Alexander Huber on Choktoi Ri

Still crazy after all these years. This title of a song by Paul Simon could also stand above the lives of many climbers – if they have survived their daring adventures into old age. Being a little crazy – and I mean that in a positive way – is just part of the game. Alexander Huber, the younger of the two Huber brothers, will celebrate his 50th birthday this Sunday.

The list of his successes is long. Thus Alexander opened several rock climbing routes in the eleventh degree, climbed (with his two years older brother Thomas, Toni Gutsch and the US-American Conrad Anker) for the first time through the West Face of the 7,108-meter-high Latok II in the Karakoram in 1997, stood one year later without bottled oxygen on the summit of the eight-thousander Cho Oyu or climbed free solo difficult routes in the Alps such as the “Hasse-Brandler-Diretissima” through the North Face of Cima Grande (in 2002) or the “Schweizerführe” at the 3,838-meter high Grand Capucin in the Montblanc region (in 2008). Last summer, Huber and his German climbing partner Fabian Buhl opened a new 2,200-meter-long route via the South Buttress of the 6,166-meter-high Choktoi Ri in the Karakoram (see video below).

Alexander lives with his wife and three children on a farm near Berchtesgaden. I called him a few days before his big birthday.

Alexander, you are about to turn 50. Is that a day like any other for you?

Alexander at the trade fair “Outdoor” in 2017

It’s certainly not a day like any other, because I’m well aware that another decade has passed. But it won’t be a special birthday for me, I already know the feeling from my previous big birthdays.

If you compare yourself today with Alexander, who was 25 years old, do you still recognize yourself?

I still absolutely recognize myself as I was then. You go your own way in life. There are many things that change, some things remain the same. Maybe I’d like to be 25 again, but my sense of reality tells me that it won’t happen that way. And it’s not like everything was better at the age of 25. There are also things that are better at 50.

Have your priorities changed?

The priorities are constantly changing. This is a completely normal process in life. It would be a miracle if it wasn’t so.

Have you become more cautious?

Yes, in the sense that I no longer do the wild actions like at the age of 25 or 35. That also has a lot to do with my sense of reality. I know that I pulled things off at a level I don’t have anymore. That means I can’t top the things I’ve already realized anyway. And that’s why I just take it easier and do the things that are possible for me.

Last summer you opened with Fabian Buhl a new route via the South Buttress of the six-thousander Choktoi Ri. How good did it feel – after some failed expeditions in the Karakoram?

Such a success always feels good. It’s fun to reach the summit. That’s the reason why you set off at all. But it is quite normal in the life of a climber that there are actions that don’t lead to success. Especially on larger expeditions, I have a success rate that is well below 50 percent. If you can’t cope with that, you have no business going to these mountains with ambitious goals. If anybody claims to be a “Mister 100 Percent Success”, I can only say: Well, then he never really tried to push himself to the limit. I prefer to keep pushing my limits and taking a setback from time to time instead of trying things that are easy to get.

But on Choktoi Ri, it ran smoothly for you.

Yes, although we had a difficult season due to the meteorological conditions. Also in the Karakoram you notice the impact of global warming. There was a lot of bad weather this year. But in terms of tactics we performed extremely well, so that in the end the result was success. Only a single wrong tactical decision would have meant that we would not have made it. We did well, but also had the bit of luck that you need.

Fabian is 28 years old, more than 20 years younger than you. Were you already a little bit in the role of the mentor, who passes on his experience?

With Fabian Buhl on top of Choktoi Ri

Sure, that’s the role you automatically take on. Of course I am a mentor of Fabian. But in the end I was looking for a competent climbing partner for my idea. One of Fabian’s strong points is that he is incredibly motivated, has incredible fun while climbing and is not afraid of anything, he really enjoys every effort. That’s exactly the kind of partner you need on a mountain. This is the only way it can work.

Was it perhaps also a model for you for the next few years to be en route in a team of only two?

I’ve done that before, so it’s not a new model for me. In principle, I prefer to be on the road in a team as small as possible. But it also depends on the goal. To tackle, for example, Latok II in a team of two, would almost mean to ignore the danger of the mountain. If something happens, you have only a minimum safety reserve.

Is there a highlight in your climbing career that stands out and that you particularly like to remember?

I am happy that I was able to set my highlights in very different fields of climbing and that I have always kept alpinism alive and interesting for me. It all started for me on top level with alpine sport climbing. Today I can’t imagine being a sports climber with the same enthusiasm again, it would probably have become much too boring for me. But if you look at what alpinism is all about – be it in Antarctica, Patagonia, the Yosemite Valley, the Dolomites, doing speed climbing, free solo climbing, difficult alpine routes, expeditions, eight-thousander, sports climbing in the eleventh-degree – then all you can say is: Cool to have such a sport that can be interesting on top level even after thirty years.

Extreme climbing, here in Mount Asgard on Baffin Island

Let’s look ahead, what goals do you still set yourself as a climber?

I only set myself medium-term goals. In the long run I can only say: I want to be happy with what I do. But what exactly will that be? I don’t know. It will happen. I am lucky to have come through my climbing almost injury-free. I’m still healthy, nothing hurts me, and that’s why I continue to go to the mountains. But of course it can look completely different from one day to the next.

Is there already a concrete project for 2019?

The only thing I know for sure is that I will not go on expedition. I still want to climb various routes here at home in the Alps. But the concrete project for 2019 is not to travel to the Himalayas or the Karakoram.

And how will you spend your birthday?

Like every year. I’ll celebrate my birthday with my friends.

Alex Txikon in Bilbao

After all. The Spaniard Alex Txikon will tackle K2 in the upcoming winter. The 35-year-old announced this at a press conference in Bilbao today. He will travel to Pakistan on 2 January with his compatriot Felix Criado, with the goal of scaling the second highest mountain on earth for the first time in the cold season. It had already become known that the Pakistani government had granted Txikon a climbing permit for K2. However, the Basque had left it open to this day whether he would actually use the permit.

