DTMC&q=Colonel The Complete Beginner's Guide to Skiing] NY: Doubleday OCLC 993657210 pg 23
1926 awarded Golden Badge of Honor from the Swedish Ski Association
1927 Honorary member of Ski Club of Great Britain
1937 memorial stone erected at PatscherkofelNorden, Gilbert (2009) [https://books.google.com/books?id=AfJEAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA102 "Monuments and street names honouring sports personalities"] in Local sport in Europe. Proceedings of the 4th EASS conference Waxmann Verlag {{ISBN|9783830970156}}
1984 commemorative plaque at his birthplace

The following have been named after him:

Crevasse rescue technique using multiple ropes
Bilgeri Glacier in Grahamland Antarctica
{{Ill|Kommandogebäude Oberst Bilgeri|de}} [https://www.bundesheer.at/adressen/vorarlberg.shtml Command Building]
Hauptmann-Bilgeri-Steig trail on Monte Piano in the Dolomites[https://www.suedtirol-dolomites.com/de/dolomiten/sommer/drei-zinnen/klettern/klettersteig-monte-piano-hauptmann-bilgeri-steig.html Monte Piano] Hauptmann-Bilgeri-Steig trail
Innsbruck-Igls, Bregenz street and hotel as well as roads in Horbranz, Voralberg and Mariazell, Styria
1950 challenge trophy in cross-country skiing
1959 Georg-Bilgeri-Straße in Vienna Donaustadt (22nd district)