Nancy Hansen (r.) and Ralf Dujmovits at the DLR

“We were the mice for five weeks,” says Nancy Hansen describing the time she and Ralf Dujmovits – as reported – spent in a hypoxia chamber at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne half a year ago. The goal of the study was to find out whether, under certain circumstances, extreme hypoxia can lead to a strengthening of the heart in humans – as previously found out in two experiments with mice in the USA. After an acclimatization phase of around two weeks, the climbers had spent 16 days at a simulated altitude of 6,700 meters or higher, including four days at an oxygen content of only eight percent, which corresponds to 7,112 meters. “I suffered quite a lot,” admits Nancy. “But it was a big privilege to be part of the study.” Ralf is also still impressed by the experience: “I was hard on the edge. To be honest, I wouldn’t do it again. I underestimated the whole thing.” Last week the couple was in Cologne again – for one of several follow-up examinations. The first preliminary results of the study are now available.

Only 56 percent oxygen saturation

Pulmonary function test on the climbing wall

Extreme hypoxia initially had different effects on the bodies of Nancy and Ralf. Ralf, due to his many expeditions to eight-thousanders apparently better accustomed to the lack of oxygen, acclimatized much easier than Nancy. “One of the DLR doctors told me: ‘I hope you feel better than you look’,” she remembers and smiles. Once, the 50-year-old Canadian had an oxygen saturation of only 56 percent, a hospital patient would have been a case for intensive care. A DLR team was on duty around the clock for the two climbers. The scientists took blood and urine samples, carried out ultrasound and MRI examinations or cognitive tests. The analysis of the huge amount of data from the various tests is far from complete.

Both climbers lost muscle mass, they slept worse. It was astonishing that Nancy’s and Ralf’s responsiveness and concentration ability remained almost constant, even under extreme hypoxia. “However with the restriction that they were really challenged by the cognitive tests and had to concentrate,” says Dr. Ulrich Limper, who led the DLR study together with Prof. Jens Tank. During normal conversation, some “dropouts” were noticed.

Kidney performance also declined

Leaving the hypoxia chamber after five weeks

In Nancy’s heart, the right ventricle swelled and the pumping capacity decreased. In her brain, minor so called “White Matter Lesions” occured, which are frequently found in elderly people. In Ralf’s brain, the veins swelled over time without the 57-year-old suffering from severe headaches. In addition, the kidneys of both climbers worked much worse under hypoxia – albeit still sufficiently. “The good news is that all symptoms disappeared within 30 hours after Nancy and Ralf had left the hypoxia chamber and breathed normal air again,” says Dr. Fabian Hofmann, one of the DLR doctors.

It is not yet possible to say whether a damaged human heart is positively influenced by extreme hypoxia, as found out in the mice experiment. “We were dealing here with two healthy hearts of top athletes,” says Hofmann. “But it’s amazing what we can do to the hearth without structural change.” Further studies are to follow, if possible also with heart patients.

P.S.: Nancy and Ralf are about to set off for an expedition to Antarctica – to significantly lower altitudes than simulated at the DLR.

With Nancy Hansen (r.) and Ralf Dujmovits in the DLR hypoxia chamber

And suddenly the call came from space: “Here is Alex”. At first Ralf Dujmovits did not know who was talking at the other end of the telephone line: “Alex? Then I suddenly recognized the voice I had heard two days earlier during the broadcast of the rocket launch.” Alexander Gerst inquired from the International Space Station (ISS) about the condition of the German climber and his Canadian partner Nancy Hansen in the hypoxia chamber of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne. “It sounded like he was sitting next door.” For a quarter of an hour, Ralf, the first and so far only German climber to have scaled all 14 eight-thousanders, spoke to “Astro Alex”, the first German astronaut to take command of the ISS. “He was very interested in our experience in the lab. That was great.” Of course, Nancy talked to Gerst too. For both climbers it was a “real highlight”, says the 49-year-old Canadian.

