Luis Stitzinger on a mountain above his home town of Füssen

Without him, I couldn’t call myself a first ascender. Luis Stitzinger was the expedition leader of the German operator “Amical alpin” in summer 2014, who led us to maximum success on the 7,129 meter high Kokodak Dome in western China: All 16 team members reached the summit – not least thanks to Luis’ experience and circumspection. Stitzinger already stood on eight eight-thousanders: Cho Oyu (in 2000), Gasherbrum II (2006), Nanga Parbat (2008), Dhaulagiri (2009), Broad Peak (2011), Shishapangma (2013), Manaslu (2017) and Gasherbrum I (2018). He scaled them all without bottled oxygen, six of them together with his wife Alix von Melle.

This Sunday, Luis will celebrate his 50th birthday, “under palm trees on a sandy beach,” he tells me laughing. With Alix, he treats himself to a three-week holiday in the Greek climbing paradise of Leonidio: “I gave it to myself for my birthday.” I spoke to him before he left to Greece.

Luis, half a century old, doesn’t even an experienced mountaineer get a bit dizzy?

Luis (2nd from left) the day before our summit bid on Kokodak Dome (in 2014)

The number five in front is a bit frightening at first sight. On the other hand, I had a year to get used to the idea. And if you think it back and forth, you also realize that this transition is only defined by man and that it is not razor-sharp. It is only a number. I still feel good. 50, that sounds a bit like close to retirement. But I actually don’t feel that way at all.

If you now compare yourself with Luis, who was 25 years old, do you still recognize yourself?

Yes, but of course I have also changed over time. I wouldn’t want to be 25 again because I feel much more confident now. I can enjoy things much more than I did then. If I could transport myself back in time, I would rather head for 36 or 38 years.

Why this age?

Because then you have already gained some experience in life. Also professionally I felt I had arrived. In my private and sporting life, that was an age at which I was well on my way and I was at one with myself. At mid-30s, you’re no longer a greenhorn, but you’re not really old either.

His skis always in the luggage

50 years is a mark to look both back and forward. Let’s first look back! Is there an achievement in your mountaineering career that you would like to highlight?

I like to think back to Nanga Parbat in 2008. We experienced there three times as much as others, because we were really on the mountain three times. First we reached the summit with the “DAV Summit Club” team via the Kinshofer route on the Diamir side of the mountain. Then I tried with my mountain companion Josef (Lunger) to traverse the Mazeno Ridge. We got to the Mazeno Col, but then we had to descend because we ran out of gas and food. And finally I succeeded a ski descent down the central Diamir flank.

With Alix on the summit of Manaslu

You climbed your first eight-thousander, Cho Oyu, in 2000. From your point of view, how has mountaineering in the Himalayas and the Karakoram changed over the past 18 years?

On certain mountains there are much more climbers en route than back then, it has generally become more expensive and therefore more elitist. On some mountains only rich people are able to afford an expedition. The scene of the operators has changed too. Formerly there were only a few bigger companies, now there is a large number of operators. More and more local companies are taking over the market. They organize huge expeditions of several hundred people on the mountain – as for example on Manaslu in fall 2017.

In the meantime, Asians have also discovered high-altitude mountaineering for themselves. There are many people on the way, some of them inexperienced, who need comprehensive support. The change of style, away from the great eight-thousander expeditions of the early days towards individual mountaineering, which Messner, Habeler and others initiated, has reversed again.

That sounds as if you are concerned.

Queue on Manaslu

It doesn’t please me because it’s a very tippy thing in my eyes. It is safe as long as these inexperienced expedition members are massively looked after and the people in charge do the right things at the right time. But what if it happens too late or for some reason there is no support any more? Then it quickly becomes a dangerous all-or-nothing gamble. I expect a bigger accident to happen at some point. It will come inevitably.

Do you think such an accident would change anything?

I don’t think so. If you see, for example, how the expedition rules in Tibet have now been tightened, it’s actually completely into the wrong direction. Individual climbers are restricted, because the Chinese authorities see those who play their own game as a danger – even if they have the game under control and know what they are getting into. On the other hand, the authorities perceive as safe what the big operators are doing there: massive deployment of Climbing Sherpas and mountain guides in order to give the inexperienced clients as much staff as possible. For the authorities this is the path to the future. In case of an accident, there would probably be even more requirements for the operators, but individual mountaineering would hardly be strengthened again.

In high camp on Gasherbrum I

You are also working as a mountain guide for commercial groups. How do you resolve this conflict for yourself being part of the system on the one hand and realizing the negative aspects on the other hand?

Sometimes it is a tightrope walk. As German operators, we still have a slightly different tradition. The commercial expeditions in our country have developed out of group trips. The members are regarded more as self-reliant mountaineers and have to lend a hand. This is sometimes quite different with American or many Nepalese operators: There clients are kept on short rope and are of no account.

This year you scaled your eighth eight-thousander, Gasherbrum I in the Karakoram. How difficult or easy was it for you, or to put it another way: Did you feel that the ravages of time took their toll?

It was very exhausting, due to all the snow and because we were only a team of two. The other climbers had all descended in the storm of the previous day. Gianpaolo (Corona) and I were the last ones in the high camp and just tried it. It was 13 or 14 hours of stomping through deep snow. Although it was so exhausting, I really felt very good. Also in the days after I was not as burnt out as on some other mountains before.

Ascent to the summit of G I

Let’s look ahead! What goals do you still set in your mountaineering career?

