Helga Hengge in Cologne

You have only successfully climbed a mountain when you reach after the summit also the valley safe and sound. In this sense, Helga Hengge was the first successful German female mountaineer on Mount Everest. As a member of a commercial expedition team in spring 1999, she climbed from the Tibetan north side to the 8850-meter-high summit. Hannelore Schmatz had been the first German woman to reach the highest point of Everest in fall 1979, but she had died of exhaustion at 8,300 meters on her descent.

In 2011, Hengge became the first German female climber to complete the collection of the “Seven Summits”, the highest mountains of all continents. Helga is now 51 years old. She lives with her husband, her twelve-year-old daughter and her eleven-year-old son in Munich – and still goes to the mountains. Last fall, she tackled the 6543-meter-high Shivling in the Indian Himalayas. I met her on the margins of a lecture in Cologne.

Helga, it’s almost 19 years since you were on Mount Everest. Do you have any special relationship with the mountain?

Helga on top of Everest in 1999

Yes, for sure. I always thought that would disappear after a while. But I even think that this relationship is getting stronger. Only now I do feel how much I have taken from this mountain for myself and my life.

What exactly?

A very deep serenity. A lot of confidence. And belief in a power from within. And in a divine power in the mountains too.

Do you still follow what happens on Everest, e.g. now the winter expedition of Alex Txikon?

Yes, with great fascination. After Christmas follows this rather quiet time in January. I always feel like everyone is going to Everest, but not me. (laughs) Friends or acquaintances set off, as well as other mountaineers who are posting on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. There is so much energy and great anticipation. And this always reminds me of my anticipation back then.

What has changed in your view on Everest since 1999?

It was still relatively quiet on the north side. We were a total of about 150 people on the mountain, including kitchen crews and base camp managers. That did not feel so crowded. If I now see the pictures, there is much more going on there. But that’s the way it is in our world. There will be more and more going on everywhere, of course on Everest too.

Do you feel that the mountain loses its dignity?

No, it can not. I also find it very difficult to say how the Nepalese government is currently doing: Some are allowed, others not. I think it’s very difficult and always unfair to exclude people from ascending there. The mountain has a tremendous aura and attraction. There are just a lot of people who really want to climb it. I can understand that very well.

North side of Mount Everest

Do you sometimes still dream about your ascent?

No. But for a while I had something of a horror dream about Everest – perhaps caused by the pictures of the accidents or even the giant queue of people, hundreds of climbers on a single route. That’s terrifying. At that time I dreamed that the Chinese would have built a lift from the middle of the mountain to just below the summit. Upstairs there was a little house where you could take a break. From there they all went off, with trainers! In the dream I was quite excited: They can not climb up wearing trainers, that’s too dangerous. I have to hold them back!

You were the first German woman who reached the summit of Everest and in addition came down alive. Do you have the feeling that the public has realized this?

I think so. In my lectures, I am often asked about it. I was living in New York at that time and just traveled to Everest. I had no sponsors. Back then I was not aware that I would be the first German woman to succeed. I found it out only afterwards. If I had known it before, I would probably have exerted myself more than I did and lamented less. That would certainly have benefited my team.

Did they pull you up to the top?

No, it was not that bad. But without the Sherpas, the tigers of the Himalayas, I certainly would not have climbed up there.

For some, Everest is the highlight, after which they scale down their mountain activities. For you, it was obviously more of an initial spark to set off to the mountains of the world.

At first. I tried to scale four eight-thousanders and succeeded on one of them, Shishapangma [She reached the 8008-meter-high Central Peak in 2001]. Then I met my husband, started a family. With two small children, you can not just leave. Later I focused on the Seven Summits, which I completed by 2011. One summit every year.

View downwards from Shivling

Last fall, you were back in the Himalayas, in the Indian part, on the six-thousander Shivling, a prestigious mountain. What did attract you?

It is the holy mountain of India and has fascinated me for a long time. It is a technically very difficult mountain, certainly at the limit of my ability. But the climb was not so important to me. I really wanted to make this pilgrimage and spend time there. It is truly one of the most impressive mountains I have ever been to. A great happiness shines out of it. Whenever I think back to the expedition, I have to smile because it was so beautiful.

Although you had to turn around 400 meters below the summit due to the risk of ice debris?

We turned around with a heavy heart because we had worked so hard on this mountain. Three days later we were trekking back. Near the glacier snout of Gomukh, the holy spring of the Ganges, we met a sadhu [a “holy man” in Hinduism] who was hiking up the pilgrim’s path. He asked me, “Where have you been?”- I replied, “On Shivling.” We were disheveled, with sun-burnt faces, we really looked wild. Then he said: “Lucky you!” Only then I realized how right he was. May be it was just one day missing to succeed. But we were so lucky to take this special trip at all.

Mount Damavand

Are there any other big mountain dreams you still have?

One after the other. I would like to travel again to Mount Damavand [5,611 m, the highest mountain in Iran] where we were not able to reach the summit last year because of a wild storm. And then there is another holy mountain in Iran, Mount Sabalan [4,811 m, the third highest mountain of the country]. I would like to visit it too.

It sounds like you’re not just looking for high altitude, you’ve changed your priorities.

A lot. After Everest I fell into a deep hole. Three years of preparation and I never asked myself, what will I do after having climbed Everest? It was hard. After that I strenously tried to climb other eight-thousanders, that was not my scene. Then, thank God, I found the Seven Summits. But when they were over, it was again very difficult for me. Finally, it had been a project over 14 years. Suddenly you stand on the last mountain and should actually be the luckiest person on earth. But you have no more reason to prepare for something. However, now I have the holy mountains and they are endless. They exist on all continents, in all religions and cultures. That’s actually the much nicer goal.

Paul Ramsden

He is anything but a self-promoter. Paul Ramsden does not belong to the group of extreme climbers who are out to market themselves and want to be constantly in the spotlight. Though he certainly deserves it – the list of his first ascents in the Himalayas is long. In fall 2016, for example, the British, together with his compatriot Nick Bullock, succeeded to climb for the first time through the extremely demanding North Face of the 7,046 meter high Nyainqentangla South in Tibet. For this performance, they were recently awarded the Piolet d’Or. It was already the fourth time that Ramsden received the “Oscar of the Climbers”. And this is despite the fact that the 48-year-old is not a professional climber. He earns his living as a self-employed occupational hygienist who advises companies and furnishes expert reports.

Paul, you are a non-professional climber, you have a job and family. What is your motivation to set off year by year to remote mountain areas in the Himalayas to tackle unclimbed mountains, walls or ridges?

I love the mountains, it’s as simple as that. But as I don’t live or work in the mountains this maintains my enthusiasm for when I do visit them. Strangely with family and work commitments I find it more difficult to go climbing for weekends throughout the year than I do to go on an expedition once a year.

Summit selfie of Paul (l.) with Nick Bullock (r.)

What does real adventure means in your view?

Real adventure is not knowing the outcome, if success is in doubt you are having an adventure. However, for me adventure is so tied up with climbing style that the questions are inseparable. The British climbing tradition has always been like this.

How important is it for you to climb in pure style?

Style is everything, without good style climbing becomes a meaningless physical activity. For me good style is climbing in a pure alpine style, small team, no bolts, no fixed ropes, no outside support.

How many risks are you willing to take?

I try really hard to reduce the risks to a minimum. I am very selective about my route choices, always considering objective hazards and the means of descent. The risk assessment in my head is a constant process and difficult to describe but I have turned back on many routes.

The route on Nyainqentangla South East

What is your secret of success?

I don’t know to be honest. I suppose it’s a combination of experience, judgement and climbing in a style that suits my abilities and temperament.

You have climbed for many years very successfully with Mick Fowler, now with Nick Bullock. Which criteria has a perfect team partner to meet?

The perfect climbing partner is safety conscious, has a good sense of humour (The British sense of humour helps a lot on the mountain) but is still prepared to commit to the max when the need arises.