Underestimated strain

Alexander Gerst watching World Cup football at the ISS

After five weeks in the 110 square meter hypoxia chamber, the door will open for Dujmovits and Hansen on Tuesday. Then the experiment will be over, in which it should be tested whether heart functions improve during a long stay in extremely thin air. Ralf and Nancy spent the last two weeks all day at a simulated altitude of 6.718 meters and slept at night at 6,490 meters. That left its mark. “You see us quite tired here,” says Ralf, when I visit them (with bottled oxygen) again last weekend. “I had expected otherwise. I was convinced that we would be a little tired at first, but after a while we would get so accustomed to the low-oxygen conditions that we would be able to cope well with it. I underestimated how exhausting the whole thing is.”

“A huge success”

One reason for this fatigue may be that – as it turned out with Ralf’s MRI – the blood in the veins of the brain has become extremely congested over time and the veins are swollen now. “I’ve never seen it so massive. At first glance, you’re not happy about this,” says Dr. Ulrich Limper, who leads the DLR study together with Prof. Jens Tank. “On the other hand, it is not a direct threat. We assume it will regress.” In four weeks, Dujmovits and Hansen will return to DLR for their first follow-up examination.

The scientists have collected a great deal of data that will now be evaluated. First results are expected to be available within six months. “It’s already a huge success for us,” says Limper. “The concept worked, we learned a lot. We are still cautious, but clinically it looks as if our hypothesis that certain heart functions improve under the influence of hypoxia could be confirmed. If we can substantiate that with the data, it would be great.” The study might even lead to new therapies for heart attack patients.

“Swollen” heart

Nancy on the mobile climbing wall

Originally, it had been planned that, after an acclimatization phase, the two climbers would live day and night at a simulated altitude of 7,112 metres for two weeks. But the scientists had to change their arrangements. At that simulated height, Nancy’s pulmonary artery pressure – the pressure with which the oxygen-poor blood is pressed from the heart into the lungs – was significantly increased. The right half of her heart was therefore, to put it simply, “swollen”, Nancy’s values were at the limit. “From our point of view it would not have been successful to ‘chase’ her up”, says Limper. “Her condition probably would have gotten worse.” Therefore the simulated altitude was lowered to below 7,000 meters, at night even further down than during the day. “Nancy’s body coped with this. Her values slowly improved and towards the end approached those of Ralf again.”

Not much higher than 7,000 meters

Does the body learn from frequent stays at high altitude?

According to Limper, it is assumed that in Nancy’s case it was a “normal reaction of a heart that is simply not yet accustomed to very high altitudes”. Ralf also told about health problems during his first expeditions, which no longer occured during his later projects. “There may be something like a long-term adaptation,” says the physician, adding that this has not yet been scientifically proven.

Nancy’s troubles made her and Ralf think. “It shouldn’t be a problem to tackle a seven-thousander where we spend the last night at 6,300 or 6,500 meters,” says Ralf. “But above that altitude, Nancy could suffer some damage to health. That’s what we’ve learned, and we’ll take that into account, of course.”

Constantly felt cold

Less muscular mass

During the time in the hypoxia chamber, both climbers have lost more than two kilograms of body weight each, primarily muscle mass. “The upper arms have become thinner,” says Ralfs, “and where normally the trousers are taut on the thighs, now everything flaps.” The climbers’ weight loss was lower than expected, says Ulrich Limper. “We attribute it to the fact that apart from hypoxia they had no stress factors as usual in the mountains: no cold, no pitching up the tent, no continuous physical strain. In the end, they moved very little.” Nancy and Ralf tried to stay reasonably fit on a treadmill, an ergometer and a mobile climbing wall. One of the surprising findings for the scientists was that Ralf was exhausted after 50 minutes on the ergometer, but did not sweat at all. It also seemed unusual that despite a room temperature of 24 degrees Celsius Nancy and Ralf felt so cold that they pulled two jackets over their T-shirts. So there are still a few question marks.

Into the sun!