At the age of 50 it’s not over yet! I still have some goals. I have not set myself an age limit. I just look at how I’m doing at the moment and then decide. Specifically, I’m planning to tackle Mount Everest again in spring 2019 from the north side (his first attempt there in 2015 failed because the mountain was closed after the earthquake in Nepal)– first as a mountain guide, as a work assignment. Maybe I can do something on the mountain myself afterwards with (Austrian) Rupert Hauer – a good friend of mine who leads another group on Everest.

Without bottled oxygen?

Yes, if possible without it.

Are the 14 eight-thousanders still a topic for you?

I have scaled eight of them so far, there are still six missing, that’s quite a lot. Usually, I try one mountain per year, and it doesn’t work every time. So six outstanding eight-thousanders means several years. I don’t know if I’m running out of time. I’m interested, but there are other things that might appeal to me even more, e.g. to climb a challenging route on an eight-thousander.

P.S.: Alix von Melle will not accompany Luis to Everest next spring, she is indispensable in her job.

Nanga Parbat

The spring season on Nepal’s highest mountains has segued almost seamlessly into the summer season on Pakistan’s eight-thousanders. The first expedition teams have reached the base camps. The South African adventurer Mike Horn arrived on the Diamir side of Nanga Parbat a week ago. In the meantime, the 51-year-old and his teammates have already climbed up to 5,900 meters. Maya Sherpa is tackling the 8125-meter-high mountain too. In May, the 40-year-old Sherpani had had to turn back on Kangchenjunga at about 8,500 metres. Less than 100 meters of altitude difference had been missing to the summit. With the Romanian Alex Gavan and the Turkish Tunc Findik, two other well-known climbers have set off for Nanga Parbat. The 36-year-old Gavan, who failed on Dhaulagiri in spring, has so far scaled six eight-thousanders.  For the 46-year-old Findik, Turkey’s most successful high-altitude climber, Nanga Parbat would be his twelfth of the 14 eight-thousanders if successful.

Goal: Entering new territory on Gasherbrum

The Gasherbrum massif

The two Poles Adam Bielecki and Jacek Czech as well as the German Felix Berg will be on the road in the Gasherbrum massif. The trio will acclimatize on the 8,035 meter-high Gasherbrum II, afterwards the three climbers will try to open a new route via the East Face of the 7925-meter-high Gasherbrum IV.  Another possible destination is the still unclimbed 6,955-meter-high Gasherbrum VII. In May, Felix Berg had summited the eight-thousander Cho Oyu in Tibet without bottled oxygen. In spring 2017, Bielecki and Berg together with the Canadian Louis Rousseau and the British Rick Allen had tried to climb the Annapurna Northwest Face, but had had to give up because of bad weather.

Eight-thousander No. 8 for von Melle and Stitzinger?

Alix von Melle (r.) and Luis Stitzinger

The German mountaineering couple Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger – both have seven eight-thousander summit successes on their account – also head for the Gasherbrum massif. The 46-year-old and her three years older husband want to climb Gasherbrum I, also known as Hidden Peak, in Alpine style from the south. They have their skis with them. Before that, Alix and Luis try to first climb the 7082-meter-high Urdok Kangri II with a team of the German expedition operator Amical alpin.  Luis will lead the group.

Several expedition teams pitch their tents at K2 (8,611 meter) and neighbouring Broad Peak (8,051 meter). As in summer 2017, the Pole Andrzej Bargiel has planned the first complete ski descent from the summit of K2, the second highest mountain in the world.

Luis Stitzinger (l.) and Alix von Melle (r.) on the summit of Manaslu

“Despite the premonition, we were utterly amazed at what happened there,” says Luis Stitzinger after his return from Manaslu. “This was a true tent city in the base camp.” As reported earlier, the 48-year-old had led a team of eight of the German expedition operator Amical alpin to the 8,163-meter-high summit in Nepal last Saturday. Along with Luis, his 46-year-old wife Alix von Melle, reached the highest point. For both, it was their seventh eight-thousander and the sixth which they scaled together, all without bottled oxygen. At the beginning of the expedition eleven of the 14 members of the Amical team had become infected with flu by ill porters. “It was a bad start,” says Luis. “Some members had to abandon the whole thing. It was a pity.” I reach Luis on the phone at a hotel in Kathmandu:

Luis, first of all congratulations on your seventh eight-thousander. How did you experience your summit day?

The late ascent was due to the flu epidemic. But it was also partly calculation. At the top summit days between 26 and 28 September, there was such a “cattle drive” that we certainly wouldn’t have had any fun if we were forced to participate. Fortunately, however, the weather remained stable for a very long time. I was told that last year there had been two possible summit days. This time we had a long good weather window of two weeks.

Queue on Manaslu

We had positioned ourselves far back,  what in the end was good luck. We got free range, there were hardly any people left. Last Saturday, 30 September, was a good summit day. In the morning it was still a bit windy, so we did not set off before 4.30 a.m. But already on the first plateau the wind was blowing only with 15, 20 km/h.

Besides us, there were only about half a dozen climbers, a few Spaniards and Russians. Due to the great amount of mountaineers before, the track was very well beaten. At the beginning of the season, a rope fixing team of the operator Seven Summit Treks had secured the key passages of the route up to the summit. Therefore the ascent to the summit was for us quite relaxed and due, to the weather, even a real pleasure.

View from the summit

All of your team ascended without bottled oxygen. This seems to have become the exception on Manaslu.

