He was one of four mountaineers who died in the 1936 Eiger north face climbing disaster, along with Toni Kurz, Andreas Hinterstoisser and Eduard Rainer.

However, when they reached the very difficult Hinterstoisser traverse, now ice covered due to the worsening weather conditions, from which the rope had been removed on the way up, they were unable to retreat through to safety and were forced to descend straight down.

They were hit by an avalanche which carried Hinterstoisser away, while Angerer was violently crushed against the wall and strangled to death by the rope around his neck.

[3] Angerer and his fellow alpinists' tragedy became well known after the publication of Heinrich Harrer's classic 1960 book The White Spider.

[4] The 1936 event was covered by Joe Simpson's 2007 book (and Emmy-winning TV documentary), The Beckoning Silence, as well as in the 2008 German dramatic movie North Face.