“It was worth the effort”

Nancy and Ralf do not regret getting involved in the DLR experiment. On the contrary. “I would do it again,” says Nancy. “Scientifically I found the whole thing incredibly interesting. Of course, not every moment was fun, but overall it was an amazing experience that was pretty unique.” Also for Ralf “it was absolutely worth the effort”: “We leave the project healthy. And if we can make a contribution to the future development of a therapy for heart attack patients, then everything is perfect.”

And what are they looking forward to the most? “Sunshine,” Nancy answers quick like a shot. Ralf especially longs to see his family and friends again and is looking forward to sitting in the garden, running through the woods or cycling on his mountain bike for hours: “We had an incredibly committed team of scientists and doctors around us. We enjoyed it, it was exciting, and we learned a lot. But now it’s good that we’re coming home.”

Visiting Ralf Dujmovits (r.) with mask

Bottled oxygen on a mountain has always been out of the question for me. On principle. Today I made an exception – for a “virtual mountain”. To be able to visit Ralf Dujmovits, the only German mountaineer who has scaled all 14 eight-thousanders, and his partner, the Canadian climber Nancy Hansen, it is mandatory to use a breathing mask. After two weeks in the hypoxia chamber of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne, the two test persons have reached the simulated target altitude of 7,112 meters. The percentage of oxygen in the air, normally 21 percent, was gradually reduced to eight percent by adding nitrogen. “It’s like climbing a mountain. The acclimatization is almost done, now we’re heading for the summit,” says Ralf. “The time on the summit will be of course much longer.”

Short rest, then things gets serious

Nancy Hansen’s blood pressure is checked

In the coming days, Ralf and Nancy can once again briefly “descend” to breathe thicker air. On 4 June, however, the crucial phase of the study will begin, during which the two climbers are to stay constantly at a simulated altitude of 7,112 metres for two weeks. The aim is to test whether extreme hypoxia can strengthen the heart and even lead to the formation of new cells. If this finding from experiments with mice can be confirmed in humans, completely new therapeutic approaches would be conceivable for heart attack patients.

How much physical deterioration will there be?

Eight percent oxygen content

“We are both excited,” reveals Nancy. “I think the first few days will be okay. And then either it will feel normal or we start to deteriorate. Nobody really knows.“ Ralf recalls the French climber Nicolas Jaeger, who in 1979 in a self experiment spent two months alone in the summit area of the 6,768-metre-high Huascaran in Peru: “Cognitively he felt not so bad. In the end, physical deterioration became the major problem for him. I expect the same from us. We’re probably going to lose a lot of muscle.”

Breathe properly

So far, Hansen and Dujmovits have coped well with the low-oxygen time in the DLR’s hypoxia chamber. In any case, you can’t see yet what a burden they’re under. “I had three, four pretty bad headaches, mostly in the night,” says Nancy. “But it has gotten better.”  The 49-year-old Canadian finds it fascinating to see “what’s happening inside of our bodies, also in comparison between Ralf and I”. Her partner acclimatizes much better than her, says Nancy: “The way his lungs exchange oxygen with his heart is very different to my exchange. Ralf is teaching me how to breathe properly in here.”

Currently no climbing wall training

Pulmonary function test on the climbing wall

Dujmovits estimates that he has now lost “40 to 45 percent performance”. Dosed endurance training on the bicycle ergometer or the treadmill is still possible at the current simulated altitude of around 7,000 meters, says the 56-year-old. However, the two are currently stay well clear of the mobile climbing wall in the hypoxia chamber. “The strain on the muscles is much greater, and we get very quickly into the anaerobic phase. But we want to avoid an oxygen defiency that would cause immediately headaches,” says Ralf.

No cabin fever

I ask whether the relationship of the two test persons is put to a serious test by the long time in the hypoxia chamber? “Not so far,” Nancy replies, laughing. “We spend so much time together. There are no problems at all, and I don’t expect any.” Ralf nods. “I think it’s important to keep stress out of a relationship. We’ve done quite well so far.”