We were already on Manaslu in spring 2012. Then most were climbing without supplemental oxygen. This was quite different now in fall 2017. Three quarters of the climbers, if not even more, were using bottled oxygen. We were a little bit shocked to see people who climbed with breathing mask already above Camp 1 (at 5,700 meters). I’ve even seen people descending with oxygen from Camp 1 to Base Camp.

There is a new type of expedition clients on the road. There were a lot of Chinese mountaineers who did not spare neither cost nor effort to get to the summit. Or Russian operators who did everything in a big way: partly two Climbing Sherpas per client, bottled oxygen above Camp 1, and also during the night. There is a different wind blowing.

This huge mass of climbers on a mountain, such as Everest, Cho Oyu or now on Manaslu, also leads to a de-personalization of the whole thing. Twice equipment was stolen from our tents. If someone steals crampons from high camp, it must be clear to him that for the victim of the theft the ascent is over, at least for that day.  I find that very annoying.

This sounds almost like a description of the excesses on Everest.

I would say that Manaslu is the new Everest. This is not exaggerated. Of course, it is also because Tibet was closed this fall season. But I believe that many operators, who are offering  this luxury version, have discovered Manaslu as a supposedly easy eight-thousander.

On the ascent

Was there any agreement between the operators,  who is climbing when to avoid traffic jams on the route?

No, I did not know about it. They have simply chosen the best day and set off. Especially on these peak days there were a lot of traffic jams, in particular on the difficult passages between Camp 1 and 2 as well as between Camp  3 and 4. That reminded me of the pictures from Everest. I believe there were problems and displeasure among those who were not able to move forward because of the slow groups.

Against this background it was good fortune that there was a lower risk of avalanches this fall.

There was almost no danger of avalanches this fall. It was snowing heavily only once or twice, but the fresh snow compacted immediately.

Lately, there have been reports from mountaineers that the effects of climate change can also be seen clearly on Manaslu. You were already there in 2012. Can you confirm this impression?

In 2012, we were on Manaslu in spring, when the snow of winter was still there, now in fall, so this cannot be compared.  But you can see that the glacier is retreating. On Manaslu North, for example, there are a lot of rocky spots where, a few years ago, still were complete ice slopes.  Everywhere water is running. You can clearly see the effects of climate change on Manaslu.

Manaslu

The “Mountain of the Spirit” is close to my heart. It is simply because I spent more than a month at the foot of Manaslu ten years ago. Since then, I have had a personal relationship with this impressive eight-thousander in Nepal. In spring 2007, I reported from the base camp at 4,850 meters about a commercial expedition. Once I myself climbed up to Camp 1 at 5,700 meters. At that time we – expedition leader Ralf Dujmovits and eleven clients as well as a team of two from Austria – were the only people on the mountain. We could not imagine (and would not have liked) then that Manaslu would mutate into the “Mount Everest of fall season”.  In the current season about 500 climbers populated Manaslu Base Camp. Nearly 200 summit successes have been reported so far – being noticed that this time mostly pictures were published that had been taken on the highest point and not, as in previous years, on a spot below. Among those who reached the 8,163-meter-high summit there were two climbers with whom I had been en route on other mountains.

Eight-thousander no. 7 for Stitzinger and von Melle

Alix von Melle (r.) and Luis Stitzinger (l.)

Luis Stitzinger, my expedition leader during the first ascent of Kokodak Dome in western China in summer 2014, led a team of the German operator Amical alpin to the summit of Manaslu last Saturday. According to Luis, all eight members of the group were climbing without bottled oxygen. For the 48-year-old, it was the seventh eight-thousander, all scaled without breathing mask. His wife, Alix von Melle, now has the same record. No other woman from Germany has stood on more eight-thousanders  than the 46-year-old. Alix and Luis have summited six of their seven eight-thousanders together.

Breathing mask partly already above Camp 2

Sergio Zigliotto on top of Manaslu

Climbing Manaslu without using supplemental oxygen has become the exception rather than the rule, confirmed another of my former companions.  “90 percent are using O2 above Camp 3 (at 6,800 m),” Sergio Zigliotto wrote to me. “I saw Chinese climbers using O2 already above Camp 2 (6,400 m).”  With the 51-year-old Italian, I had shared the tent at the seven-thousander  Putha Hiunchuli in western Nepal in fall 2011. At that time Sergio had reached the summit while I had had to turn about hundred meters below the summit. Last Wednesday, Zigliotto stood on top of Manaslu. Sergio had wanted to ascend without bottled oxygen, but used it on the last 200 meters  below the summit due to health problems.

On the short rope

Queue on Manaslu

“It was very hard, but wonderful. On 27 September at 10 a.m. , I was standing on the highest point of Manaslu at 8,163 meters,” Sergio wrote. “I found the perfect day for the summit. It was a clear and sunny day. There were just me and other 4 people, hence no problems of traffic due to excess of people.” On that day a total of about 50 people had reached the summit, he said: “I saw many Chinese going on the short rope up and down. It was really sad to see.”  Everest conditions on Manaslu. That is why the “Mountain of the Spirit” is not only close to my heart, but also weighs on  my mind.

Carlos Soria on Dhaulagiri

The probably fittest of all seniors among the high altitude climbers must still wait for his 13th eight-thousander. Because of too much snow on the mountain Carlos Soria declared his expedition on the 8,167-meter-high Dhaulagiri for finished. During the ascent of the 78-year-old Spaniard and his companions to Camp 1, some avalanches had swept down not far away from the climbers, Carlos indicated on Facebook, adding that the high risk of avalanches would continue in the upper parts of the mountain. Moreover, the fixed ropes which they had laid before had been buried by fresh snow. “Because of all these adversities, we have no choice but to abandon our Dhaulagiri expedition for this season,” said Soria. A first summit attempt had failed one and a half weeks ago at an altitude of about 7,800 meters, because Carlos and Co. had missed the right route while the fog had become stronger.