Mick was diagnosed with cancer this year. What did you feel when you heard it?

This was a real blow and a total surprise as he appeared to be very healthy and has always seems indestructible to me. He has just finished his treatment and hopeful all will be well. It does make you think about the future though and consider all the things you haven’t done yet.

Piolet d’Or winners Ramsden (l.) and Mick Fowler

You were awarded the Piolet d’Or, the “Oscar of the climbers”, four times, you’re the record winner (along with Marko Prezelj). Does this mean anything to you?

While it’s very pleasant to be recognised by you peers it has virtually no impact on my life. As a non professional, part time climber, I don’t really need sponsorship or publicity. However I do support the Piolet D’Or as a tool for promoting good ethics and style in mountaineering.

Is there already a climbing goal that you have set for next year?

Yes, I am going on another expedition in 2018 with Nick Bullock. I like to keep objectives secret though!

Ueli Steck

The experience on Mount Everest in spring 2013 has changed Ueli Steck. “The moment when I realized that the Sherpas wanted to kill me, a world came crashing in,” the 40-year-old Swiss top climber wrote in his new book “The Next Step”. “After that, my look at the world was a different one. I withdrew because I did not trust anyone anymore.” In spring 2017, Ueli will return to Everest – to try to traverse the highest mountain on earth and the 8,516-meter-high Lhotse. I talked to Steck about Everest.

Ueli, what does Mount Everest mean for you personally?

Everest is the highest mountain in the world. If high altitude climbing is your thing, it is, with an altitude of 8,848 meters, a dimension of its own and therefore the most interesting and exciting mountain.

Everest, Lhotse and Makalu (from l.)

In 2013, you had – as you describe in your new book – a traumatic experience, when a Sherpa mob seeked to kill you. Do you feel that you have come to terms with this story?

Come to terms? Such things shape you for your whole life. I’ll always carry it with me. But I think I can handle it now. The story has found a place in me.

Did you draw lessons from this incident for your visit next spring?

For sure. I have talked to many people. You can meet bad people all over the world, you just have to accept that. This also applies to Everest.

Do you believe that you will be able to avoid such conflicts in the future?

I think I’ll distance myself much more. This is the only solution. But there are also many good Sherpas or other good locals and only a few odd people. You just have to avoid these people. It’s like being in a big city, where you also have to ensure that you don’t enter the wrong district.

Ueli at the IMS in Bressanone

You want to do the Everest-Lhotse traverse – climbing up the West Shoulder, as already planned in 2013?

This would, of course, be the most beautiful, the perfect option. It’s my big dream if it works that way. But we have to look at the conditions. You can not say yet how they will be. Maybe I have to do the traverse via the normal route, and then, only in the next step, via the West Shoulder. I see that very realistically.

You will climb with Tenji Sherpa, with whom you have been traveling a lot, i.a. in 2012 on Everest. Is he as a climber the equal of you?

As a climbing partner certainly not, but surely as a high-altitude mountaineer, because he tolerates the great height. For a partner, it is not just a question of how good he is. It’s also very important that the team works. For me, it’s also a big part of the project to climb together.

But if you pick up pace, many others can not keep up with you.

Sure. If it does not work, it’s just like it is. But it can also tilt to the other side, in the sense that I am tired and someone else climbs on.

After the successful 2016 season, Everest Base Camp as well as the normal route will probably be crowded again in 2017. Is this a problem for you?

If you’re a good climber, you’ll just climb off the track. This is absolutely no topic for me.

Training with David Goettler on Aiguille Verte

How do you train for Everest?

I have already increased the volume considerably. I have some ideas on how I can train differently, also in terms of altitude training so that it becomes possible. So far, no one has ever been able to traverse Everest and Lhotse without supplemental oxygen. It’s a big challenge. I believe that I am able to do this, but I have to be prepared optimally. I am climbing many vertical meters, so my body is getting used to it.

You have already scaled Everest without bottled oxygen in 2012. Thus you know that you are able to handle the altitude. Does this knowledge help you?

Yes sure. That’s what I have just said. If I am on Everest and realize, hej, it’s a too big challenge to climb via the west flank and traverse the summit, I will try it first via the normal route. In climbing you have to do it step by step and you must be realistic. It’s crucial to accumulate knowledge so that things become quite normal.

Last question: What will you do at Christmas?

I’ll spend Christmas with my and Nicole’s family (Nicole is Ueli’s wife). And then we’ll go climbing for a few days.

Shishapangma

A chewing gum is not getting better by chewing it endlessly. There must come a time to spit it out. Stories are a similar ballgame. At a certain moment everything has been devoured a 1000 times. Then you should have the courage to draw a line under it before it becomes a never ending story, which is still only annoying. This will be my last blog post on the avalanche on Shishapangma which happened on next Saturday, exactly two years ago. Maybe not yet everything is said, but in my view it’s enough to close the chapter – and hopefully learn from it.

False impression

It was good that Martin Maier – as reported – kicked off the debate with his interview with the German magazine “Bergsteiger”. Now we have a fairly accurate idea of what really happened at that time, and in some details it defers from what had been previously reported. He wanted to correct this false impression, Martin said in a TV documentary of the German broadcaster “Bayerischer Rundfunk” (BR) on the events on Shishapangma in 2014, “because things that were said have been published somewhere and are accepted by the people as true and as a fact.”

Basti Haag (l.) and Andrea Zambaldi (r.) died in the avalanche

The avalanche had killed the German Sebastian Haag and the Italian Andrea Zambaldi. Like the two, Maier had been swept down the slope 600 meters deep but unlike his climbing partners he had remained lying on the snow surface. In the end he was able to escape, seriously injured, by his own strength to the high camp. Benedikt Boehm and the Swiss Ueli Steck, who had had a lucky escape from the accident, had seen no possibility to traverse to the avalanche cone and had already descended when Martin reached the high camp.

Boehm: “I’m sorry”

Maier proved with pictures that had been taken with a high resolution camera from Base Camp: It was not Basti Haag who did the trail-breaking when the avalanche swept down – as Benedikt Boehm later said in various interviews – but Boehm himself. After long hesitation, Benedikt commented in the BR documentary for the first time on the accusation that he possibly had wanted to blame Haag for the accident. “If it has been understood this way, I’m very, very sorry,” Benedikt said. “It was never my intention to accuse anyone of having triggered the avalanche. Even if a single foot was decisive for what happened, it’s completely irrelevant, because we five had made a joint decision to go up there, of our own accord and of our own risk.” However, Boehm didn’t say why he had not corrected his first statements earlier – as Maier, according to his own words, had repeatedly asked him to do.

“Worst moment”

Bene Boehm (r.) and Basti Haag on Shishapangma

Also new was the information that Boehm and Steck had recognized from above that one of three other climbers was lying on the snow. “We have seen a colored dot,” Ueli told BR. “There was someone lying out there, you could see that. First he was moving, then he stopped and just lay in the snow.” Due to the great danger of avalanches, Boehm and Steck had decided not to traverse into the slope. “For me it was the worst thing I have ever experienced”, said Ueli. “You see someone down there, and you cannot get there.” In the BR film also Boehm described the decision to descend as “the worst moment of my life. I later did not want to go into detail because this story is so deep inside me. But in retrospect this was a mistake.”

“Very own responsibility”

He is still blaming himself for not having traversed to the avalanche cone to help Martin, Ueli Steck writes on his website under the headline “My principles on the mountain”: “I thank him for not reproaching me for that. I’m going to use the experience of this accident for similar decisions – which hopefully will never be necessary.” However, accidents like the avalanche on Shishapangma cannot be completely ruled out. “Mountaineering is one of the few activities that are not fully regulated, and thus each individual is allowed to determine the risks he is willing to take,” Ueli wrote. “But freedom also means responsibility. We all know that in the end we have to bear our very own responsibility for the risks of this beautiful sport.”
And what else can we learn from the debate about the avalanche on Shishapangma? One should stick with the truth, says Martin Maier. Absolutely!