No Big Brother

Nancy and Ralf in the DLR hypoxia chamber

Even the constant camera surveillance doesn’t bother them anymore. “We’re not making  ‘Big Brother’ here,” says Dujmovits. “We know that the scientists are trustworthy with everything that can be seen here.” Meanwhile they almost ignore the cameras’ existence. “This morning I was just walking around the rooms in my underpants. Only on my way back I realized that everyone in the surveillance room could see me like this.” Ralf emphasizes that the whole experiment is “a team effort”. The climber specifically praises the committed DLR scientists: “They are here for us 24 hours a day in an all-round shift work.”  Nancy is also enthusiastic about the team. “All the staff here have been treating us so well. We feel really like a prince and a princess.”

Ralf Dujmovits and Nancy Hansen

The doors have closed behind Ralf Dujmovits and Nancy Hansen. The so far only German climber who has scaled all 14 eight-thousanders and his Canadian partner moved in a 110-square-meter hypoxia chamber of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne on Tuesday. As reported, the two mountaineers are participating in a study conducted by DLR in cooperation with the University of Texas to investigate whether extreme hypoxia can also have a positive side effect for human beings. US researchers from Texas found in two experiments with mice that heart muscle cells devided when the animals were exposed for two weeks to oxygen deficiency corresponding to conditions at 7,000 m. In mice which had previously been triggered myocardial infarctions, cardiac function improved after two weeks of hypoxia.

Medical control around the clock

Monitor in the control room

Ralf and Nancy, both healthy, are the subjects of the pilot study. They are to stay in the hypoxia chamber for about a month. In the first few weeks, acclimatization as on a Himalayan expedition is simulated. The oxygen percentage in the air will be gradually lowered and temporarily increased only twice in between – as if the two climbers would descend again to breathe thicker air. The last two weeks, the 56-year-old German and the 49-year-old Canadian are to  spend in a simulated height of 7,000 meters. The experiment can be stopped at any time in case serious problems arise. A DLR research team monitors Dujmovits’ and Hansen’s state of health around the clock. The daily schedule includes heart and lung function checks, blood and urine tests, fitness checks and so-called “cognition tests”, which check the reaction and perception of the subjects.

Yesterday, I visited the two climbers in their new “home”. That was possible on Wednesday for the last time without breathing mask. After more than half hour in a simulated altitude of about 3,700 meters, I felt a little bit dizzy. I preferred to do the interview with Ralf subsequently in thick air, by phone.

Ralf, you can not get out, there is no daylight, and the oxygen is lowered. That does not sound like a holiday apartment.

Nancy has a pulmonary function test

No, it isn’t a holiday apartment. But we have adjusted ourselves to it over a long period of time. We took it that way. We prepared ourselves mentally for almost nine months. Now we are here and actually feel quite well.

How does the prospect feel of being locked up for weeks and not being able to move to fresh air? That must be almost like torture for a climber.

Not even like that. I have the great privilege that I was allowed to be outside a lot. I do not see a big problem with being inside for five weeks now. We have been asked this frequently. But neither Nancy nor I are very worried that we can not handle it. We both can be very focused on special things. We have agreed to it and accept it as it is.

How did you prepare for this experiment? Have you filled up as much fresh air and nature as possible?

Skiing down to Monte Rosa Hut

We were in Valais for a week. We spent the final two nights on the Gnifetti Hut at 3,700 meters, followed by a night in the winter room of the Capanna Margherita on the Signalkuppe at 4,550 meters. So to say, we had pure nature for us. We were completely alone on the Capanna Margherita for 24 hours. We got up at 6.30 a.m. to enjoy the beautiful sunrise. Then we skied down to the Monte Rosa Hut through best powder snow. We really filled up, had a great time and, of course, a bit of pre-acclimatization too.

What motivates you to participate in this study?

Nancy had in her family environment some cases of heart attacks that ended either deadly or in very difficult recovery. Therefore, motivation for her is really to be able to bring something forward in the field of research. It’s similar with me. My interest in medicine has always been there and will continue. Being able to be possibly part of a new treatment for heart attack patients is a great story.

Maybe it’s also an additional motivation that this “seven-thousander”, which you want to scale, is still unclimbed.

