Early Life
Xavier Mertz was born in Basel, the son of Emile Mertz, who owned a large engineering firm in the city. With the aim of working in the family business, which manufactured textile machinery, Mertz attended the University of Bern, where he studied patent law. While in Bern, he became active as a mountaineer and skier. Mertz competed in several national competitions; in 1906 he was third in the Swiss cross-country skiing championship, and second in the German championship. In 1908, he won the Swiss ski jumping championship, with a distance of 31 metres (102 ft). As a mountaineer, he was particularly prolific in the Alps; he climbed Mont Blanc—the highest peak in the range—and claimed several first ascents of other mountains. After he attained his degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Bern, Mertz studied science at the University of Lausanne; he specialised in glacier and mountain formations, for which he received his second doctorate.
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