Thomas Huber (in 2014)

Approximately 1.8 seconds. That was the time it took when Thomas Huber fell 16 meters deep from a rock face on the Brendlberg in the Berchtesgaden region in Bavaria – now two weeks ago. As previously reported, the 49-year-old German top climber, the older of the two Huber brothers, landed on soft forest floor. As it turned out later, Thomas suffered a skull fracture and had to undergo surgery immediately. The doctor’s reassuring prognosis afterwards: no permanent damage. Meanwhile, Thomas has left the hospital and is recovering at home. I have phoned him.

Thomas, first things first: How are you?

I’m doing very well. I am aware of the immense luck that I had. I received it gratefully. I don’t look back what could have happened, I’m just happy that it happened the way it happened. Of course, it would have been better if I had avoided it and the accident had not even happened. But that’s what’s happening in climbing. I felt totally safe in my routine, and that’s often where the devil is in.

The rock face on the Brendlberg

Are all your injuries curable?

It’s like a miracle that nothing more happened to me. That’s what the surgeons have told me too. After all, I fell 16 meters deep, we have measured it. All my injuries are curable. And it seems I’ll be 100 percent fit in the near future.

16 meters, that’s as high as one and a half single-family houses. Have you still thought anything during your fall or was it just pure instinct?

All was instinct. You do no longer think but only act. At every second I was fully conscious and obviously I have instinctively done everything right. But I was no longer able to control it. It happened so quickly and it was so surprising. You are then no longer in reality, it is like being on a second level, where only your body reacts and makes you survive in the end. I had 1,000 guardian angels. I’m sure there was anything that has made me survive. Otherwise I would not have been able to get back on my feet afterwards and walk down the mountain without help. I’ve not a single bruise. I have suffered only the skull fracture, a dislocated finger and a few broken spinous processes of vertebrae that had scraped over the rock.

Thomas after the surgery

You have probably abseiled already ten thousands of times in your life. One wonders how this incident could happen to you at all? Was it just a short moment lack of concentration?

No, the routine was to blame. When you are climbing a wall for the first time, it is frightening, not only on El Capitan, but also on Brendlberg, even though this wall is only 70 meters high but very steep, very alpine. I have been constantly climbing there in the last two months and have opened several routes. The wall has become for me a kind of a living room, I felt totally comfortable there. It was my second home, my summer job before the expedition. We filmed in the route “Watzmannflimmern”, which is a (difficulty) 9+. I wanted to fix a rope for the cameramen. When I had trained in the route that I finally climbed during the preceding months, I had always used a 60-meter rope. It was long enough to get to the ledge, five meters were still left then. But the rope, I used now, belonged to a friend. I did not know that it was cut off.
I abseil and remove three quickdraws from the first pitch of a neighboring route. Everything is good, I abseil to the ledge. And – tamm! – I fall. I was really fully concentrated. It was another story that was responsible, just the full routine that everything had always gone well during the previous months. Just like a master carpenter who, after 10,000 cuts with a circular saw, cuts off his finger.

Going to climb on

It was very close, you have cheated death. Do you ask yourself: Do I continue as before?

If you are not able to deal with a story, you really have to ask this question. But if you are aware of this immense luck you had and if you are grateful that you are staying alive, then you can continue to go the mountains. You simply always have to be aware of what you are doing. The most dangerous thing is when you think you have everything under control. I have learned from my accident: Actually you must not rely on anyone or anything except on yourself. Put on your harness and check that the buckle is closed! Even if it is routine, look always at it, as a backup! Even though I have abseiled there for the 20th time, a new rope means just a new situation. Michael Schumacher (the Formula 1 record world champion had a serious ski accident in 2013)  has not fallen so deep as I did, and alas he is not well. Others fall half a meter deep and may be dead. I just say: Thanks, thanks, for staying alive.

Initially you had planned to travel along with some friends to the seven-thousander Latok I in Pakistan to tackle the legendary North Ridge route. Of course, this plan is out-of-date now. What will you do now?

Actually, I don’t want to talk about it now. I’m under medical treatment. I just had a first EEG, which was very positive. Now let’s see that I recover and get perfectly healthy again. Too often, people make the big mistake to look too far into the future. I look at the present. And I am just happy now and grateful that I am still living.

Advanced Base Camp on Shishapangma

24 September 2014, 6.55 a.m.: Five men are climbing at 7,900 meters towards the summit of the eight-thousander Shishapangma when the avalanche releases. The Germans Sebastian Haag and Martin Maier and Italian Andrea Zambaldi are swept several hundred meters down the slope. German Benedikt Boehm and Swiss Ueli Steck have a lucky escape and get away from the snow masses. The 36-year-old Haag and the 32-year-old Zambaldi die. Maier miraculously survives and is able to escape by his own strength to the high camp. The news of the incident first appears in my blog. The first interviews about the avalanche with Bene Boehm and Martin Maier can also be read on “Adventure Sports”.

“Time does not heal everything”

More than one and a half year later, Martin has opened up a debate on the incident by giving an interview to the German magazine “Bergsteiger”. The 41-year-old industrial engineer is in his own words still suffering from long-term effects which are not only health problems: “Time does not heal everything – neither injuries that have remained to this day nor the sadness and bitterness about the fact that people want to increase their self-esteem at the expense of others.” Maier accuses the other two survivors of the avalanche, Boehm and Steck, of not having told the truth and of having abandoned him too quickly.

Who was where?

Using pictures that had been made with a time-lapse camera from Base Camp, Maier documented that Benedikt Boehm was walking ahead of the group when the avalanche released (see video).

Benedikt had told me three weeks after his return in an interview: “Basti (Haag) was breaking the trail and went a bit away from the ridge. He just turned to me when suddenly the entire slope began to move. It just broke off. (…) I could jump to the side because I was close to the ridge. Ueli too, who was just below me.” After I had published the interview, Boehm asked me to remove two passages (one is quoted at the beginning of the video) that might have created the impression that Haag was to blame for the incident. I complied with his request – also with regard to Sebastian’s parents, who had just lost their second son on a mountain.
However, the key message still remained, which Benedikt had confirmed during the interview once more: “I was already in Basti’s track, but then I turned around instinctively and walked a few steps out of the slope.” I requested Boehm to comment on Maier’s accusation that he had “constructed things that are simply not true”. Benedikt replied that he first wanted to clarify the whole issue directly with Martin and then go public. According to him, a joint TV appearance is scheduled at the end of July or at the beginning of August.

Steck: “Closer to the ridge”

At the trade fair ISPO in Munich in February 2015, more than four months after the accident, Ueli Steck had described to me the situation at the moment of the avalanche in this way: “It was only luck that Beni (Boehm) and I were standing a bit further up. We also stood in the avalanche zone, but just a little bit on the side where not so much snow slipped away.” Just after the expedition he had given a similar statement to the Swiss newspaper “Sonntagszeitung”. The picture now published in the German magazine “Bergsteiger” shows that the Swiss top climber was ascending as second last of the group. This is not inconsistent to his previous statements, Ueli writes to me: “What I wanted to express was that I was from my perspective further up towards the ridge – and not above the others. I have told exactly what the picture shows.”

Rescue attempt delayed?

Basti Haag (l.) and Andrea Zambaldi (r.) died in the avalanche

Maier’s second allegation weighs even more serious: Boehm and Steck had seen that someone was lying on the snow. With their categorical statement via walkie-talkie that it was impossible to traverse to the avalanche cone, they had at least delayed, even almost prevented a rescue or recovery action, said Martin in the interview of the magazine “Bergsteiger”: “I don’t even want to say that they themselves had to help me. But they could have said, we are not able to do it because we think the avalanche danger is too great instead of: There is no chance, any rescue attempt is hopeless.”