Two are still missing in his collection

Dhaulagiri

Carlos holds the age records at K 2 (65 years old), Broad Peak (68), Makalu (69, there he climbed solo and without bottled oxygen), Gasherbrum I (70), Manaslu (71), Lhotse (72), Kangchenjunga (75) and Annapurna (77). On Dhaulagiri, he has now failed seven times, most recently last spring. The 8027-meter-high Shishapangma is also missing to complete his eight-thousander collection. If he succeeds, Carlos would be by far the oldest man who stood on all 14 eight-thousanders. This “record” is held by the Polish climber Piotr Pustelnik, who scaled his last eight-thousander in 2010 at the age of 58.

Summit wave rolls on Manaslu

Manaslu (l.) and Pinnacle East (r.)

After all, Carlos had Dhaulagiri almost for himself this fall. On Manaslu, which is not far away, nobody can claim this at the moment. About 500 (!) climbers have pitched their tents in the base camp there. On Monday last week, the first summit successes had been reported from the 8,163-meter-high “mountain of the spirit”. Yesterday and today, several teams posted on the social networks that they had reached the highest point too. And the big summit wave is now rolling. Among those who set off for their summit attempt, are the German couple Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger. Both have so far climbed six eight-thousanders, five of them together. Yesterday, a 46-year-old British had died on Manaslu. After he had abandoned his ascent due to symptoms of severe high altitude sickness, he passed away on the descent somewhere above 6,000 meters.

Manaslu

Once again, Manaslu turns to become the “Everest of the fall season”. The base camp at the foot of the eighth-highest mountain on earth (8,163 meters) will soon be reminiscent of the tented village at the highest of all mountains in spring. According to the newspaper “The Himalayan Times”, the Nepali Ministry of Tourism has issued at least 135 permits to foreign mountaineers o climb Manaslu. Assuming that there will be on average one local Climbing Sherpa per one climber from abroad and some latecomers, probably between 300 and 400 people – including kitchen staff – will be arguing for the best pitches in the base camp. And the normal route via the north-east flank of the mountain might become crowded.

One reason for the big rush on Manaslu is the decision of the Chinese authorities from the beginning of June to cancel the fall season 2017 in order to “adjust and improve” the rules for mountaineers. That was the official reason. Unofficially, it is speculated that the leadership in Beijing considers unrest in Tibet possible during the Chinese Communist Party Congress, which takes place only every five years, in mid-October.

Next attempt of von Melle and Stitzinger

Alix von Melle (l.) and Luis Stitzinger

Manaslu is a popular alternative destination when China closes its borders to Tibet for foreign mountaineers. Already in fall 2012 and 2015, , many operators had offered expeditions to Manaslu instead of the cancelled ones to the Tibetan eight-thousanders. The “Mountain of the Spirit” has meanwhile been summited almost 1000 times. Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger are among the summit aspirants this fall. Manaslu is still missing in the eight-thousander collection of the German couple. The 46-year-old Alix and the 48-year-old Luis have climbed six eight-thousanders so far, five of them together. In fall 2012, both had reached an altitude of just below 8000 meters on Manaslu. In the current season, Luis leads an expedition of the German operator Amical alpin.

Soria again on Dhaulagiri

Compared to Manaslu, the eight-thousanders Dhaulagiri (8,167 meters) and Lhotse (8,516 meters) might be much more lonely this fall. After his unsuccessful attempt last spring, the Spaniard Carlos Soria, aged 78, tackles Dhaulagiri again. In case of success, it would be his 13th eight-thousander. Then only Shishapangma would be missing. Carlos scaled his first eight-thousander, Nanga Parbat, at the age of 51. The high-performance senior already holds the age records on K 2 (aged 65), Broad Peak (68), Makalu (69), Gasherbrum I (70), Manaslu (71), Lhotse (72), Kangchendzönga (75) and Annapurna (77).

Korean-Spanish attempt on Lhotse South Face

Lhotse South Face

Like Soria on Dhaulagiri, the South Korean Sung Taek Hong launches another attempt on Lhotse South Face. In fall 2014 and 2015, Sung’s attempts to climb through the more than 3000-meter-high, extremely difficult wall on a partly new route had failed. This time, the 51-year-old is joined by the 49-year-old Spaniard Jorge Egocheaga. Jorge is a very experienced high altitude climber who has summited all 14 eight-thousanders. Only on Everest he used bottled oxygen.

Rescue on Everest

Day three after the devastating earthquake in Nepal: The death toll in the country has risen to almost 4,000, and it is continuously increasing. An end of the bad news is not in sight. Still information focusses on the most heavily hit capital Kathmandu and the region around Mount Everest. From the other regions of the country, messages are barely trickling in. German trekkers report that debris flows also occured on the Annapurna Circuit on Saturday. Many trekkers are reportedly waiting on their way around the eight-thousander Manaslu for being evacuated by helicopter. The base camp at the foot of Annapurna was hit by an avalanche on Saturday. “It just about buried us in our tents, we had to use our knives to cut our way out. After that, myself and two sherpas had to do a rescue of a teammate”, Canadian mountaineer Al Hancock said.