Five Sherpas for possible summit push

A team of eight Sherpas will support the two Spaniards. According to Txikon, five of the Sherpas will probable take part in a possible summit attempt: Nuri Sherpa, Chhepal Sherpa, Geljen Sherpa, Hallung Sherpa and Pasang Sherpa. “I think it’s an accessible challenge. It’s possible that we’ll reach Camp 4 (at almost 8,000 m),” said Alex. “And from there we’ll see how the circumstances are to attack the summit.” In the past two winters Txikon had tried in vain to scale Mount Everest without bottled oxygen. He had ruled out a third attempt in 2019 after learning of a planned commercial winter expedition to Everest.

“Fear keeps you alert and active”

View to K2 from the base camp

In summer 2013, Txikon and Criado had already tried together in a team to climb K2, but had failed due to bad weather. At the end of February 2016, Txikon along with the Italian Simone Moro and the Pakistani Muhammad Ali “Sadpara” succeeded the prestigious first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat. This made K2 the only remaining of the 14 eight-thousanders the summit of which – 8,611 meters above sea level – nobody has reached in winter so far. Alex expressed respect for the task: “The fear is there, but it’s not bad. It keeps you alert and active.”

Igloos instead of tents

Like the Inuit in the Arctic, Txikon and Co. want to build igloos in base camp to protect themselves more effectively against the freezing cold and the expected winter storms than with tents. “We will try to find transparent ice in the seracs, so that light can penetrate (into the igloos),” Alex said. At base camp, the Spaniards will meet an expedition team from Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan that had already announced their winter attempt on K2. The mountaineers led by Kazakh Vassiliy Pivtsov want to climb the classic route of the first ascenders, via the Abruzzi Spur. As things stand at present, the Spaniards will probably also choose this route – although Txikon in Bilbao admitted that he was still in doubt whether this would be really the most promising route in winter.

Abruzzi route or via the East Face?

K2 East Face

Alex brought the K2 East Face into conversation as a possible alternative. During the failed Polish winter expedition in 2018, Denis Urubko had suggested an ascent over the still unclimbed wall, saying that climbers would be protected there from the prevailing west winds on K2. “In summer there is a great risk from avalanches. However, in winter, minimal snow cover makes very good conditions for the climb,” Urubko argued. In summer 1987, a US expedition explored the East Face to climb it in Alpine style. “It became clear that our proposed route on the east face was suicidal,” wrote Greg Child at the time.

Three times K2 without breathing mask: Fazal Ali

Sorry, Fazal Ali – that your extraordinary performance on K2 just slipped past me last summer! I reported on the first ski descent from the second highest mountain in the world by the Pole Andrzej Bargiel. I also noticed that Muhammad Ali “Sadpara”, the Pakistani winter first ascender of Nanga Parbat, completed his collection of the five eight-thousanders of his home country on K2 – and that it was a record season on “Chogori”, as you locals call the mountain. But I missed the news that you, Fazal, were the first mountaineer in the world to reach the 8,611-meter-high summit of the “King of the Eight-thousanders” for the third time after 2014 and 2017 without bottled oxygen. All the deeper I now take my hat off!

No appreciation

K2

The fact that I did not realize Ali’s performance is annoying, but not by chance. We usually find out very quickly via the social networks, when for example the youngest Briton to date has scaled K2, the first woman from Switzerland, Mexico, Mongolia … However, the Pakistani companions of the eight-thousander expeditions in the Karakoram are rarely talked about. “I’m happy,” Fazal Ali recently told a reporter from the AFP news agency after his K2 triple. “But I’m also heartbroken because my feat will never be truly appreciated.” Most Pakistani high altitude porters and mountain guides in the service of commercial expeditions are likely to experience it like the 40-year-old from the Shimshal Valley: They are good enough to work, but they shouldn’t be on the summit picture. “These hidden heroes contribute to the success of many Western mountaineers and also support adventure tourism in the country,” writes Mirza Ali Baig to me. “But they are neither appreciated by the Western clients of the expeditions nor by the (Pakistani) government.”

More Sherpas, fewer jobs for locals

Mirza Ali Baig

Mirza Ali Baig is 35 years old and comes from Shimshal like Fazal Ali. His sister Samina Baig was the first Pakistani woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 2013. Mirza Ali is the head of the Pakistani tour operator “Karakorum Expeditions”. The mountaineer, filmmaker and photographer puts his finger on another wound: “Most Western companies hire Nepali Sherpas. This has been shrinking the job opportunities of the locals. Sherpas now work in Pakistan, but not a single Pakistani can work in Nepal.” For the locals, says Baig, “such adventures” are not about fun or self-realization as they are for Western mountaineers, but about “bread and butter for their families and a source of income to educate their children”.

Mountain training is lacking

Porters on the Baltoro Glacier

He admits that the Sherpas are on average more experienced and trained than the locals. “For decades, Western mountaineers have guided and trained Nepali Sherpas. However Pakistani High Altitude Porters – I would name them “local High Altitude Guides” – have never been provided the same opportunity to learn what the Westerners taught Nepali Sherpas. There is not a single institute in Pakistan to train and teach mountaineering or outdoor tourism.” Baig considers this as the Pakistani government’s duty: “They have never really taken the (tourism) industry seriously.” In Mirza Ali’s sight, there also could be a benefit from employing Nepali Sherpa, “if they work with locals and improve their skills, especially in fixing ropes and (other) high-altitude services. This would be good for both.”