Boehm: “Most difficult decision of my life”

Boehm and Steck disagree. Boehm told the German newspaper “Sueddeutsche Zeitung”, it had been “the most difficult decision of my life that will haunt me for the rest of my life” not to traverse to the avalanche cone. Maybe, says Benedikt, he should have expressed more differentiated on radio and later also to Norbu Sherpa, who had climbed up to meet them, but he “had certainly not wanted to prevent a rescue operation”.

Steck: “I was lucky, others less so”

As well as Boehm, Steck points out that they had tried everything to get across. Alas avalanche danger cannot be measured, Ueli writes to me: “I have discussed back and forth with Suzanne (Hüsser from the expedition operator Kobler & Partner) what we should do.” Someone, who back then heard Steck’s radio message at Base Camp, told me that the Swiss climber was “emotionally really down”. “I find it absolutely incorrect to point a finger at us in retrospect”, Ueli writes to me. “It’s easy to judge afterwards those who were on the mountain and had to take the decision in this situation.” It was wrong to ascend at all, says Ueli. “The fact that we all together triggered an avalanche was the mistake for which we have to bear the consequences. I was lucky, others less so.” In fall 2014, no climber had reached the summit of Shishapangma due to the snow masses on the mountain.

Maier: “Needed but undesirable in media presentation”

During acclimatization

Initially Steck had wanted to climb the eight-thousander along with his wife Nicole. The Swiss had joined the “Double 8” expedition team only for this summit attempt. The expedition’s goal: speed ascent on Shishapangma, ski descent from the summit, cycling with mountain bikes to Cho Oyu, speed ascent and ski descent. The expedition had initially been media-accompanied by the German Internet portal “Spiegel online”. Maier was the only non-professional climber in the team, his name was not mentioned in the reports. Reading his name for the first time in the first message of Benedikt’s team about the accident I wondered: Who is Martin Maier? and then googled him. “On the day of the second summit attempt I had broken the trail almost 1,000 meters high from Camp 1 to Camp 3,” Maier said in the “Bergsteiger” interview. “So I was probably a needed, but in the media presentation undesirable member of the expedition.”

Please objectively!

There is a heated debate about Martin’s allegations in the climbing scene. I have often been requested to take up position. Several newspapers reported about the dispute. Terms like “mountaineer’s honor”, “lie”, “guilt” and “false pride” are used. Among those who now play the role of judges most have spent fall 2014 in their warm living rooms. Some of them have probably never been on a high mountain, let alone have experienced there extreme situations. I have hesitated for a long time and wondered if I should comment on the case. But the debate has taken on a life of its own, and I can not pretend that it doesn’t take place. Some issues must be clarified, especially between Benedikt and Martin. I hope that it will happen at an objective level.

Ueli Steck and David Goettler in Shishapangma South Face

It was one of the most exciting climbing projects of this spring’s season in the Himalayas. Swiss top climber Ueli Steck and German David Goettler initially planned to open a new direct route through the South Face of 8,027-meter-high Shishapangma. But they were not able to put it into practice. They “only” climbed the so called “Corredor Girona” route, opened by a Spanish team in 1995, up to the ridge at 7,800 meters and in their last attempt the route of the British first-ascenders of the South Face in 1982, Doug Scott, Alex MacIntyre and Roger Baxter-Jones, up to 7,600 meters. Even though they failed to climb a new route, Ueli and David didn’t return empty-handed from Tibet. I called the 39-year-old Swiss and the 37-year-old German in their hotel in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu.

Satisfied, disappointed or some of both? How do you feel after this expedition?

Ueli Steck (l.) and David Goettler

(David) More satisfied. Of course, you think: If the weather and the conditions had been a bit more on our side, we certainly would have reached the summit. This is slightly shining through. But the more time passes, the more positive is our view on the expedition. We have learned a lot, we were constantly on the move, we were not sitting idle. Compared with other expeditions, we’ve done a lot.

Actually you had planned to climb a new route through Shishapangma South Face. What was the main reason that you failed?

(Ueli) If you want to make such a first ascent, you need stable weather for at least two to three days. But we just never had. If you try it nevertheless, maybe you are able to climb 300, 400 meters high but then you have to abseil again. Therefore, it was unrealistic. But you must be clear about it: If you want to make a first ascent on an eight-thousander, in such a wall, many things must fit together. You must also have the courage to go there more than once, to try again and again and wait for good fortune.

Windy South Face

When you were at the foot of the wall for the first time, you told me that the conditions were looking really good. When did you realize that it would not be possible?

(David) Actually until the end, the last weather window around 22 May, we had the option to start climbing the route, if there had been three or four days of good weather. To the end we had deposited all our climbing equipment in ABC (Advanced Base Camp). And til the end we believed it would be possible. When we were at the foot of the wall for the first time, the conditions looked really perfect. There was only too much wind and it was brutally cold. Towards the end of the expedition, before the last weather window, it proved to be just too unstable. Even Karl (Gabl, meteorologist from Austria), who provided us the weather reports, said he had never experienced such a wet and unstable pre-monsoon time in Tibet – on the side of the Himalayas, on which it is normally rather dry. So, actually this dream disappeared at the end.

At your last attempt, you chose the route of the British climbers who first climbed the South Wall. Had you already written off the new route at the time?

(Ueli) At the end the weather window lasted just only half a day. So the decision was clear to focus on the British route. At this time, we did not know whether we might stay longer. Theoretically, we could have waited for another weather window until the end of the month. But in the end it made no sense.

Difficult conditions

Quick and light – that was your tactics. What does it presuppose?

(Ueli) First of all, the basic fitness of both must be right, otherwise it’s impossible. If you are not trained enough to climb 2,000 meters high at this altitude and in this technical area, it is impossible. But you must also be willing to play the game uncompromisingly. There is no “Maybe I’ll take even a sleeping bag and a stove with me”, so that you could still bivouac. You have to be able to say: We don’t take anything with us, maybe it works or not. You must also be aware of how exposed you are. Both times we were forced to decide: Now we have to descend, otherwise it will be uncomfortable and dangerous. You are limited. You can not just wait and go to the summit the next day.

Except for you, no one was on the south side of Shishapangma. Did you enjoy the solitude?

(David) That was really one of the very special things on this eight-thousander expedition. The Base Camp lies on a meadow with a small lake in front of it, an awesome beautiful place. And we had it for ourselves. We also did not have this pressure when several teams are climbing the same route on a mountain, what can influence each other in their decisions and easily leads to more pressure. Being without all this, has been really luxury for both of us. We enjoyed it very much.

You have been together on the road for two months now. Under these circumstances it’s possible to jar on each other’s nerves. Did you ever have a kind of cabin fever?

David on the Shishapangma Ridge

(David) No, it was totally relaxed. We got on well because we work very similar in many ways, and because we were always on the move. On our rest days, Ueli bouldered, I did Yoga. So everyone let off steam. And then we went back to the mountain. There were almost no days when we were sitting idle so that a cabin fever could have occurred. For me, it was something new on an expedition to be always on the move. For Ueli it’s normal. But I think he enjoyed it too.

Have you postponed or canceled your project of a new route through Shishapangma South Face?

(Ueli) Never say never! If you want to do something like this, you must have the courage and accept that it is necessary to keep the ball and that it probably will not work the first time. I would rather say it is postponed.

Have you grown as a team so close that you say: We will do it once again?

(David) Yes, for my part. (Both laugh)
(Ueli) It was awesome. We were together on expedition for the first time, and it worked so brilliant. We will hopefully make many more expeditions together. I’ve rarely experienced that it worked so well with a partner and, moreover, both have the same attitude.