Of course, it’s a bit of a first ascent. (laughs) But it’s not so much this first-time act that motivates us, but rather the support to get a step further in heart attack research.

Nitrogen tank in the DLR outdoor area

Are you also worried, be it mental or physical, when you consider the weeks in the hypoxia chamber?

There was a big unknown we both had a hard time with. It is not so easy to convert the percentage of oxygen in the air to (virtual) altitude. We have to rely on what Jens and Uli (Prof. Jens Tank and Dr. Ulrich Limper from DLR, the heads of the study) had predicted. But here we also have the opportunity to see how the air is composed by means of sensors installed in all rooms. From my feeling, that fits very well. Therefore, the trust that we must have in the team, is absolutely justified. We feel we are really in good hands here.

You are now the first complete day in the hypoxia chamber, at a quasi-altitude of about 3,700 meters. Does it feel different than on a mountain?

Of course, it’s different because the hardness factors such as strong sunlight, wind, cold, storm or snow fall are missing. So, of course, it’s much easier. But the thin air feels as we know it from high altitude – although the height is simulated by reducing the oxygen content. Normally, this percentage is always the same, no matter how high you are. (The hypoxia is caused by the lower pressure with which the oxygen is pressed into the lungs.) Here nitrogen is pumped into the rooms and thus the oxygen percentage decreases.

Do you think that you will learn something about yourself in the next few weeks?

Mobile climbing wall in the living area

I have already learned a lot. There are many, many little things. For example, we trained on the mobile climbing wall yesterday. It was specially set up for us here because we wanted to stay fit while climbing. We immediately noticed that not the lack of power in the arms or fingers will be the limiting factor, but the stamina in the thin air. We underestimated that. If we climb the overhanging part of the wall here, we’ll probably never get to the point where we run out of energy, but we’ll be at the limit in terms of endurance.

Does it help you to get through the whole thing as a couple?

That definitely makes it a lot easier. Yesterday at dinner I briefly imagined what it would be like if I were sitting here alone, maybe watching the news and then going to bed by myself. That would be terrible. You do not have anyone to talk to about what happened during the day. Being able to do this together with your partner is really great. We have a lot to laugh about. But we had also the first difficult moments during the night. Nancy suffered from headache, I had a slight pressure in my head. You talk about it, and then it’s a bit easier again.

Is it a bit like sitting in a base camp in bad weather and not being able to avoid each other?

You can really compare it. I remember for example 2009, when we were stuck in Lhotse Base Camp for three weeks in extremely bad weather and could only switch between our personal tent and the mess tent. It’s not much different here. However, we actually have more space to move, because the rooms here are very spacious. In addition, we have a lot of tasks to do during the day.

Ralf has a ECG

What do you expect, how will you come out of this experiment? As a physical wreck?

That’s the big unknown. We originally planned to go on expedition afterwards and use this extremely good acclimatization. However, cause we have no idea whether we are still fit enough to climb an interesting mountain, we have limited our plans to the Alps. There are e.g. on the south side of Mont Blanc so many high-altitude destinations. If we’re still fit enough, we’d rather go there instead of buying a permit, having to pay a liaison officer in advance, and then maybe having to say: We’re too weak, it’s just not possible.

But it’s also possible that you will be just lazily lying in the sun?

It’s possible too. After the time here in the chamber, the trade fair “Outdoor” will take place in Friedrichshafen. After that we’ll have a bit of time left without obligations. Maybe then we will be lying in the sun.

Ralf Dujmovits (l.) and Nancy Hansen in the still empty DLR living area

This seven-thousander has neither a summit, nor does it offer impressive views. It covers an area of ​​only around 110 square meters – and is located on the grounds of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne. A hypoxia chamber within DLR’s medical research lab “:envihab” – the name stands for environment and habitat – will be comfortably furnished in the coming months.

