The apple tree in front of his parents' house was the first teacher for seven-year-old Erhard. He learned everything about climbing, grips, risk, and depth from it. He was faster, better, and tougher than the others; even then, his brilliant talent was evident. By the age of 11, he had climbed the 1,848-meter-high Dent de Broc. By 18, he had already noted an impressive number of extreme routes in his climbing log, including the north face of the Matterhorn. In 1981, he received the Swiss mountain guide diploma. He became famous for his incredible stamina and toughness. His tactic was to move as quickly as possible with almost no luggage. His ascent and descent of Mount Everest in less than 40 hours is legendary. In 1995, he climbed Kangchenjunga, becoming the third person ever to summit all 14 eight-thousanders, after Reinhold Messner and Jerzy Kukuczka.