Role model for young people

Perhaps one day the Pakistani mountaineers will also be given the appreciation that Sherpas in Nepal have enjoyed for decades and that has subsequently brought some of them modest prosperity. Remarkable successes such as that of Fazal Ali on K2, says Baig, are “truly inspiring and a role model for young people – not only in mountaineering, but also beyond it”. However only in case you hear about it.

P.S.: Dear friends in Pakistan, I am always looking for first hand information and I am grateful when I receive it. So please let me know when someone celebrates another amazing success in the Karakoram like Fazal Ali did!

On the six-thousander Panmah Kangri

“My tactic of arriving later in the season didn’t work this time,” Thomas Huber tells me after his return from the Karakoram, adding that it was a “fully mixed” expedition. “It started incredibly well, but unfortunately it didn’t end the same way.” As reported before – the 51-year-old, the older of the two Huber brothers, had left at the beginning of August with 33-year-old South Tyrolean Simon Gietl, 59-year-old German climber Rainer Treppte and French cameraman Yannick Boissenot towards Latok I in order to tackle the 7,145-meter-high mountain via the north side.

Meeting with his brother

“In the beginning everything was in a flow,” reports Thomas. The journey was without any problems, and at the entrance to the Choktoi valley there was a very nice and emotional moment: “We met my brother Alexander and his climbing partner Fabian Buhl, who had experienced a great adventure on Choktoi Ri and were all smiles.” After the meeting with the two climbers, who started their way home, Thomas Huber and Co. pitched up their base camp.

After one week on top of a 6000er

Thomas Huber with Simon Gietl, Rainer Treppte and Yannick Boissenot (from r. to l.)

For acclimatization, the team then climbed the 6,046-meter-high Panmah Kangri. “It was going perfectly. After a week on site, we stood on our first six-thousander, the next stage was Latok III,” says Thomas. “We climbed up to Camp 1 at 5,700 meters and then down again.” Their plan was to climb via the South Pillar to the summit at 6,946 meters. “We calculated three days if everything went well and the conditions were good.”

Three weeks of dense clouds

But it turned out quite differently. The weather changed – and remained bad. “We didn’t see the summit for three weeks,” says Huber. Dense clouds were hanging over the Choktoi Valley, it snowed. Summit attempts were out of question. Once, says Thomas, they climbed up again to Camp 1 on Latok III but returned due to snowfall.

A lot of snow in the wall

North Face of Latok I, on the right the North Ridge

Huber, Gietl, Treppte and Boissenot also explored the approach to the not yet successfully climbed North Face of Latok I, “our actual destination this summer”, as Thomas says. “However, we totally rejected our plan.“ The wall was “snow-covered like in winter”, there was a lot of spindrift. “The Koreans and Russians who had previously attempted the North Face this summer had been injured by avalanches,” says Thomas. “Now I understand why.“

Touch and go!

The risks in the wall were not calculable, that already applied to the access, says Thomas. “The North Face seems invincible. If you go there, you have to say ‚Good-bye life‘ – and then touch and go!” According to Thomas, already the seracs on the way to the access, are “very active. You simply need luck there.“ Their possible alternative goal, the direct route via the North Ridge to the summit, is feasible, says Thomas – but not under the conditions that prevailed at the beginning of September.

Great atmosphere in the team

“We tried everything that was possible and justifiable from a reasonable climbers’s point of view,” Thomas Huber sums up. “More couldn’t be done, we simply have to accept that. It certainly wasn‘t the last time we were in the Choktoi valley. “I just like it over there,“ says Thomas. „We had a good time and a great atmosphere in the team. That’s what I took home with me.”

In the Rupal Face

“To paraphrase Shakespeare: living on without summit or voting for death.” This is how Marek Holecek described the decision that he and his team mate Tomas Petrecek had to make last Sunday at the exit of the mighty Rupal Face, 300 meters below the summit of Nanga Parbat. Gusts of wind of up to 100 kilometers per hour blew over the 8,125-meter-high mountain in Pakistan, the ninth highest in the world. After six days in the wall, the two Czech climbers decided to turn around.

Like cabriolet trip without windscreen

Marek Holecek (l.) and Tomas Petrecek (r.) in base camp

“Now, it is a certainty that 4,000 meters can be climbed down, without one step with the forehead to the valley,” Marek described on lidovky.cz the descent through the extremely difficult south face of the eight-thousander. It was like a cabriolet trip without a windscreen in the ice storm, the 43-year-old said: “You’ll find out how frozen fish fillets feel.”

The main thing is to survive!

According to his words, they lost everything on the mountain, food, ice screws, bolts, rope, “many pounds of our weight, nerves”. But, said Marek: “We are back and still alive.” Holecek and Petrecek had planned to climb without bottled oxygen through the Rupal Face, traverse the summit of Nanga Parbat and descend into the Diamir Valley on the west side of the mountain – like the South Tyrolean brothers Reinhold and Günther Messner did in 1970. Günther Messner had died in the Diamir flank at that time.

In summer 2017, Holecek had opened a new route through the Southwest Face of the eight-thousander Gasherbrum I in the Karakoram, climbing in Alpine style with his compatriot Zdenek Hak.

David Göttler

They have two homes. German professional climber David Göttler and his partner Monica Piris spend the winter in Chamonix am Mont Blanc, the summer in Monica’s native northern Spain, between the towns of Bilbao and Santander, “where Spain is still really green”, David enthuses. This summer, as reported, Göttler had returned from Pakistan empty-handed. Bad weather had put a spoke in the wheel of him and his teammate, Italian Hervé Barmasse, on the 7,932-meter-high Gasherbrum IV in the Karakoram. Yesterday Göttler celebrated his 40th birthday in Spain – not in the mountains, but on the construction site, as he tells me, when I belated congratulate him: “I have finished my training room. So it was a good day.”