Helicopter airlift

At Mount Everest, the rescue of the climbers, who were stranded at Camp 1 above 6,000 meters, is standing just before the end. Only 15 mountaineers are still waiting to be flown to the valley by helicopter. All Monday long, there was an  airlift to Camp 1, where initially about 150 climbers had been cut off from descent. Continously the helicopters started and landed. The “Icefall Doctors” have stopped their work on the route through the Khumbu Icefall for fear of aftershocks. Reportedly, three Sherpas died in the ice labyrinth during an aftershock on Sunday. It is still not clear how many climbers were killed in Everest Basecamp by the huge avalanche from Pumori, that was triggered by the earthquake on Saturday. Figures currently vary from 16 to 19. German climber Jost Kobusch survived. The 22-year-old took this video of the avalanche:

Stop on the Tibetan north side of Everest?

North side of Everest

The situation on the Tibetan north side of Mount Everest is unclear too. The official news agency Xinhua reports that China has cancelled all expeditions this spring. Xinhua relies on a high-ranking official who said that more aftershocks were expected next month. Today, Chinese officials discussed with the expedition leaders in “Chinese Base Camp”. According to my information, there will be another meeting on Tuesday morning. The German couple Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger has abandoned their Everest expedition on the north side on their own accord.  “We cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering thas happened (in Nepal)”, Alix and Luis write on their homepage. “Moreover, we do not want to be the reason why Nepalese helpers, cooks and Climbing Sherpas have to stay here and cannot go home to their families to see if everything is alright.”

Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger in Chinese Basecamp

Actually, they wanted to climb Mount Everest without bottled oxygen this spring. Actually, they were on the Tibetan north side of Everest where no one was injured by the earthquake. Nevertheless, the German couple Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger finished their Everest expedition, before they could make any attempt on the mountain. “Although there is no damage to people or property on the north side, we cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering thas has happened”, Alix and Luis write on their homepage. “Moreover, we do not want to be the reason why Nepalese helpers, cooks and Climbing Sherpas have to stay here and cannot go home to their families to see if everything is alright. Under the circumstances, we think it’s wrong to continue our  expedition. Even a possible summit success would feel vapid and invalid. We couldn’t find any joy in it.” Now both want to try to travel back via the Tibetan capital Lhasa.

Book Everest remains open

It’s not clear whether other climbers on the north side of Everest will follow their example. “We also can understand those who still want to take their opportunity on Everest – perhaps the only one in their whole life. Also for us, the decision was not easy. We were well prepared, well acclimatized on the mountain and highly motivated for the challenge. But in the end we always follow our feelings, and it doesn’t feel right this time.” 43-year-old Alix and 46-year-old Luis so far climbed six eight-thousanders, five of them together. The chapter Everest 2015 is finished, but the book remains open for them: “Be sure: Everest, we will be back! Someday.”

Alix von Melle (r.) and Luis Stitzinger

This will be an illustrious group of mountaineers. In April, not only expedition leader Dominik Mueller and his clients but two German record holders will gather in the base camp of the German operator Amical alpin on the Tibetan north side of Mount Everest. Firstly, the most successful mountaineer of the country, Ralf Dujmovits. The 53-year-old has already reached as so far only German climber the summits of all 14 eight-thousanders. On the other hand Alix von Melle, who scaled six eight-thousanders and thus leads the ranking of the most successful German women on the highest mountains in the world. Both want to climb without bottled oxygen, but they’ll do in separate teams: Ralf with the Canadian Nancy Hansen, Alix with her husband Luis Stitzinger. Van Melle says she has closed the chapter of the abrupt end of their Makalu expedition in May 2014. “This is over and mentally processed. I feel quite well again”, the 43-year-old told me.

Cortisone in her baggage

Alix on Makalu

On Makalu, she and Luis had to cancel their summit attempt at over 7500 meters, because Alix suddenly lost all her energy. The symptoms pointed to a life-threatening high altitude pulmonary edema. Later it turned out that Alix had also suffered from a protracted pneumonia and asthma. “High altitude was definitely not the only reason”, Alix answered my question whether it would not have made more sense to choose a lower eigth-thousander instead of Everest. “These things could happen to me also on a five-, six- or seven-thousander.” Recent function tests of her lung had showed top results. Due to the asthma predisposition that was diagnosed after the Makalu expedition, Alix will take cortisone tablets with her in case of an emergency.

With clear head

Luis (l.) as expedition leader on Kokodak Dome

Luis is not concerned. “We always worry about each other. This can not be avoided, but is also very useful”, said the 46-year-old, who, like his wife, has summited six eight-thousanders by now. “I trust Alix very much in knowing herself and taking the right decisions.” Both know that their chance of success on Everest is not really high because they want to do it – as during their previous climbs – without bottled oxygen. “Only if all things fit together perfectly, we’ll have a chance”, Luis said. “You can only climb on Everest without breathing mask in best conditions.” She would “keep a clear head”, Alix told me. “I’ll just look how I feel in high altitude, and certainly I will not risk too much.”

Accept the hustle and bustle

Alix and Luis will ascend on the normal route. They know that there may be much traffic. “I’m sure that I’ll get worked up about some of the hustle and bustle there”, said Luis. “But if you want to go there, you must be able to accept this. That’s just the way it is.” Alix also takes a pragmatic view on it: “Climbing Everest, you can not expect to be in cosy togetherness.”