Beck Weathers

The Everest summit wave is rolling. Dozens, if not hundreds of summit successes are expected these days, on the Nepalese south side of the highest mountain on earth as well as on the Tibetan north side. Do the Everest aspirants still remember Beck Weathers? Possibly. After all, in 2015 the successful Hollywood movie “Everest” told his story. 20 years ago, in spring 1996, Beck also wanted to climb to the top of the world. Due to vision problems the American pathologist had to abandon his summit attempt at about 8,400 meters. Later he was caught in the storm that cost the lives of eight climbers within 24 hours.
It’s a miracle that Weathers survived. Actually, he was already as good as dead. After a night in whiteout his fellow climbers left him lying in the snow supposing he was dead. But Beck regained consciousness and despite severe frostbite he dragged himself to Camp 4. A rescue team brought him down to Camp 2 at 6,400 meters, from where Beck was brought to safety with a spectacular helicopter flight. Weathers’ right arm had to be amputated just below the elbow. Beck also lost all fingers of the left hand. His frostbitten nose had to be reconstructed in numerous operations.
I have contacted Beck Weathers on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the 1996 Everest disaster. Because the 69-year-old was traveling, he has sent me his answers to my questions only a few days after the anniversary.

Beck, the 1996 Everest disaster was probably one of your most profound experiences. In what way has it changed your life?

It was a two by four across my face that absolutely forced me to change my priorities in the way that I was living. I am proud of that. I defined myself by accomplishment, by externalities. And I really was never comfortable in my own skin. It forced me to change. I have now managed to achieve a certain level of peace in my life becoming perhaps more comfortable with who I am. And I live day to day much more so than I ever have in the past. Actually, it made my whole life a lot more peaceful and more rewarding.

Beck Weathers: It made my life more peaceful and rewarding

South side of Mount Everest (l.) at first light

I suppose you might often have wondered how you were able to survive this situation that you described in your book as “Left for dead”. How do you explain the seemingly impossible, 20 years later?

Well, I have given that a great deal of thought. I really don’t know the answer to that question. I have looked at it from the most spiritual to the most physical because as far as I know I am the only individual in mountaineering history to go into hypothermic coma in the high mountains and come back out of it. I think the spiritual largely speaks for itself. The physical: The sun even in the storm when it is out fully during the day on a very high mountain like that is incredibly strong. The clothes that you are wearing are designed to absorb the heat. And ultimately it only has to raise your body temperature a little bit to where you are able to regain consciousness, open your eyes. And at that point the decision on getting up and moving versus surrender is entirely up to you.

Beck Weathers: Moving versus surrender

There was a public blame game after the disaster. How do you feel about that now?

Following the disaster, the blame game went on hard and heavy. I really made a very conscious decision that I did not want to go down that road, mostly because I thought it would be self-destructive if I had started to think about who I needed to blame for this. That would make me angry and focus my emotions and attention in areas that I think would be very unhealthy. It was my decision to be there, my legs took me there. And ultimately I was able to walk back to the high camp. And truly, if there is anybody to blame it’s myself for it happened to me. I am not going to go down the road: Why didn’t you bail me out, why didn’t you save my bacon? I think, that is a terribly destructive approach. You got to take responsibility for your own actions.

Beck Weathers: Take responsibility for your own actions

Beck’s left hand

If you could turn back time and had the opportunity to revise your decision to go to Everest in 1996, would you do it again, despite the pain, the aftermath, the loss?

Even though I would not have thought of this to be true at the time – yes, I would, because I got so much more out of it than I gave up. By forcing me to reexamine how I was living my life, it ultimately saved my marriage, saved my relationship with my kids. And it has given me 20 years which have been the absolute most interesting and best years of my life. So I gave up some body parts but I gained so much more. So I would do it again in a heart beat.

Beck Weathers: I would do it again in a heart beat

Are you still following what happens on Mount Everest – and if yes, with what feelings?

When something really happens and it’s of interest, like the rest of the world I turn in, whether it was the avalanche that killed 16 Sherpas in 2014 or last year’s avalanche from Pumori into Base Camp. Those things do force you to go back and think about Everest and what’s happing there on the mountain and to a certain extent how it has changed over the years. I never had any unhappiness looking back at Everest. I’ve never had nightmares, nothing about it has bothered me. It’s just one of those things that occurred, it’s part of my life, I accept it. And I don’t look back and have any feelings of regret. I just accept what life has offered me. And I hopefully have managed to be a better individual for the challenge that it has given me.

Beck Weathers: No feelings of regret

Tamara Lunger

It was close in two respects. Tamara Lunger only narrowly missed the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat, then the 29-year-old South Tyrolean just escaped with her life. Just below the 8,125-meter-high summit, Tamara exhaustedly informed her Italian teammate Simone Moro that she would be able to climb up to the highest point but would not come down without help. Shortly afterwards, she turned around. Simone, the Spaniard Alex Txikon and the Pakistani Muhammad Ali (also known as “Ali Sadpara” – called after his home village) reached the summit without her. On the descent, Lunger lost her balance after jumping across a crevasse near the highest camp. She slid around 200 meters towards the abyss until she came to hold in loose snow with good luck. Meanwhile, the climber is back home in South Tyrol.

Tamara, first of all congratulations on your performance! Have you meanwhile recovered from the strains?

Thanks, Stefan. I must say that I have overcome the strains of the “near-summit” but not yet the consequences of my fall. My ankle is still swollen. I will get it checked up on Monday, but there is certainly something torn.

Tamara with Simone Moro

The weather on the summit day was perfect, but the path to the highest point was long, and you had to climb about 1,000 meters in altitude each on the ascent and descent. How high did you estimate the chance to reach the highest point before leaving Camp 4?

To be honest, I told Simone on the eve of our final push: “The summit is very close. We certainly will rock it!” I really knew it with absolute certainty. And even though it didn’t work for me, it was rather bad luck that I had a bit poorer physical condition on that day.

Simone said, you were just 60, 70 meters below the summit. How hard was it for you to decide to turn around?

Not at all. I had to vomit the whole day, and the strong wind had robbed much of my energy. When I got to my turning point and I saw Ali already on the summit waving to me, this one sentence suddenly crossed my mind: “If you climb to the top, you will never again see your loved ones.” Without hesitation, I turned around and got out because I knew I could slip and fall to death at every step from the summit to Camp 4. We had not even one meter of rope, so help wouldn’t have been possible, and the other team members were groggy too.

Ali (l.) And Simone (r.) on the summit

Although you had vomited in the morning of the summit day, you set off. Did you hope that the problems would disappear by and by?

Even before that, I felt that I hadn’t a good day in terms of my musculature, but I was still hoping that it would ease off. When I vomited for the first time, I felt almost free, but with every sip and with every bite it recurred, and I lost more and more of my power. I knew this would not change today.

Do you think that a lack of acclimatization caused your physical problems?

May be. After all, Simone and I had previously slept only one night at Camp 2 (at about 6,100 meters). But the whole ascent itself could have been the reason. I was hardly able to sleep because we four had only two sleeping-mats. And we still had to fix ropes from Camp 3 to 4 which took us time and energy.

On descent

The image of the different ascent routes, that Alex has published, shows that you left Simone’s and Alex’ route just below the summit and turned aside. Why?

I tried to avoid the wind, in vain. My feet were already so cold, and I wanted to replace the batteries in my sole heating system. I had no chance, it was too cold, and I did not dare take off my mittens.

In what condition did you reach Camp 4?

I was beat, I had chills all night. The scary moments during my fall had cost me additional energy and nerves.

Successful team: Tamara, Simone, Alex and Ali (from r. to l.)

How do you feel about Nanga Parbat after your return to South Tyrol, which experiences did you gain?

It was a dream. Everything happened as it should happen. And a lot has happened within these three months. After Daniele Nardi’s departure, we all felt free. It’s not that I can’t stand him – on the contrary. But there was no harmony in Base Camp which was absolutely sickening. That wore me down. I must be free in mind when I want to do something. Afterwards the team was perfect, all four climbers were equal, and the weather was good. Then we only had to keep cool. I do not begrudge my team the success. I know what we have invested. And I’m very proud of myself that I had the courage to go with my gut. I see it as a gift to have this ability. And I will keep it like a treasure so that it will show me the right way again and again – my way.