40 years, David, that’s a mark. Many ook back then on their lives or make plans for the future. You too?

For me it was just a normal birthday. However, you are thinking a little bit about the fact that now perhaps the middle of life has been reached. I don’t feel I’ve missed anything or done something wrong. But I’m also looking forward to the next 40 years. My father turns 79 next winter and is still every day en route in the mountains, paragliding, snowboarding or climbing. If I have only inherited a little bit of these genes, then I still have 40 more good years ahead. Especially in high-altitude climbing I can still do amazing things in the next few years. And I’m looking forward to it.

David with Ueli Steck (l.) in spring 2016

Did you yesterday also think of Ueli Steck, with whom you tackled Shishapangma South Face in spring 2016? Last year, he fell to his death on Nuptse – at the age of forty. Are you worried about overtightening the screw yourself one day?

I always try to deal with the risk very consciously – as Ueli did too, by the way.  I thought of him yesterday, but more with my future in mind: It would have been so nice to be able to plan new goals with him.

What goals have you set for yourself?

First I plan to run a marathon in the lowlands in a respectable time. I will probably do this at the beginning of December. In the longer term, for the next five years or so, I want to tackle some of the eight-thousanders. Gasherbrum IV, where Hervé and I were this summer, is also still on the list.

Yoga in base camp

Which eight-thousanders do you have in mind?

I have not yet decided in which order to approach them. But one of the eight-thousanders on my list is Kangchenjunga, where, on the fascinating north side of the mountain, my eight-thousander career began in 2003. I would like to make another attempt there. Then Nanga Parbat, a super exciting mountain, where I was already once in winter (in 2014 he had reached an altitude of 7,200 meters with Polish climber Tomek Mackiewicz). Mount Everest without bottled oxygen is also still a goal for me, even though there are so many people on the highest of all mountains. I would like to try out how the 400 more meters of altitude feel compared to the other eight-thousanders I have scaled so far (David has reached the summits of five 8000er so far: Gasherbrum II, Broad Peak, Dhaulagiri, Lhotse and Makalu). Also Gasherbrum I, which I viewed this summer from G IV, still offers many possibilities for new or unusual trips beyond the normal route.

With Herve Barmasse (r.)

You were with Herve Barmasse on Gasherbrum IV. What did you experience?

It was a super strange season in the Karakoram due to the weather. People may have been blinded by the news that there were more summit successes on K2 than ever before. But commercial climbing has meanwhile also reached K2: There are fixed ropes from the bottom to the top, many Sherpas are in action, breaking the trail and pitching up the camps. Almost all summitters used bottled oxygen. Things looked very different on the other eight-thousanders. On Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II, for example, only two climbers each reached the summit: Luis Stitzinger and Gianpaolo Corona on G I, Adam Bielecki and Felix Berg on G II. Bad weather and resulting adverse conditions on the mountain also made Gasherbrum IV difficult for us and prevented a real summit attempt.

How high did you get?

We reached our highest point during our acclimatization phase at 7,100 meters, just below the East Face. During the summit attempt we only got to Camp 1 at 6,000 meters. It snowed all night and still in the morning, there was no visibility. Because of too high danger of avalanches we then turned back.

En route on Gasherbrum IV

There were many other climbers besides you who returned home empty-handed too because of the persistently bad weather. As in the last years, the conditions in the classical summer season in the Karakoram were problematic. Shouldn’t one arrive later in the year because of the effects of climate change?

We discussed this topic in base camp. Maybe we really shouldn’t climb during these “old school weather windows” when the best conditions used to be in the past. Climate is changing. Not only high precipitation, but also too hot and dry summers are rather bad for many climbing projects. I think we might really have to experiment in the future and travel to the Karakoram at other times. In the classical summer season it seems to become more and more difficult.

Climbing into the fog

No photo, no video, no GPS data. It’s not possible to prove clearly where exactly on the seven-thousander Latok I in the Karakoram the two Russian climbers Alexander Gukov and Sergey Glazunov finished their ascent on 23 July. The GPS tracker didn’t work properly. The mini-camera they had used to document the ascent was carried by Sergey when he fell to his death on 25 July. The body of the 26-year-old could not be recovered. Two days before, the two Russians had reached their highest point in the fog. “By 7 pm, Sergey climbed up a small col between a rock and a snowy serac. I was standing ten meters below him. The snow was almost vertical,” Alexander recalls on “mountain.ru”, where an English translation of his statements was published today.

“I did not feel the summit”

The versions of Glazunov and Gukov

„I started shooting the video, commenting that we climbed up somewhere. ‘What do you mean, ‘somewhere’: it’s Latok I, Sanya,” Sergey shouted. ‘Take me,’ I shouted to him. ‘This is unreal(istic), Sanya. Everything is covered with snow mushrooms and vertical slopes here,’ Sergey answered and began to descend.” Was Sergey really standing on the highest point of Latok I at 7,145 meters? He is still in doubts, Gukov admits: “I did not feel the summit, I don’t remember the pre-summit ridge, we did not stand together and hug one another and enjoy ourselves on the summit as I dreamt to,” Alexander writes on “mountain.ru”. “I think that it was the top of the North Ridge or the western ‚summit‘ of Latok I.“

Either on top of North Ridge or main summit, says Gukov

Alexander Gukov (r.) and Sergey Glazunov (l.) before their ascent

I ask the 42-year-old whether he is convinced that he and Sergey really have climbed the North Ridge to its end. “Of course I am sure,” Gukov answers me adding that the only alternative is that – as Sergey assumed – the highest point of their ascent was not the highest point of the North Ridge, but the main summit of Latok I. Actually, Alexander continues on “mountain.ru”, “it does not matter to me whether we climbed this 360m summit ridge or not.“ It was a good climb, writes Gukov, although he and Sergey were together en route for the first time, they harmonized well as a team.