Dominik Mueller

The Everest climbers are in the starting blocks. In four weeks, the majority of them will travel to Nepal or Tibet. The final decision of the Nepalese government, whether and, if so, how exactly the permits of the prematurely terminated spring season 2014 are valid for 2015, is still to be made. Dominik Mueller, head of the German operator Amical alpin, doesn’t have to worry about that.  The 43-year-old leads an expedition to the Tibetan north side of Everest. His team will include not only “normal” clients but also three top-class mountaineering professionals from Germany. Ralf Dujmovits, so far the only German who climbed all eight-thousanders, wants to scale Everest without bottled oxygen – together with the Canadian Nancy Hansen. Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger plan to do the same. The German couple has so far climbed six eight-thousanders. Dominik Müller worked as an expedition leader on six of the 14 highest mountains. He reached the summit of Cho Oyo twice. “During the other expeditions, I had to put aside my personal interests being the leader”, Dominik told me. This time on Everest this could be different.

North side of Mount Everest

Dominik, soon you will be on your way to Mount Everest. Is this still something special for you?

Actually, each eight-thousander is special to me. But on the one hand Everest is simply the highest mountain. On the other hand it challenges me as an operator because there is a lot to organize, more than on other mountains.

There was a lot of discussion about Everest after last year’s events on the Nepalese south side. Did you find any change in the client behavior?

No, concerning the level of demand. But I have to point out that we don’t offer expeditions on the south side, just because of the dangers of the route. We only offer the Tibetan north side.  But it can be confirmed that more climbers tend to go the north side, because more operators are present there. I think it all depends on who is offering what where? The client follows the operator.

Have the Chinese driven up the prices?

The Chinese have been doing it in the recent years – not only on Everest, but also on the other eight-, seven- and six-thousanders in Tibet. They just try to get the maximum.

Ralf Dujmovits

This time, you have a rather unusual expedition group. There are not only clients, as they are usually found on commercial expeditions. The professional climbers Ralf Dujmovits, Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger bought themselves into your expedition. Does that make it special?

Of course. On the one hand, the professionals want to be free in their actions on the mountain. On the other hand the clients want to be attended in the best possible way. That may create some little tension. On the other hand, the average clients, of course, benefit from these experienced climbers. You won’t find so much concentrated competence at base camp in the near future.

Does this enable you to restrain a bit concerning your responsibility?

No, I am fully challenged. I want to attend the clients as well as the professionals in the best way possible, doing all the organizing, even those little things that have to be done on-site.

But this time, you will be also allowed to think a bit of yourself, won’t you?

My goal is to try Everest without bottled oxygen. We have a very good support team for our clients that will attend them in an optimum way. Thus I think I should have some freedom to do my thing.

Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger

Will it be your first attempt on Everest?

Yes. When I do find the time, I’ll climb together with Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger. It’s important that we are on the mountain not in a large group but in small teams. Then everyone can acclimatize individually and choose his own speed, depending on how he is doing. This is one of the keys to success on this mountain.

Apropos large groups.  There will be many of these on Everest. Do you have a plan how to avoid the crowds on the route, a special trick?

There can’t be any special trick, because you’re always depending on the weather conditions. But you may climb in a slightly counter-cyclical way by starting a little earlier or later when the good weather window opens. An advantage of the northern route is that there are not so many traffic jams, because you can overtake better. There are fewer bottlenecks than on the south side.

Let’s look into the future. If you want to play the prophet, what is going to happen on Everest in the next few years?

Hard to say. In Nepal, quite a lot is changing. The Climbing Sherpas exert massive pressure on the government. I welcome that. We are only guests in a foreign country, these people need to be properly insured. Regarding the route, we’ll have to wait and see what happens next. It is discussed whether using ladders or even whether to set up two tracks, one for the ascent, one for the descent. There are many ideas but still nothing concrete.

Much traffic on Everest

Some operators want to transport material to Camp 1 or 2 by helicopter. What do you think about this?

This is ambiguous. On the one hand you trust in the work of the Climbing Sherpas, on the other hand you cut their possibility to do their job. Finally, they also live on the material transports. For me, an ascent is only a true ascent, when we manage it without technical help from outside, means also without helicopters. Whether “by fair means” or with bottled oxygen, you should walk up and down the mountain by foot.

Are there still people who previously climbed only one or two mountains and want to scale Everest next?

We get such requests. But then it is the duty of us organizers to tell them: Listen, you’re not ready! Finally, it is also about people’s life. You don’t have to do everything for money, it’s also our job to advice the clients honestly.

But the operators have not been pursuing a uniform line so far.

That is precisely the problem. The client should carefully consider with whom he goes on expedition. He should consider how much experience an operator has on high mountains and how serious he advises.

P.S.:  I say goodbye now for a week to relax and ski in the Alps :-). Then I’ll be back for you. And here’s a bit of Everest to enjoy and dream:

Alix von Melle on Makalu

The ridge between audacity and high spirits is narrow. And it is always a question of perspective. If a climber is to explain a beach goer why he exposes himself to the risk of falling during a mountain tour, he will mostly meet with stunned disapproval. Alix von Melle will probably face those reactions if she will really set off for Tibet next spring to climb Mount Everest. Finally, Alix had to abort a summit attempt on Makalu for health grounds last May. “It was a gut feeling. I was extremely cold, and this cold came from my inside”, says the 43-year-old, who leads the ranking of German female high mountaineers, with six summit successes on eight-thousanders. With her husband Luis Stitzinger, Alix descended to their last high camp. “Then I sat in the tent and really gasped for breath like a fish out of water.” The suspicion: a high altitude pulmonary edema. Using bottled oxygen, Alix was able to reach the base camp by her own. Later pneumonia was diagnosed additionally – and asthma was involved too.