Simone announced that he would stop winter climbing on eight-thousanders. And you?

It’s too early to tell.

Dangerous Khumbu Icefall

The upcoming spring season on Everest casts its shadows before. Ten “Icefall doctors” were sent to the Base Camp on the Nepalese side of the highest mountain on earth to prepare the route for the commercial expeditions. In the past two years, there had been no summit successes from the south (I deliberately ignore the “success” of Chinese climber Wang Jing and her Sherpa-Team in 2014 who had been flown to Camp 2 by helicopter). In 2014, the spring season had prematurely ended after an ice avalanche in Khumbu Icefall had killed 16 Nepalese climbers. In 2015, the 25 April earthquake had triggered a huge avalanche from Pumori that had hit Everest Base Camp and killed 19 people.

On Monday, the Nepalese cabinet – at last! – gave green light for the extension of the 2015 climbing permits by two years. “It is a welcome move from the government that we hope will help bring back the climbers to the mountains”, said Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. But it might be too late for many of the about 800 climbers who got a 2015 permit, including 357 Everest aspirants, to return already this spring.

I asked Mingma Gyalje Sherpa about the upcoming season. The 29-year-old, who has already climbed seven eight-thousanders and recently made headlines by solo climbing the difficult West Face of 6685-meter-high Chobutse for the first time, is head of the Kathmandu based expedition and trekking operator Dreamers Destination.

Mingma, the spring season is around the corner. What do you expect, especially on Mount Everest?

I think, there will be as many teams as before but the size of the teams will be smaller. I am happy that Everest will be less crowded this year. It’s going to be safer and there will be more fun for climbers this year. It is good that there will be less traffic jams at the Hillary Step, on the Lhotse face and in the Khumbu Icefall.

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa

Your company “Dreamers Destination” has an expedition from the Nepalese side of Everest on offer that will be led by you. Did you notice a lower demand due to the incidents in 2014 and 2015?

Obviously, 2014 and 2015 incidents have some impact on Everest but those were by nature. I don’t think it affected that much. We had a good number of clients in autumn and had good business. We have good numbers of climbers for Everest and Lhotse in spring too.

The blockade (in the border region to Nepal) became a more powerful reason to lower tourist demand for Nepal. Most of my foreign friends are worried just because of the blockade which continued over 5 months. They don’t want to waste their money and time visiting Nepal in such a situation. However, the blockade is over and situation here is getting better, so we can expect good numbers of tourists in the autumn season but not already in spring.

How is the mood within the Sherpa community? Depressed, optimistic, somewhere in between?

Due to the incidents in 2014 and 2015, few Sherpa climbers stopped their profession because of pressure they got by their families. But more are hopeful to receive good numbers of tourists and to work for them.

South side of Mount Everest

As so often, there have been uncertainties due to the hesitancy of the Nepalese Government. The final decision on the prolongation of the 2015 permits has come late, but the proposed new climbing rules on Everest are still missing. Does the Government’s slowness cause problems for you as an expedition operator?

Yes, it definitely does. We are just a couple of weeks before the start of spring season, and until yesterday there was no final decision about permit extension. Now it is there. It’s a good decision in favor of climbers and survival of tourism business in Nepal. Regarding new climbing rules, we don’t expect them in the near future.

Some western operators have decided to withdraw from Everest arguing that local operators in Nepal offer dumping prices they cannot compete with. What do you think about this?

It is true that competition with Nepalese operators is not easy in terms of price. There are only few notable Nepalese companies which provide better service than western operators, but there are more Nepalese companies which just focus on cheaper price and cheaper service, just to attract more and more tourists. And these companies lead to more accidents. They won’t have a long lasting future. But I feel, western companies are more reliable and responsible in terms of providing service and promises. They work for their goodwill and future.

Everest Base Camp

The competition is not only with western companies but it’s among Nepalese operators too. I guess we are among those who provide good service and we try not to let down our clients’ expectation. Even for us, it is very difficult to compete with other cheaper operators. Like the old proverb “where there is a will there is a way”, cheap operators get clients fit for them, we get clients fit for us and western companies get clients fit for them. What I feel is that more climbers trust western operators than Nepalese operators, but again in the end price matters. But there are more and more tourists who think of their safety rather than the price.

These western operators also accuse Nepalese competitors to engage local staff from poor areas in Nepal paying them only poor wages. What truth is there to it?

It’s fifty-fifty. Yes, there are many companies which provide poor wages but it depends more on the staff and their qualification. I have friends who are UIAGM (International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations) certified guides. They charge 15,000 US Dollar for Everest expeditions, which is much more in comparison with western guides. In the meantime, there are local guides who charge 85,000 Nepali Rupees (around 800 USD).

So it depends on the clients: The more they pay to Nepalese or western operators, the more likely they will get good and experienced Sherpa. The less they pay, the more likely they will get unprofessional staff and that will put them into trouble.

About two months ago, you told me that 2016 would decide the future of mountain tourism in Nepal. How do you feel about this today?

2016 is a very difficult year for Nepal. For sure, there will be very less tourists in Nepal this spring season. I am more hopeful for autumn season. If autumn season will also bring less numbers of tourists, then there won’t be a good future in tourism business in Nepal for many years.

Tamara Lunger

The adjourned game on Nanga Parbat continues. 15 centimeters of fresh snow cover the Base Camp on the Diamir side. Alex Txikon, Ali Sadpara, Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger may be forced to postpone their acclimatization climb they actually planned for Sunday. A reconciliation between the Spaniard Txikon and the Italians Daniele Nardi seems unlikely. “YES, cooperation is finished”, Alex writes to me from Base Camp. “Although tried to give more than one chance to this cooperation, it was finally impossible.” The dispute also stresses Tamara Lunger. The 29-year-old South Tyrolean has already climbed two eight-thousanders: In 2010, as the youngest woman ever, Lhotse (with supplementary oxygen) and in 2014 K 2 (without breathing mask). On Nanga Parbat, she once again forms a team with the Italian Simone Moro. Last year, both had to abandon their attempt on Manaslu due to heavy snowfall. I have contacted Tamara in Nanga Parbat Base Camp.

Tamara, the bad weather has forced you to stay in Base Camp for days. How do you spend your time and keep yourself fit?

I had to cope with some health problems because I had a bad cough. So it was not so bad for me that everything went like that. And then, of course, we tried every day to keep the trail to Camp 1 open. But in fact your physical condition doesn’t get better if you only sit in Base Camp doing nothing. Your body is getting more ponderous. On the days without any chance to go out, I always have the opportunity to write my book, to film, just enjoy the sun or talk to all the men here about women. 

On winter expeditions, patience is even more in demand than during expeditions in the other seasons. Is it hard for you to wait?

I must honestly say: yes. But it’s so important for me to reach this summit in winter that I actually take three months to achieve my aim and don’t put myself under any pressure. I am here to stand on top of Nanga Parbat. I’ll try anything, and I know that Simone Moro is the best climbing partner I can have. In this last period, I’ve already learned a lot from him, particularly concerning winter climbing. We get along very well, and I’m happy to be here and to have this opportunity.

Doing the trail-breaking

You both have given up your plan to ascend on the Messner route. Tomek Mackiewicz and Elisabeth Revol had climbed on this route within striking distance to the summit. What caused you to change your plan?

When Tomek and Elisabeth tried to reach the summit, we were along with them in Camp 2. We had to wait there for two days because of the weather, and unfortunately our food ran short. Despite the good weather window, we decided to go down. Upon their return from the summit attempt, Tomek and Elisabeth advised us against climbing the route because there was a dangerous serac that could collapse at any moment.