After Glazunov’s fatal fall, Gukov had been trapped on the North Ridge at 6,200 meters for almost a week before being flown out of the wall by a Pakistani rescue helicopter on long line. He was severely dehydrated and suffered from frostbite on his feet. “I am getting better quite fast,” Alexander writes to me from Russia. Get well soon!

Luka Strazar, Tom Livingstone, Ales Cesen (from l. to r.)

It is one of this year’s most spectacular successes on the highest mountains in the world: The two Slovenians Ales Cesen (36 years old) and Luka Strazar (29) and the British Tom Livingstone (27) managed the only second ascent of the 7,145-meter-high, extremely difficult Latok I in the Karakoram – the first ascent from the north side at all. Since the legendary first attempt in 1978 by the Americans Jeff and George Henry Lowe, Michael Kennedy and Jim Donini via the North Ridge, who were forced back by a storm about 150 meters below the summit, this task had been a too hard nut to crack for about 30 expeditions. ”The ridge itself remains a challenge for the future,” said Tom Livingstone modestly in an interview with the British Mountaineering Council (BMC).

Deviated from the North Ridge

The route of the successful trio

In the upper part of the mountain the trio left the North Ridge, climbed over an ice field to the right towards the West Col and then crossed to the left through the North Face to the highest point. “Our priority was climbing the mountain from the north side, doing that via the ridge was the second priority,” Tom said. For safety reasons, they decided to deviate from the route via the ridge. Livingstone recalled in this context the fatal fall of Russian climber Sergey Glazunov while abseiling from the upper part of the North Ridge and the subsequent helicopter rescue of his team mate Alexander Gukov. The trio had followed the drama of the two Russians during their acclimatization phase.

“Scottish conditions” at the summit

Strazar in the middle part of the North Ridge

Tom reported on consistently poor bivouac sites on small ledges in the snow: “We didn’t sleep much over six nights on the mountain. In terms of difficulty it wasn’t super-hard but the length of the route, the altitude and the sleeplessness made it feel very strenuous.” According to Livingstone’s words, there were “Scottish conditions” at the highest point of Latok I: very snowy with poor visibility. “There was no enthusiastic celebration at the summit, because we knew that we had only managed the half way,” expedition leader Ales Cesen reported in an interview with the broadcaster RTV Slovnija. “Only when we were back on the glacier below the wall, we shouted with joy and hugged.”

“More than just well done”

Luka just before the point where the route bends off the north ridge

German top climber Alexander Huber – who was tackling at the same time together with his 27-year-old compatriot Fabian Buhl the South Buttress of the 6166-meter-high Choktoi Ri, located near Latok I (both want to report their experiences shortly) – bows to Cesen’s, Strazar’s and Livingstone’s performance. “More than just well done,” the 49-year-old commented on the success on Instagram.

His older brother Thomas Huber (51) was at the time of the coup by the Slovenian-British trio with his climbing partners Rainer Treppte (59), South Tyrolean Simon Gietl and French cameraman Yannick Boissenot still on their way to Latok I. Their destination too: the northern side of the seven-thousander. Before their departure, Thomas had left open to me whether they wanted to tackle the North Ridge or the also still unclimbed North Face.

P.S.: Because of my vacation, which has meanwhile unfortunately ended, this report comes a few days later than you are used to from me.

Thomas Huber, Rainer Treppte and Simon Gietl (from l. to r.)

Thomas Huber is sitting on packed expedition barrels. “I’m really looking forward to the expedition,” says the 51-year-old. The older of the two Huber brothers is leaving for Pakistan this Saturday. Thomas wants to tackle the northern side of the 7,145-meter-high Latok I – together with 33-year-old South Tyrolean Simon Gietl and climbing old hand Rainer Treppte, aged 59, who comes from Saxony and has been living in the Allgäu region for a long time. “I have already climbed with them,” says Huber about his two climbing partners. Last spring, the trio succeeded in repeating for the first time the difficult “La Strada” route on the Cima Grande in the Dolomites, which the Poles Piotr Edelman and Jan Fialkowski had mastered for the first time in 1988. “We harmonize very well as a team, and we have every chance to tackle such a goal as Latok I,” says Thomas Huber. I also talked to him about the drama on this seven-thousander in the Karakoram that had kept us in suspense for days.

Thomas, yesterday we got the relieving message that the Russian climber Alexander Gukov was rescued from the North Ridge of Latok I. How did you experience this dramatic story?

Gukov rescued – after 19 days on the mountain

I checked “mountain.ru” every day to see what happened. I was hoping for good weather and studied the weather forecasts. My thoughts were always with Alexander Gukov on the North Ridge. Of course, it’s a very special feeling when you know that you will soon be on this mountain yourself. You just hope it ends well. But we should not forget the tragic death of Sergey Glazunov, who fell to his death while abseiling.

Things like that are never easy if you burn for a mountain. And for me, Latok is a very special mountain. My career on the very high mountains began with the first ascent of the Latok II West face in 1997 (together with his brother Alexander Huber, Toni Gutsch and the American Conrad Anker). And 21 years later I travel to Latok I – to a mountain where an incredible drama has just happened.

North Face of Latok I, on the right the North Ridge

Is that why you travel there with mixed feelings?

It’s not that easy. However, I am relieved at the moment that all the energy put into the rescue was finally rewarded and that Alexander could be brought alive and safe from the mountain. I think it was a salvation for him. I am glad that if everything goes well, we will pitch up our tents on the Choktoi Glacier only after another two and a half weeks. So some time will have passed, in which everything can calm down a bit.

Why do you set off so late in the season?

I believe it’s better to go later because of global warming. I think the mountain will be safer then. After all I read about the Russians and the Slovenes, it was extremely warm on Latok I in July and therefore also extremely dangerous. Alexander Gukov and Sergey Glazunov have nevertheless ascended. I don’t think the conditions were optimal.