Kilimanjaro as a high-altitude-test

Alix and Luis in high camp on Makalu

“It is still not clear what exactly was the reason, probably a stupid combination of all”, says Alix. After her return to Germany, she was short of breath for weeks. Then she recovered and began to train again. In September, Alix joined a commercial expedition to the 5895-meter-high Mount Kilimanjaro that was led by Luis, and she scaled the highest mountain in Africa. “I tolerated high altitude on Kili well”, says von Melle. “I realised, everything’s allright again.” Thus she started planning her next eight-thousander-project. “It is not yet certain. But Mount Everest from the Tibetan north side belongs to most probable options”, says Alix. She and Luis are thinking about using the infrastructure of an Everest expedition operated by Amical and led by Dominik Mueller.

More attention to alarm signals

I’m surprised, I had expected that Alix would rather choose one of the “lower” eight-thousanders, due to her lung problems. Therefore I ask her: Really without breathing mask, like in her previous projects? “Definitely without bottle oxygen,” Alix  replies. “Also after our last Makalu expedition, it was out of question for us to switch to the use of supplementary oxygen and Climbing Sherpas. That is simply not our way.” The experience on Makalu has been a “small damper”, Alix admits. But she says that she has learned from it: “I have reconsidered training, diet, times for recovery. And I will focus even more on alarm signals of my body.” Even and especially on Everest. “I am clearly aware that the chance to scale Everest without supplemental oxygen is really quite low. Since everything has to fit together”, says Alix. “If I have to turn back there, I will not lose my face. We just want to try it. Maybe it works, maybe not.”

Alix (l.) and Luis on Makalu

The most important thing first: Alix von Melle is doing well under the circumstances. The 42-year-old, who has scaled six eight-thousanders and is therefore the most successful German female high altitude climber, started with her husband Luis Stitzinger for their second summit attempt on Makalu at the end of last week. Both reached their last high camp at 7600 meters, as planned. The following night Alix and Luis began to climb to the summit. They wanted to reach the highest point at 8485 meters without bottled oxygen. It was cold and windy, Luis writes. “Like in the past days Alix was plagued by a strong cough, in the extremely cold and dry air at an altitude of more than 7500 meters. After a strong coughing fit Alix suddenly said: Something’s not right, I can hardly breathe!”

Down, as fast as possible!

They continued to climb up for a short while but Alix’s condition deteriorated dramatically. “Suddenly we both knew: That was the end! Some hours ago we had still been so confident to reach the summit this time – and now that.” They turned around. Back in the tent they found that the oxygen saturation in Alix’s blood had fallen to 52 percent, compared with 78 percent in the evening before. Von Melle obviously suffered from a high altitude pulmonary edema and was in critical condition. “Fortunately we had the needed medicine and oxygen for the case of emergency so that we could immediately start treatment.”

“True Odyssey”

Return flight from Makalu

Both knew: they had to descend as fast as possible. On her way down Alix used bottled oxygen. After a forced march the German couple reached the base camp late in the evening of the same day. “Thorough medical tests by the base camp doctor revealed that Alix not only suffered from a high altitude pulmonary edema but also from pneumonia. No wonder that she could not breathe”, Luis writes. “Despite the disappointment about the abrupt end we thanked God for being back safely at base camp and for having all the resources for treatment. The descent was a true odyssey that took a happy end.”

Like a cool Siren

Later the German couple was flown by helicopter to Lukla where Alix was treated at the local clinic. The day after they returned to Kathmandu. “Once again Makalu has given us a cold shoulder. The mountain is like a cool Siren in Greek mythology. First it does attract you, then it doesn’t want to let you go and tries to kill you. Nevertheless, it is beautiful and graceful”, Luis sums up. They return from Makalu without summit success, for the second time after 2010. “All good things come in threes?! But the third time can wait.” First of all, Alix, get well soon! The mountains do not run away.

Heidi Sand (2012 on Everest)

Super Sunday on Makalu. Two German female climbers reached the 8485-meter-high summit of the fifth highest mountain in the world on 25 May: Heidi Sand and Billi Bierling. Both were members of the team of Himalayan Experience. Therefore I am tempted to say that both are the first German women on Makalu.Heidi Sand was motivated to do high altitude mountaineering by a serious illness. When she was 43 years old, the sculptor from the town of Stuttgart she got the devastating diagnosis: colon cancer. She swore: If I survive, I will scale Mount Everest. Both happened. Heidi fought the cancer and reached the top of the world in 2012. In 2013, she scaled Cho Oyu – and now at the age of 47 years her third eight-thousander Makalu.

Billi’s fourth eight-thousander

Billi Bierling

Many know Billi Bierling as the assistant of the legendary Himalayan chronicler Elizabeth Hawley. But the 46-year-old, who was born in the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany, is not only living and working in Nepal but also climbing the highest mountains. In 2009, she scaled Mount Everest. In 2010, Billi was the first German women on top of Manaslu, in 2011 of Lhotse. For her first three ascents of eight-thousanders she used bottled oxygen. In fall 2011, Billi summited Manaslu again, this time without oxygen mask. In fall 2012, she tried to climb Makalu without bottled oxygen but had to turn around at 7900 meters. In 2013, Bierling scaled the 7861-meter-high Nuptse – and now Makalu. “I never thought i’d make it. It’s such a long and hard climb!”, she wrote on Twitter. Congratulations, Billi – and of course, Heidi!

Actually, the German couple Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger had planned a second summit attempt on Makalu for last weekend after the first had failed. By now we have not heard anything from them. Having skaled six eight-thousanders, the 43-year-old Alix is the most successful German woman on the highest mountains of the world.