Four weeks in the chamber

In mid-May, Ralf Dujmovits, the only German mountaineer who has climbed all 14 eight-thousanders, and his partner, the Canadian climber Nancy Hansen, will move in there for four weeks. They are taking part in a highly interesting hypoxia study conducted by DLR in cooperation with the University of Texas. The assumption: Although extreme oxygen deficiency threatens life, there could also be a positive effect on the body.

Stronger heart through hypoxia?

Ralf is wired for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) …

US researchers from Texas found in two experiments with mice that heart muscle cells devided when the animals were exposed for two weeks to oxygen deficiency corresponding to conditions at 7,000 m. In mice which had previously been triggered myocardial infarctions, cardiac function improved after two weeks of hypoxia.

Now it is to be tested whether this effect also occurs in humans. For this purpose, Dujmovits and Hansen, both healthy, will spend two weeks in an oxygen-reduced environment comparable to 7,000 meters above sea level, as subjects of the pilot study. “We expect them as healthy, well-trained subjects to increase their cardiac output as well,” says DLR doctor Ulrich Limper during the first of several preliminary examinations in Cologne. For a further study, an experienced mountaineer is being sought as test person, who has already stayed at heights significantly higher than 7,000 meters and in addition has suffered a heart attack. He too is to spend two weeks in hypoxic conditions – of course only after he has completely recovered from the infarction.

Immediate termination possible

… and prepared for the examination of his brain

Ralf and Nancy first want to pre-acclimatize on the mountains in the Swiss canton of Valais and then go to the hypoxia chamber in Cologne in mid-May. In the first two weeks, the simulated altitude will be increased from 3,000 to 7,000 m by adding nitrogen and thus slowly lowering the oxygen concentration to eight percent (usually it is 21 percent). Over the last two weeks, Dujmovits and Hansen will have to hold out at the equivalent of an altitude of 7,000 m. Unlike in the mountains, however, the air pressure in the chamber remains constant, so that the experiment could be terminated immediately in case of complications.

“Completely crazy”

Blood draw from Nancy

He has done a lot of research and reading on the findings on long-time stay in high altitude, says Ralf Dujmovits: “In addition, my own experience of many nights in series above 7,000 m have led me to believe that the risk is within manageable limits. And if there are any problems, we can at any time press the red button and stop the study.” Nancy Hansen admits she has a queasy feeling. “Of course I am nervous about the risk! It’s completely crazy to live at the equivalent of 7,000 m for two weeks,” says the 49-year-old. “On the other hand, we can leave the study at any point if we feel too unwell. The bigger question for me is whether there will be long-term negative effects.“

Heart attacks in the family

Measuring the lung volume

Dujmovits had started studying medicine as a young man before fully dedicating himself to the mountains. The interest especially in high altitude medicine has remained, says the most successful German high altitude climber. “Being able to contribute to new findings in the field of myocardial infarction research is fascinating as well as exciting. Moreover, I have the opportunity to learn more about my body and its reaction to hypoxia.” Nancy Hansen agrees, adding family reasons for participating in the study: “My father had a massive heart attack 14 years ago. My uncle died of a heart attack. My young nephew has had two, 16-hour open heart surgeries. The topic is really important to me.”

Interesting for earth and space

This also applies to the DLR. “We are not just learning about the limits of the body of highly trained and specialized people who are comparable with pilots or astronauts and can serve as a study model for them, in our case Nancy and Ralf,” says Ulrich Limper, “but we also have the opportunity to improve the treatment of an acute heart disease, what would especially help the patients on earth.”

Not so alone as it looks like

It was the day of encounters. At first I cycled – for a change, in sunshine – along with a Swiss from the town of Zug, in his mid-60s, tanned, on a mountain bike that had already seen better days. “I’ve stopped working after 45 years,” the cyclist told me. “And now I am fulfilling my life dream. I always wanted to make a long bike trip.” I asked him how much time he took for the ride along the Rhine. “I’ll see how far I get until winter,” he said, grinning. In the further conversation it turned out that he was also a passionate mountaineer. He had climbed all four-thousanders of his home country, said the Swiss: “Actually, I had always dreamed of climbing Mount Everest one day. But tourism on this mountain has nothing to do with the way of climbing that I like.”