I have to say, however, that I didn’t search information on these expeditions intensively. I rather went climbing. I wanted to get out of what was happening on Latok I because I felt the competitive situation. I am glad that I was not on the mountain at the same time, because definitely all decisions can no longer be made objectively when other expeditions are on the same mountain, on the same route, with the same goal. I look forward to us being alone on the mountain. We will seize our chance or even realize that it is too dangerous. We’ll try everything, of course. I enjoy taking up challenges that seem impossible. But I will also accept if the risk is incalculable. Then I’ll say: Okay, it doesn’t have to be.

Thomas sets out again

Have you already decided whether you want to try the North Face or the North Ridge?

No. I have a goal, an idea. But the mountain will always show you something new. The conditions and the weather will show you exactly the only way that is possible for you. The whole north side is so complex and so difficult. We’ll see.

This is your third trip to Latok I in four years after 2015 and 2016. Did you sink your teeth into this mountain?

I’ve never done this before, I’m not sinking my teeth into any mountain. But I have never really failed on Latok I, because it has always gone wrong in advance. I haven’t yet hit my ice tool a single time on Latok I. If I get a chance to make a serious attempt and Latok I shows me that it is too difficult for me, I will have made peace with this mountain.

Alexander in the rescue helicopter

Good news from the Karakoram: Alexander Gukov is saved. The 42-year-old Russian climber had been trapped for almost a week on the North Ridge of the seven-thousander Latok I at 6,200 meters, without food or equipment. With finally good visibility, but strong wind, Pakistani helicopter pilots managed to get Alexander off the mountain on a long line. Two helicopters were in action.

Flown to hospital in Skardu

After the pilots had discovered Gukov’s orange snow-covered tent on a small ledge, they tried to lower the lifeline to the climber. After 15 minutes Alexander managed to grab the line and latch on. He forgot, however, to remove his anchor to the mountain. Fortunately, the anchor gave way after a while. Gukov was first flown to the base camp and, after supplying him there first aid – to the military hospital in the northern Pakistan city of Skardu. In the past few days, the rescue helicopters had taken off a total of seven times, but had had repeatedly to return empty-handed due to thick clouds on the mountain.

Frostbite on his feet

Rescue near the North Ridge

Gukov seems to be doing as well as can be expected. He has frostbite on his feet and a slight injury to his chest due to transport with the lifeline, reports mountain.ru, citing the doctors in Skardu. Besides, Alexander is severely dehydrated. “I was about to hallucinate,” Gukov is quoted. “Avalanches went down day and night. I thought they wouldn’t rescue me anymore. I had no more strength to dig my feet out of the snow. I just lay there.”

Gukov had been on the mountain for 19 days. As reported, his 26-year-old rope partner Sergey Glazunov fell to his death on Tuesday last week while abseiling. The two Russians had tried to climb the North Ridge of Latok I up to the 7,145-meter-high summit for the first time. Apparently they turned back at an altitude of almost 7,000 meters.

First aid in BC

Since the legendary first attempt in 1978 by the Americans Jeff and George Henry Lowe, Michael Kennedy and Jim Donini, who were forced back by a storm about 150 meters below the summit, around 30 attempts to master the route failed.

In 2015, Gukov was awarded the Piolet d’Or, the “Oscar of the Climbers”, together with his compatriot Aleksei Lonchinsky for their new route via the South Face of the 6618-metre-high Thamserku in Nepal.

P.S.: Thanks to Anna Piunova from mountain.ru for the first hand information during the past days.

Gukov’s position on the North Ridge of Latok I (see arrow)

Fingers crossed for Alexander Gukov! According to Anna Piunova from the website mountain.ru, the 42-year-old Russian climber is trapped at 6,200 meters on the North Ridge of the 7145-meter-high Latok I in the Karakoram. Gukov made an emergency call on Wednesday:  “I need help. I need to be evacuated. I’m hanging in the wall without equipment.” His 26-year-old climbing partner Sergey Glazunov fell to his death while abseiling, said Alexander.

Longline rescue?

Apparently, the two climbers had turned around on Tuesday at an altitude of almost 7,000 meters. Due to bad weather with rain and snowfall, a rescue helicopter of the Pakistan army has not yet been able to take off.  The rescuers want to get Gukov off the mountain by using a long line. Some climbers have offered to participate in the rescue operation – including Italian Herve Barmasse and German David Göttler, who want to tackle the Southwest Face of the 7,925-meter-high Gasherbrum IV this summer. They would have to be flown by helicopter to Latok I.

Two week on the mountain

Alexander Gukov (l., in 2014 with Aleksei Lonchinsky)

On 12 July, Gukov and Glazunov had set off to climb the North Ridge for the first time up to the summit. This goal has been so far a too hard nut to crack for many top climbers from all over the world. Since the legendary first attempt in 1978 by the Americans Jeff and George Henry Lowe, Michael Kennedy and Jim Donini, who were forced back by a storm about 150 meters below the summit, about 30 attempts to master the route failed. Gukov is well known in the climbing scene. In 2015, he was awarded the Piolet d’Or, the “Oscar of the Climbers”, together with his compatriot Aleksei Lonchinsky for their new route via the South Face of the 6618-metre-high Thamserku in Nepal.

With broken bones back from the North Face

Other members of the Russian Latok I expedition had tried to climb the North Face. They were forced back by rock fall. “(We) descended to Base Camp alive, but helmet, rib and bones are broken,” Victor Koval reported to Russia. “Finally, an avalanche hit us.” A Slovenian expedition is also on site to tackle the North Face. The two German climbers Thomas Huber (the older of the Huber brothers – the younger, Alexander Huber, is currently with Fabian Buhl en route on the 6,166-meter-high Choktoi Ri, in the Karakoram too) and Rainer Treppte as well as the South Tyrolean Simon Gietl have their bags packed. Their destination: the North Face of Latok I.

