Dyhrenfurth first came to the attention of the mountaineering community in the United States in 1939, when he completed some challenging climbs in the Grand Tetons. He was a participant in the 1952 Swiss Mount Everest Expedition. In 1960, he was cameraman for the Swiss expedition to Dhaulagiri, and after that climb, approached the government of Nepal about obtaining a permit for an American expedition to climb Mount Everest. He learned that a permit had already been granted to another American climber, William Hackett. Although Dyhrenfurth tried to combine his efforts with Hackett's, that expedition failed to gain funding and never took place. Another application resulted in India being selected for an attempt to climb Everest, but Dyhrenfurth persevered and tried again.