By ferry to the other side

Also a companion

With a heavy heart, I had to allow the Swiss to race ahead, I could not keep up his surprisingly high pace in the long run. But I did not go alone for long. My next companion was a 77-year-old local who is usually doing a half-day bike trip every day, in good weather. “I have to be back home by noon,” he told me. “Otherwise, my wife worries.” I owe him that I did not have to go a long way around the town of Rust (which most people know because of the leisure park nearby). This was a peninsula, the local expert explained to me at the decisive parting of the ways. Therefore, it was better to change to the French side, and to return later to the other side with a ferry. No sooner said than done. This was a really good advice. And by the way, I added with France the fifth nation on my tour down the Rhine after Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria and Germany.

Over the creek

From stone to stone

Shortly after I had said good-bye to the senior, I landed in a dead end. “Have you not seen the sign?”, asked a man who was standing with his old bike on the Rhine. I had overlooked the sign. I now had two alternatives, the man said: either to go back one and a half kilometers or follow him on a secret path: “But you have to cross a streambed. I get over there with my bike. But I do not know whether you can do it too with your packed bike.” I thought: What he is able to do, I also can. I followed him on the trampled path with nettles and brambles. The streambed was not dry, as I had supposed. Instead, I had to carry my folding bike across some boulders, in between water flowed. I took off my saddlebags and brought first the bike and then the luggage over the bridge of stones. After all, I could continue my journey without a long detour.

Moral support

With Nancy Hansen (l.) and Ralf Dujmovits (r.)

The fourth encounter of the day was a planned one. In the town of Kehl, I met Ralf Dujmovits – the so far only German climber who has scaled all 14 eight-thousanders – and his life companion, the Canadian climber Nancy Hansen. They wanted to accompany me on their mountain bikes a bit of my way along the Rhine and thus support me morally. Together with Ralf and the Austrian mountaineer Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, I had launched the campaign “School up!” at the end of June 2015 to rebuild the school in the small mountain village of Thulosirubari, which was destroyed by the earthquake in Nepal on 25 April that year. My donation bike trip “School up! River down” is to flush further money into the project, so that we can pay the ongoing construction work at the new school.

End of the day trip after 125 kilometers

Water from above and below

I really enjoyed sharing a bit of my way with Ralf and Nancy. Besides, I almost forgot my tired legs because of the good talks. Even a heavy downpour, the first of the day, could not cloud our good mood. In the town of Söllingen we finished the bike day – for me after 125 kilometers, for Nancy and Ralf after 45 kilometers. I spend the night at their house in the town of Bühl. Tomorrow morning they will bring me back to Söllingen, where I will continue my journey down the Rhine. I have now managed 589 kilometers in total. Some were quite exhausting, but encounters like today’s compensate for all the hardships.

Ralf Dujmovits on Cholatse

“Everything has been going well so far.” Ralf Dujmovits is highly satisfied with his acclimatization tour in the Khumbu area. To prepare for Mount Everest, the 55-year-old, along with his partner Nancy Hansen from Canada, climbed the 6440-meter-high Cholatse. Last Thursday they reached the summit. The climb via the Southwest Ridge was anything but easy, Ralf writes to me: “A good part of the route above the col leads over steep to steepest penitents – very, very uncomfortable to climb.” Dujmovits believes that the climb to the highest point will soon change drastically. “The summit structure of Cholatse threatens to break apart in the next few years,” says Ralf. “There are many crevasses up to the summit. 30 meters below the highest point you have to cross a snow bridge which is still only two meters long and half a meter wide. If this also breaks, you need a ladder to get to the top.”

Abseiling in whiteout

Nancy Hansen on the summit

Dujmovits and Hansen spent six tent nights in their tent at altitudes between 5,450 and 5,750 meters. “Due to the material and food transport, we have climbed each stage twice – apart from the summit climb. So we have also managed to achieve perfect acclimatization,” says the so far only German who has scaled all 14 eight-thousanders. Just on the summit day, the weather turned from good to bad. “We had almost no visibility when we reached the summit at 1.25 p.m, and the descent or the abseiling was mostly in whiteout conditions. Very exciting. Only an hour after dark, we were back at our super exposed small camp site at 5,750 meters.”