What conditions do you expect now on the Kinshofer route?

It should be quite good and hard. We have tried to maintain the trail up to Camp 1. From Camp 1 to Camp 3 it’s quite icy. The strong wind was very helpful there.

Simone and you joined forces with Alex Txikon and Co. Does that also mean that you’ll do the summit push together? Or will you then try to reach the highest point in separate rope parties?

It’s too early to tell. Anyway, we’ll set off together, and we are already looking forward to doing it. We all are on the ball and have a lot of fun together.

Three teams have already left the mountain. How much time are you willing to spend on Nanga Parbat?

Until the end of winter. I feel quite a lot of positive things. Until now, we had to fight numerous problems, but here it’s more a love story: The prince has to fight for a long time until he gets his princess. But hold your horses!

Lunger, Moro, Sadpara, Txikon (from r. to l.)

Many commentators in the media – by the way I don’t – talk about a race on Nanga Parbat. What do you think about that?

If there was one, then it’s over now! And I am very happy and looking forward to whatever comes. And the media are really taking the easy way. Some of them construe their own reality putting things together, listen to just one opinion or speculate, but don’t know what they are doing here. Many of the disputes, disagreements and differences here in Base Camp arose thanks to and for the media. Climbers are reported from outside as being good or evil, behaving right or wrong. And we ourselves who sit here in Base Camp are only astonished, but don’t have any influence of some things that happen.

But I must say, it has opened my eyes. This is not the right place for climbers who only come here to please the world outside, to report exciting stories to get as many likes, clicks or God knows what else. Among other things, we have to struggle to survive. In the icy cold, a stupid mistake may lead to death. And your comrades will hardly be able to help. Everything we do here has its value. But we too have a certain value which sometimes seems really fragile.

How do you deal with the disagreements between Alex and Daniele, which the Spaniard has made public?

I am, or rather, those who are still here are suffering from these disagreements. A particular person has played a dirty game and now has to live with the consequences.

Is it for you a special situation as the only woman among men on the Diamir side?

I have Igone (Mariezkurrena), the girlfriend of Alex, as my support here. Sometimes it is quite pleasant to be only among women. With the men you can only talk about the same two themes: women and what’s hanging between men’s legs.

Update 8 February: Italian Daniele Nardi abandoned his expedition and left Nanga Parbat Base Camp.

Ralf Dujmovits at the ISPO

Ralf Dujmovits is one of the many climbers who have already failed in winter on Nanga Parbat. The first and so far only German who climbed all 14 eight-thousanders tried to scale the 8,125-meter-high mountain in Pakistan at the turn of 2013/2014 after having acclimatized previously on the 6,962-meter-high Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America. At that time Ralf abandoned his expedition relatively quickly because he thought the danger of ice avalanches on the Messner route was by far too high. I met the 54-year-old this week at the trade fair ISPO in Munich.

Ralf, at the moment much is happening on Nanga Parbat. Are you not itching to go there again?

Of course, I am itching, but I also know how cold, hard and difficult the times on Nanga Parbat can be. In this respect I am quite happy that I enjoyed the winter in the south while climbing. [Ralf returned mid-January with his partner, the Canadian climber Nancy Hansen, from a trip to Southeast Asia]. Despite everything, I’m itching so much that we consider going there again next winter. I would very much just like to use my experiences that I made on Nanga Parbat for an – in the ideal case successful – winter ascent.

But you would have to be prepared for the fact that you would be anything but alone on the mountain. It feels as if Nanga Parbat in winter becomes more and more attractive for professional climbers each year.

It’s whipping up. K 2 and Nanga Parbat are the only eight-thousanders, which have not yet been climbed in winter. Of course, many mountaineers want to try it. I think it’s good if you do it with a lot of experience, even in climbing Nanga Parbat in summer. Then you already know where to go and what to expect. In this respect, I think I would have good cards – if the conditions on the mountain permit.

Ralf on Nanga Parbat in January 2014

This winter, many experienced climbers are trying to scale Nanga Parbat, even with winter experience on this mountain. To look no further than Tomek Mackiewicz, who was there the sixth winter in a row, or even Simone Moro, a very experienced winter climber. Nevertheless, Nanga Parbat remains a hard nut to crack. Why is it so difficult to climb this mountain in winter?

I think, the main mistake is trying to climb Nanga Parbat insufficiently acclimatized. Last week there was a relatively long good weather window but once again it was not used. There are some climbers who had a good pre-acclimatization on 6000-meter-high mountains. Despite everything, I believe that the acclimatization is not sufficient to be able to ascend as quickly as possible. There’s the rub. When the rare good weather windows are used for acclimatization, essential time is lost.

Ralf coming down from the Messner route

This year again, some teams tried to climb variants of existing routes like the Schell route or the Messner route. Which route do you think has the best chances of succeeding?

I still believe that a winter ascent on the Rupal side is not possible because the route leads to the Mazeno Ridge from where it’s still a long way to the top. You have to make a very long traverse towards the summit trapezoid. There is almost always in winter consistently black ice. You simply need too much time for this traverse at high altitude. If at all, you will have the best chances to succeed on the Diamir side. The Messner route, on the far left side of the Diamir flank, is probably the most promising. Or the very classic Kinshofer route that, however, needs to be secured with fixed ropes because it is very steep in long areas and thus has black ice in winter.

You said you are flirting with the idea of ​​returning to Nanga Parbat next winter. Will your motivation be gone, if someone should succeed climbing it for the first time this winter?

Of course, for all who are now on Nanga Parbat a dream would come true to be the first ever at the summit in winter. They would kid themselves denying it. I already stood on top of Nanga Parbat, I know the mountain well, I need not necessarily to reach the summit a second time. If I try it again in winter, I’ll focus on being the first to do it. If someone was successful this winter, I probably would not go there anymore.

In this case, you could go to K 2.

I think I am beyond the age to tackle K 2 in winter. K 2 is at least one dimension more difficult than Nanga Parbat. And if so many climbers find Nanga Parbat a hard nut to crack, then all the more it will be much, much more extreme on K 2.

Mount Everest is even higher. Did you finally give up your ambition to climb it without bottled oxygen?

I take an Everest sabbatical in 2016. [In 1992, Mount Everest was the only eight-thousander, where Ralf was using a breathing mask. Since then he tried seven times in vain to scale the highest mountain on earth without bottled oxygen.] But we plan to go there again in 2017. I have still not banished the thought of climbing Everest without bottled oxygen.

You have an Everest break, but for sure other ideas for this year?

I have other plans. There are seven-thousanders which are still unclimbed. One of them is located in Pakistan. We would like to climb it in June.

Will you tell us, which one?

No, we actually don’t want to give details by now.

Mick Fowler (l.) and Paul Ramsden

Real adventurers should be young? Fiddlesticks! The Briton Mick Fowler and his long-time climbing partner and compatriot Paul Ramsden prove that you can do extremely ambitious climbs in the Himalayas even if you are older than 50. Mick is going to celebrate his 60^th (!) anniversary next year – unbelievable! Many young climbers would turn green with envy comparing their efforts with Mick’s and Paul’s achievements in recent years. Again and again they succeed in first climbing amazing routes on six-thousanders in Nepal, India, China or elsewhere. They were already awarded the Piolet d’Or, the “Oscar for climbers”, twice: in 2003, for their new route through the North Face of the 6250-meter-high Siguniang in western China and in 2013, for their first climb of the Northeast Ridge of the 6142-meter-high Shiva in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. And they have a good chance to win the Golden Ice Axe for the third time – for their latest expedition. This October, Mick and Paul completed the first ascent of Gave Ding, a six-thousander located in a very remote valley in far west Nepal.

Mick, year after year you and your climbing partner Paul Ramsden discover ambitious new mountains or routes, tackle them and succeed. What is your secret of success?

Lots of hard research, a good partnership and a shared approach of not retreating unless there is a very good reason to do so.