Makalu

In one point it is the same for mountaineers who want to climb an eight-thousander and for everyday travellers: Shortly before departure the dates are accumulating. They have to pave the way for their long absence in their jobs, meet friends and family and – last but not least – make the last preparations for the upcoming project. That applies to Luis Stitzinger, too. We met last weekend in Oberstdorf in the Alpes, the day before Luis’ departure to Nepal. The 45-year-old German and his wife Alix von Melle want to climb again Makalu, at the height of 8485 meters the fifth highest mountain in the world. In 2010, the couple had to turn back on 8050 meters at temperatures of minus 45 degrees Celsius. Alix and Luis have already climbed six eight-thousanders: Cho Oyu, Gasherbrum II, Nanga Parbat, Dhaulagiri, Broad Peak and Shishapangma, all without using bottled oxygen. This makes the 43-year-old Alix the most successful German women at the highest mountains in the world.

Luis, soon you will start to Makalu.  Do you feel something like stage fright?

No more stage fright because we have made too many expeditions, but of course we are a little bit excited. Preparations drag on. When the time comes, it’s like a spring that is released. We are looking forward to our expedition.

Luis Stitzinger

This is already your second attempt on Makalu. Will you have a different attitude?

Yes, I do think that it is different. We have tried so far no mountain twice, not even those where we did not reach the summit. This is actually the first time that we will it the second time. We are really prejudiced.

In what way?

We just remember the last time. And we are also a little bit more under pressure.

Will you be doing anything different?

First, we are staffed differently. We have a friend in our team, Florian Huebschenberger, who was already with us on Nanga Parbat. So we are three now. Maybe we also want to try a different route. But generally, expeditions are never quite the same. The weather is different, the conditions are too. Therefore, the schedule will always be a little different.

How much time do you have?

We have a maximum of two months for the whole trip. This is more than what is needed. But if it takes shorter, we would not say no.

Until now you have been climbing the eigth-thousanders via the normal routes. Will you do it on Makalu too? You suggested that you may choose a different route.

We will climb on the normal route, but maybe we want to try a variant in the upper part. We need to see what the conditions are like. Only then we will decide whether we really want to try it.

In 2013, there have been only a few ascents, Makalu has defied many attempts in recent years. How do you estimate your chance to reach the summit?

It’s always hard to express in figures.  I always say that the odds are fifty-fifty. When we were on Makalu in 2010, everything looked fine, the weather seemed to be good. But on these high mountains a single factor – then it was just the continuing jet stream which had parked over the Himalayas for weeks – can be sufficient to keep you from climbing up. And then you sit at basecamp in perfect, sunny weather, twiddling your thumbs and you can do nothing.

Alix in the upper part of Makalu in 2010

This year, the Nepalese government has adopted a lot of new regulations on Mount Everest. So there is a guarded post at the basecamp as an arbitration board. In addition, each climber must bring down eight kilos of rubbish from the mountain. Are there similar rules on Makalu?

Everest is just a hotspot where international mountain tourism meets. By comparison, Makalu is very rarely visited. We have learned that this year there are some more climbers on the way to the mountain, but compared to Everest it is only a small fraction. Makalu is still a relatively lonely mountain where usually not even a liaison officer is staying, because he does not want to take on the long trekking to basecamp.  Usually you are amongst yourselves there.

Will you contact the members of the other expeditions to share the work or will you act completely independently?

You always come together and coordinate your actions. We know many of the others who will be there. With some of them we have been on other mountains. I also know the operators of the expeditions. You will always try to pull together. But we actually plan to work on the route independently, we do not want to wait until all ropes are fixed to climb up using jumars.

Alix (r.) and Luis at the summit of Shishapangma in 2013

Makalu would be your seventh 8000-meter-peak. Did you approach the project in a different way compared to your first expeditions to eight-thousanders?

I do think that we have got something like routine or at least experience. If you have succeeded in climbing your first eight-thousander, you wonder before trying the second: Have we only been lucky or have we done everything right? But if you have summited a few 8000ers, you realize that some systems have proved to work and that you can count on that.

Makalu would be you highest eight-thousander so far.

Yes, up to now we have summited the lower eight-thousanders. Our highest was Cho Oyu with 8201 meters. Now we try to climb up about 300 more meters, which means that we step into the upper half of the eight-thousanders.

You will not be using bottled oxygen. For this reason you will climb in a different league if you try to get to a summit of one of the high eight-thousanders.

Definitely. We are eager to climb without bottled oxygen. We would rather turn around if we realize that we do not succeed. But because we want to achieve all our goals without breathing mask, we have been moving higher very carefully. Some other mountaineers climb Gasherbrum II and then directly turn to Mount Everest, perhaps even trying it without oxygen. That would be too risky for us. We know from our own experience that every 100 meters in high altitude mean playing in a different league. There is a big difference between a mountain which is 8500 meters high and one that scratches just above the 8000-meter-mark. We climb high and higher very carefully, because up there we have minimal safety reserves without bottled oxygen.

Alix and you are climbing as a couple. Have you discussed what happens if one of you loses his or her power at high altitude?

Sure, we have talked about. Therefore we feel better now climbing as a trio. One helper cannot do much, but in twos it is looking already better. Two helpers, who feel good, may have a chance to bring down a weakened climber. That’s a safety factor. But if you don’t have any oxygen – due to weight reduction we will not even carry oxygen bottles for medical emergency to the high camps -, you have only limited safety reserves. This is evident.