Update 27. Juli, 11 am: Alexander Gukov has contacted Anna again: “Damn! Where do all the avalanches come from? I can’t even boil water.” Meanwhile, it is being considered to supply the climber with equipment from the helicopter. It is possible that Alexander would then be able to descend on his own.

Hansjörg Auer in the West Face of Lupghar Sar West

“It was very, very cool and intense,” Hansjörg Auer tells me. After his successful solo project in the Hunza region in northern Pakistan, the Austrian top climber is back in his native Ötztal. As reported before, the 34-year-old had first climbed the approximately 1,000-meter-high West Face of the rarely attempted 7157-meter-high Lupghar Sar West – solo. First Hansjörg climbed from the base camp to a bivouac site at the foot of the wall at about 6,200 meters. From there he left on 7 July at 5 am and climbed up to the summit in six and a half hours. At 8 pm, Auer was back at the base camp.

Hansjörg, you said in advance that you wanted to know what it’s like to be alone in the wall of a very high mountain. How did you experience it?

Lupghar Sar in northern Pakistan

Since our first ascent of the 7400-meter-high Kunyang Chhish East in 2013, I had asked myself this question again and again. I only waited for the right moment. This year the time had come. It felt very, very good. Of course, it was very different from climbing with a team. You are much more focused, you also feel stronger, as if you are drilled for a goal. Overall, it’s less emotional than I’m used to. But when it does get emotional, it’s much more intense because you are alone and have the strong urge to somehow manage it. 

What was the special challenge for you while solo climbing through this wall?

It wasn’t so much about climbing a difficult route, but really about being alone. In this altitude you are generally very exposed. This is multiplied if you are climbing alone and have no friend or rope partner as a kind of back-up. It’s also mentally more difficult. If you have a bad phase and begin to doubt, there is no one to support and motivate you. You have to do it yourself.

Selfie from the bivouac tent

Did you have moments of doubt?

Yes, sure. When I was lying in the bivouac that night, I was wondering if I could make it. Then I said to myself that I had already completed so many solo projects. That helped. Besides, I’m now in my mid-30s and have a lot of experience. This also helps, of course.

Did you have the exact route in mind before entering the wall?

I had two lines in my mind, in the left part of the wall part. I waited for my inner voice. Finally I decided for an icy couloir and several ice fields up to the Northwest Ridge, which I reached at about 6,900 meters. Then I climbed over the ridge to the summit.

How close were you to your limit?

View into the depths

It was running relatively smoothly. I had actually planned a second bivouac on the way up. But I made relatively rapid progress. At 6,700 meters, I found that the summit was not so far away anymore and that I should climb directly up. I had already thought beforehand that it might actually be possible to climb the wall non-stop. But because the weather was not so consistent and I was afraid that a snowstorm might catch me on the ridge, I took the tent with me. But then I deposited my backpack at 6,900 meters and climbed the last 250 meters up to the summit without any equipment.

The route through the wall was, of course, technically not as difficult as routes that can be climbed by a team. The ridge was exposed, with very loose rock, so I had to be careful. On the descent, I took my time. At the bergschrund, a snow bridge broke and I slipped 50 meters deep. Nothing happened because the snow was soft. In the end, everything went well.

What are you taking from this solo project in Pakistan? Will you be back with a team in the future? Or have you now tasted blood and think: How far can I get in climbing solo in high altitude?

On the summit

Of course, I always have many solo projects in mind. However, it’s important to me that the right moment comes and I don’t put pressure on myself. That’s why I cannot tell you anything about this at the moment. At this point, only so much: I will remain true to the technical lines at high altitude. Of course, it is also very challenging in a team to climb new routes on very high mountains, because in a rope team you can push the technical limits much further.

Generally speaking, it’s not easy for family and friends when I go for solo climbing. This time, nobody told me before the expedition that it was a bad idea. Shortly before my departure, Simon Anthamatten (Swiss climber with whom Hansjörg and his brother Matthias Auer scaled Kunyang Chhish East in 2013) called me and strengthened my vision. That felt good.  It would be a lot harder if everyone says: “Hey, what the hell are you doing?”

Will you put your feet up now?

Hansjörg Auer

Last week, I felt very tired. It just takes time to recover – even mentally. But now I’m going to climb in the Alps again. For example, I plan to open a new route in the South Face of Marmolada. For me, one expedition at high altitude per year is enough. I think to myself, the devil never sleeps. Of course, you never want to stop doing what you like to do. But in order to minimize the risk, you should focus more on quality than quantity.

Luis Stitzinger

According to his own words, Luis Stitzinger has reached the 8,080-meter-high summit of Gasherbrum I in the Karakoram yesterday (Wednesday). He was on his descent, the 49-year-old German climber informed via Facebook today. For Luis, it is his eighth eight-thousander success after Cho Oyu (in 2000), Gasherbrum II (in 2006), Nanga Parbat (in 2008), Dhaulagiri (in 2009), Broad Peak (in 2011), Shisha Pangma (in 2013) and Manaslu (in 2017). He climbed all of them without bottled oxygen, six of them together with his wife Alix von Melle.

Success after all

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

As reported, Stitzinger had previously abandoned the planned first ascent of the 7,082-meter-high Urdok Kangri II because of the masses of fresh snow on the mountain. Luis had led the expedition of the German operator “Amical alpin”, in which Alix had also participated. While Alix turned back home along with the other members, Luis decided to tackle Gasherbrum I.