Mick’s and Paul’s route on Gave Ding

This fall, you first climbed the 6,571-meter-high Gave Ding in western Nepal via the steep North Face. How did you find this new goal?

We found it from distant shots of the west side taken by friends which gave us a gut feeling which was supported by setting the time of day on Google Earth and seeing that the North Face sported the longest shadow in the area.

How did you experience your climb on Gave Ding?

Experience was wonderful. Great climbing, great company, great valley not previously visited by westerners. No-one else around, unclimbed summit, different descent route, challenging good quality varied climbing. Everything we look for.

Extreme climbing

This mountain is located in a very remote region. Did you feel like explorers?

Yes in that we didn’t know what the face would be like until we actually saw it. It could have been rubbish!

Some time ago, I called people like you and Paul in one of my blog posts an “antidepressant” for all folks older than 50. What do you think, how long will you be able to do such amazing climbs?

As long as I enjoy it and my body can cope. No thoughts of giving up yet!

Nobukazu Kuriki

Next try. In these days, Japanese climber Nobukazu Kuriki will start his second summit attempt on Mount Everest. As reported before, his first try had failed last weekend, at about 7,700 meters, the level of the Geneva Spur, 200 meters below the South Col. Kuriki is the only climber who tries to scale Everest this fall, climbing alone without bottled oxygen. I have succeeded in contacting the 33-year-old at Everest Base Camp.

Nobukazu, what went wrong during your first summit attempt?

There was deeper snow than I expected, and it took too long to plow through it.

You decided to pitch your tent for your highest camp at about 7,700 meters instead of the usual South Col. Why?

I realized that it took too long to make the trail carrying my tent up to South Col. And it was easier to pitch my tent stably with deep snow.

Nobukazu on Everest

Will you change anything for the second try?

I’m going to pitch my tent at the same altitude between 7,600 and 7,700 meters. But after having left my luggage at the tent, I’m going to make it through the snow up to South Col and then come back to the tent to rest. I’ll start the summit push either that night or the next.

What makes you confident that you will be able to reach the summit this time?

It’s a tough challenge physically, but it’s my fifth try and I’m used to it. I’ve adapted to high altitude, and the weather seems to be holding up.

How do you feel mentally and physically?

Mentally, I’m in good condition. I will enjoy climbing including all the hardship that comes with it. Physically, you can never be perfect at this altitude, but I’ll be mindful of breathing so that my body can move up the mountain well.

David Goettler

More than 300 Everest dreams are gone. As many climbers returned home empty-handed after their expeditions had been cancelled after the avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall on Good Friday. One of them was David Goettler. The 35-year-old from the German town of Munich had wanted to climb the highest mountain in the world via the normal route on the Nepalese south side without bottled oxygen. Goettler was still acclimatizing when he heard the first still inconsistent reports about the avalanche. “Initially, I hoped that I might still be able to make an attempt”, David told me on the phone. Therefore, he first continued his acclimatization program. “But when I was on the summit of Island Peak (6000er in the Everest region) and wanted to sleep below the highest point, the news came that my expedition and all others would be cancelled.” He returned to Kathmandu.

“David, what made you abandon your project completely? You could have gone to the base camp and try to climb through the icefall by yourself.

Adrian Ballinger of the expedition operator Alpenglow, on whose permit I was listed, flew from Kathmandu to the base camp and spoke with his Sherpas. He also asked them if I could come. After having led his clients with bottled oxygen to the summit, Adrian intended to make an attempt without oxygen, together with me. But the Sherpas told him fairly clearly that there was a small but apparently very influential Sherpa group that threatened violence to anyone who would climb higher than the base camp. Also the base camp staff was threatened, e.g. our cook was told that his family would be hurt. I can never accept this and I do criticize it strongly.

That was just a small group. Most Sherpas were mourning. I can understand every single of them who says that he does not want to climb Everest this season. I do accept it and would never force anyone to fix ropes for me. But as a climber I still want to have the opportunity to consider the risks and then decide for myself whether I go or not. But after we had been told that there was no desire that anyone would climb, we ended our project too. This is an atmosphere in which I feel uncomfortable and in which I do not want to climb.

Mount Everest (from Kala Pattar)

In 2013, some Sherpas attacked Ueli Steck and Simone Moro in Camp 2. Now a  small group threatened violence and exerted pressure. Violence has become a topic on Everest. Do you think that the Sherpas have to tackle this problem because there is obviously a split in their community?

They must solve the problem in any case. These threats and the readiness to use violence are poisoning the atmosphere. The Sherpas are shooting themselves in the foot, they will realize quickly what happens if no more expeditions come. Especially the Sherpas of this small violent group, who work for operators who do not insure their employees sufficiently, would be the first who lose their jobs. I do not know how they would react then.

Last year I got the feeling that most people expected that the Nepalese government should tackle the problem. That did obviously not work. What role can and should the government play at all? Is it not rather the responsibility of the climbing community to solve this problem by itself?

I come to Nepal and pay my permit to the government and not to the Sherpas. So I would hope that the government and the SPCC (Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, the management of the Everest National Park) forward this money to the Everest region, or at least that a greater part of it reaches the Khumbu. Each hydroelectric plant, each bridge, each school, each hospital in the Khumbu area is sponsored from Germany, Italy, the United States and other Western countries. I wonder, and I think the most Sherpas also do: Where exactly is the money from the permits for 300 and more climbers, $ 10,000 each? On the other hand, it should go without saying that each client opts for an expedition operator that treats its employees responsibly. If I had decided to take the lowest bidder, I could have saved about 5000 Euros. But I did not know this operator, I did not know which kind of insurance he had for his stuff and how he treated his employees.

The Sherpas  – the “Ice doctors”, the high altitude porters and the Climbing Sherpas –  are risking their necks in the Khumbu Icefall. Do you understand that they are asking to be paid better for their dangerous jobs?

Their work must be paid in a way that both sides agree. That’s where I am absolutely of the same opinion as the Sherpas. But they need to negotiate the payment before the work starts. Each Sherpa signs a contract with his agency, in which is written exactly how much the amount of insurance is in case of death, how many times he has to climb through the Khumbu Icefall and how much money he gets. If I work as a mountain guide in the Alps and accept a job at Mont Blanc, I also know that there is the slope of Tacul where several other guides have already been killed by avalanches. Nevertheless, I do it for a certain sum of money which I negotiate in the run-up. I know what to expect. Just the Sherpas do know what to expect in the Khumbu Icefall. I was there in three different years, and it always dangerous to the same extent. This year’s disaster was that there were so many climbers at the wrong time in the wrong place. But that could also have happened in all previous years. I also know that I might be killed at the slopes of Mount Tacul. But I cannot strike only because an avalanche has come down and say: Now I want twice as much money, because it’s twice as dangerous. The Sherpas who work on Everest are clever, not uneducated. They have been already there and will return again, because they know it is very well-paid work. If they want more money, it’s okay too. But they should negotiate it before.

North side of Mount Everest

For the first time since the start of commercial expeditions on Everest, a season has ended prematurely. Do you think that the big operators will now switch to the north side?

I very much doubt. In one year’s time much will be forgotten. I also do not know if it would be the better choice for commercial operators to go to the north side. There are disadvantages, too. The Chinese government can tell from one day to the next: The mountain is closed now because the Dalai Lama has visited any country. In addition, the possibility to rescue climbers who are in trouble are by far not as good as on the south side, where rescue flights by helicopter to camp 2 are usual. On the south side I also sleep at a lower height in the last camp. I really don’t know which is the lesser of the two evils for a commercial operator.

I hope that the Nepalese south side will work well again, in the sense that the Sherpas, the expedition operators and the individual climbers cooperate and respect each other so that everyone can climb, in all variants.

What about your ambitions on Everest?

I still want to try Everest, at least once. If it is really true that the permit remains valid for five years, I will certainly return to the south side.”