Hansjoerg Auer during the IMS in Brixen

Hansjoerg Auer likes to use the word “brutal”. But only when he is telling of something that inspires him. “It’s just a brutal beautiful mountain and a brutal cool goal,” says the top climber from Austria about Kunyang Chhish East. The 7400-meter-high mountain is located in the Karakoram in Pakistan. Hansjoerg has climbed the side peak of Kunyang Chhish (7852 meters) last summer together with his brother Matthias and Swiss Simon Anthamatten. “You rarely find this combination: a 7000er, unclimbed, with a cool wall such as the nearly 3000-meter-high South Face”, says the 29-year-old climber. “I am thrilled by exactly these expeditions with as many question marks as possible. They are interesting and remain exciting.”

Brothers on the summit

The trio reached the previously unclimbed summit over an extremely challenging route through the South Face. In 2006 the US top climbers Steve House and Vince Anderson (who had climbed the Rupal Face on Nanga Parbat firstly in Alpine style in 2005) had to return on Kunyang Chhish East some 300 meters below the summit. Auer is particularly pleased that he was able to celebrate the success together with his brother. Matthias is living “more in the midst of life, with family and home. That’s why it was certainly one of his last major mountain projects”, says Hansjoerg. “I really liked that we reached the top together.”

Repressing bad news

Just below the summit of Kunyang Chhish East

The Auer brothers and Anthamatten dedicated their summit success to the eleven victims of the terrorist attack on Nanga Parbat, about 120 kilometers away. The news had reached them in basecamp during their period of acclimatization. “You cannot imagine something like that. If you’re just staying in basecamp yourself, thinking that these guys come and shoot you, that’s really incredible!”, Hansjoerg recalls. “But we started climbing and repressed the bad news as well as possible.” It’s out of the question for Auer to stay away from Pakistan. “You cannot say we will travel no longer to Pakistan. I hope that was a one-time incident.” Mountaineers were not giving the reasons for the attack, says Hansjoerg. “There must be a more hidden problem that has to be solved now.”
Auer will most likely return to the Karakoram in 2014. His destination: another 7000er, an unclimbed, technically difficult wall. Hansjoerg doesn’t reveal more details. Maybe he is talking about the Masherbrum East Face. Recently David Lama had indicated to me that his compatriot would possibly join his team for Masherbrum.

In a league of their own

The big walls on 8000ers are no issues for Auer. Not yet. These walls, says Hansjoerg, are “in a league of their own. You have to gain a lot of experience on 7000ers before you can climb cool routes on 8000ers. In very high altitude especially the mental challenge is extreme”, says Auer. “What Ueli Steck has just done on Annapurna, climbing solo through the South Face, was extremely good. The biggest backup you have as a climber is usually your teammate. But there is no companion if you do a solo climb. You’re so exposed up there, without any help. You have to work through this and to deliver full performance.” And once again Hansjoerg uses his favorite word: “That means brutal commitment. You have to do your very best.”

Catherine Destivelle

She looks younger than she really is (53 years) and her eyes twinkle when she is talking about climbing. 20 years ago Catherine Destivelle of France was a star of the climbing scene: Inter alia she soloed the classical north faces of Eiger, Matterhorn and Grand Jorasses, all of them in winter. She free-climbed the more than 6000-meter-high Nameless Tower in the Karakoram. (If you want to get an impression of her style of climbing, watch the amazing video below!) After the birth of her son Victor in 1997 she scaled down her climbing activities. I talked to Catherine on a hike during the International Mountain Summit (IMS) in Brixen in South Tyrol.

Catherine, are you still climbing?

Yes, less, but I’m still climbing. I like it. When I have time or holiday, I do it several times a week.

When you did your great climbs, in the 1980s and beginning of the 90s, you were a pioneer of women climbing. What has changed since then?

I think it’s a normal evolution. Women climbers of today are better than in our times, because they are training since their youth. Climbing has become a real sport. In my day it just had started to be a sport, but wasn’t really.

Do you think nowadays it’s easier for young women to be professional climbers?

I’m not sure. There are a lot of women climbers, so maybe it’s more difficult. At my time we were only a few, about one in each country. So it was probably easier to live from climbing.

Catherine Destivelle: Probably more difficult

Do you still follow what’s going on in the Himalayas?

I still know what’s going on, but I’m not dreaming about that. I’m quite jealous because I am not able to go away for a long time. But one day I will decide to take my time to come back to do some little climbs in the Himalayas.

You did it in the 1990s, when you were on Makalu, Shishapangma  – and on the Annapurna South Face too. Just two weeks ago Ueli Steck did a solo climb through this wall in only 28 hours for up and down, climbing during the night. What do you think about his climb?

I think it’s the safest way to act in the Himalayas to be fast. So you don’t lose much energy and you keep your mind straight. (laughs) Erhard Loretan did the same. He was climbing very fast in high altitude.

When you were on expedition in the Himalays in the 90s, there were not so many climbers in the mountains. Things have changed, especially on Everest.

Everest was not one of my goals because I liked technical routes. Those were my favourite climbs. But climbing technical routes in high altitude is very dangerous. I was scared,  I didn’t want to take any risk. So I decided not to go on very high peaks. Climbing Everest on the normal route was not attractive for me at that time. Now there are too much people. So I’m not sure that I will go there one day (laughs). I think it’s crazy. Just because it’s Everest, everybody goes there. They don’t know how to climb and how to deal with any problem.  They need fixed ropes, they don’t know how to move without a rope. If there is an avalanche or a serac fall like on Manaslu in 2012, a huge catastrophe happens. On K 2 it was the same a few years ago: Climbers lost their lives because they were not real alpinists. I think it’s quite dangerous if there are too much people on a high peak. 

Catherine Destivelle: Too much people on Everest

What was the reason that you stopped extreme climbing in the mid of 1990s? Was it your accident during a climb in Antarctica when you had a compound fracture of your leg?

No, it was not the accident. I wanted to have a kid (laughs). Victor. I preferred to care of him. I’m like a chicken, I don’t want to leave my son alone. I like to share my days with him. I still climb but I want to make sure that my son is happy. That’s the most important thing for me. I travel with him, but he is not focused on climbing, so I’m going to the seaside with him (laughs), kitesurfing, stuff like that.

If you should give an advice to young climbers, especially female climbers, what would you say?

You have to like it and to follow your instinct. Be happy, then you have a chance to be good at it. If you want to be very good, train a lot! Meet very experienced people to get inspired, take their advice!

Catherine Destivelle: Like it and follow your instinct!

What about courage?

You don’t need to have courage if you like it (laughs). You have your passion. You have to train and to be focused on this, if you want to succeed. But that’s all. Courage is something else. For me courage means for example risking your life for an idea.