I am particularly pleased about his success, as we have a common past: In July 2014, Luis led the Amical expedition to Kokodak Dome, which ended with the first ascent of the 7,129-meter-high mountain in western China. Since then I can also call myself a first ascender. I never would have made it without Luis.

Death on 7000er in India

R.I.P.

Sad news is reported from the 7,416-meter-high Saser Kangri IV in the Indian part of the Karakoram: The search for Pemba Sherpa was called off after five days. The 45-year-old Nepalese had fallen into a crevasse when a snow bridge had collapsed.  It is believed that he fell into the icy meltwater at the bottom of the crevasse. Pemba had scaled Everest eight times and another five eight-thousanders.

Stitzinger on his ski descent from G I

Update July 24: Luis has published some details of his successful ascent of Gasherbrum I. According to his own words, he ascended together with 52-year-old Italian Gianpaolo Corona in Alpine style. On the summit day they had to break the trailthrough calf-deep fresh snow. After more than 13 hours they reached the highest point. Luis tried a ski descent from the summit, but had to interrupt it in the so-called “Japanese Couloir” due to too great avalanche danger. “A decision I found very difficult. After all, you don’t like to leave the fillet. But in this case there was no discussion,” reports Stitzinger and concludes:  “A happy ending to an extremely difficult season in the Karakoram: After several weeks of almost uninterrupted snowfall at the beginning of the season in June, many expeditions had to leave empty-handed. Even after the weather had calmed down again, the snow masses and the bad conditions allowed only a few summit successes on the Pakistani eight-thousanders as it has rarely been. So we are all the happier that we made it despite all this, just the two of us!”

Hansjörg Auer on top of Lupghar Sar West

This is a real milestone. The Austrian Hansjörg Auer says, he succeeded the first ascent of a big wall of a seven-thousander in the Karakoram – solo. “I climbed the West Face of Lupghar Sar West for the first time. I took a line on the left side and finished my route up the steep Northwest Ridge with very loose rock to the top at 7,157 meters,” the 34-year-old extreme climber wrote on Instagram. Hansjörg had set off to Pakistan in mid-June for his solo project. His originally planned climbing partner and friend Alexander Blümel had to call off due to health problems.

Four years of dreaming

The mountain seen from Hunza valley

“This ascent is very unique to me, because I was dreaming of it for the last four years,” writes Auer. “Since Kunyang Chhish East in 2013 (when he, his brother Matthias Auer and the Swiss Simon Anthamatten made the first ascent of this 7400-meter-high mountain in the Karakoram) I always wanted to know how it feels to be alone in high altitude. And I’m happy that I made this experience now.“

In memoriam Gerry Fiegl

Gerry Fiegl (1988-2015)

Hansjörg Auer dedicates the first ascent of the West Face to his late friend Gerry Fiegl. In fall 2015, Auer, Blümel and Fiegl had mastered the South Face of the 6839-meter-high Nilgiri South in western Nepal for the first time. Gerry had shown symptoms of high altitude sickness at the summit and had fallen to his death on the descent.

The rarely attempted seven-thousander Lupghar Sar – which means “top of the big rock” – has three almost equally high summits and is located in the Hunza region in northern Pakistan. The West Summit was first climbed on 18 June 1979 by the German brothers Hans and Sepp Gloggner, who were part of an eight-member expedition team from Tegernsee.

A lot of snow on Gasherbrum II

A short snowfall break in the Karakoram – or, as Felix Berg describes it from Gasherbrum II with a twinkle in his eye “a small good-weather disturbance”. Time for the climbers to stuck their noses into the wind and to reconsider their plans. Dominik Müller, head and expedition leader of the German operator Amical alpin has decided to strike the tents on the 8,051-meter-high Broad Peak and to return home. “All the equipment from Camp 1 was recovered,” Dominik writes on Facebook today. “Just now it’s snowing again, and during our ascent there were some avalanches!” The porters have been ordered for Sunday.

Stitzinger: “Too much snow in the flanks and couloirs”

The Amical team led by Luis Stitzinger, who wanted to first climb the 7,082-meter-high Urdok Kangri II, threw in the towel too. “It’s been snowing for days since we arrived at the base camp. There is now half a meter of fresh snow, and up to one and a half meters at 6,000 or 7,000 meteres,” Luis writes on Facebook. “The route looks elegant, but there’s too much snow in the flanks and couloirs.” For the next three days more than half a meter of fresh snow is expected, says Luis adding that they’ll finish the expedition early: “I’ve never experienced such a season with so constant bad weather in the Karakoram.”

Like Russian Roulette

Alex Gavan (l.) and Tunc Findik (r.)

Snowfall has also increased the risk of avalanches on the other eight-thousanders in Pakistan. Continuing the ascent would be like “Russian Roulette”, Romanian Alex Gavan wrote three days ago. Alex and his Turkish team partner Tunc Findik had interrupted their activities on Nanga Parbat. The two want to climb the 8125-meter-high mountain without bottled oxygen.

Bargiel and Golab move to the K2

On the eight-thousander Gasherbrum II, the Poles Andrzej Bargiel and Janusz Golab declared their acclimatization over – “due to heavy snowfall. Time to move on to K2 base camp and focus on our main goal,” writes Bargiel on Instagram. The 30-year-old is planning the first complete ski run from the 8611-meter-high summit of K2. Last year, Bargiel failed on the second highest mountain in the world – because of bad weather.

Göttler and Barmasse want to climb G IV Southwest Face

Gasherbrum IV

The German climber David Göttler and the Italian Hervé Barmasse are probably glad to have made their way to the Karakoram rather late in the season. Both are still on their trekking. They definitely haven’t missed anything so far. Göttler and Barmasse want to first climb the Southwest Face of the 7,925-meter-high Gasherbrum IV – in pure Alpine style, i.e. without bottled oxygen, high camps and high altitude porters.