“Highly motivated and confident”

Ready for Everest

Dujmovits wants to climb Mount Everest from the Tibetan north side without bottled oxygen. After his successful Everest ascent in 1992 – above the South Col with breathing mask – Ralf had tried six times to climb the highest mountain on earth without supplemental oxygen, but for several reasons he had always returned without summit success. He had reached the summits of all the other eight-thousanders without the use of bottled oxygen. Now Ralf looks optimistically towards his “definitely last attempt” on Everest. “After the very positive experience on Cholatse, I am now really highly motivated to travel to the north side of Everest, and I am very confident that it will work,” says Ralf. “I feel very fit and well prepared.”

Ralf Dujmovits

Never say Never Again! This is not only the title of an old James Bond film but could also stand for Ralf Dujmovits’ personal story on Mount Everest. The first and so far only German, who has scaled all 14 eight-thousanders, had climbed the highest mountain on earth on his very first attempt in fall 1992. Due to bad weather, however, he had used bottled oxygen above the South Col. “I was very young at the time. It was a mistake,” says Ralf today.

After all, he climbed the other 13 eight-thousanders without breathing mask. And so he later tried to wipe out this Everest mistake again and again. In vain. In 1996, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015 he returned without summit success, for various reasons. This spring, the 55-year-old wants to give it a try again. For the eighth time, he will travel to Mount Everest, the fifth time to the Tibetan north side of the mountain. He will acclimatize in Nepal with an ascent of the 6,501-meter-high Cholatse in the Khumbu area, along with his Canadian partner Nancy Hansen. Ralf has now arrived in Kathmandu. I spoke with him shortly before he left to Nepal.

Ralf, I think, it’s allowed to say, that you and Everest have a relationship.

Ralf and Mount Everest (in 2012)

Yes, of course. If you have been there so often – it will now be the eighth time – an almost personal relationship develops. But I’ve always enjoyed being on Everest. I also look forward to it now. But I have to say quite honestly, that I’m a bit nervous, because I’ve really made it clear that this time is definitely the last time. I also told this to my friends.

And everyone laughed.

First, yes. But then they took me serious, when I confirmed it again and again: the definitely last time! In this respect, I would now once again like to put effort into my partner Everest, and hopefully I will reach the summit.

You’ll be there for the eighth time. Do you become more relaxed or more uptight?

Although I am a bit tense at the moment, I will probably be a bit more relaxed on the climb. There were some years in which I went to Everest North Face with a certain tension. This didn’t work for various reasons. Afterwards, in the last years, I wanted to take the Messner route. [During his solo ascent in 1980, Reinhold Messner traversed to the Norton Couloir and climbed through it to the summit]. This did not work either. I told myself, I’d now take the Tibetan normal route, quite relaxed. And everything else will be seen.

But you won’t climb alone this time.

Not alone, anyway. You’re never alone on Everest. I will be on the mountain along with the Romanian Horia Colibasanu. We’ll probably share the tent up there. I also hired a Sherpa, who will carry for me a bottle of oxygen. If I realize that I get serious health problems, I would, under certain circumstances, use supplemental oxygen and then immediately descend. This means, the oxygen bottle is really only for the descent, in no case for the further ascent.

Tibetan North side of Mount Everest

Would it be an option for you to climb up without bottled oxygen and down with breathing mask?

No, my goal is, of course, up and down without supplemental oxygen. But I just want to keep this option open. In 2010, the Italian Abele Blanc was a few days older than me now, when he climbed Everest without bottled oxygen, aged 55. If I am successful, I would be the second oldest. Meanwhile I realize: For me, at my age, this is really pushing the limits. I simply want to have a certain reserve, a small backup.

Is this a bit like driving a car with safety belt?

(Laughs) I’ve never thought about that. I think, driving a car with seatbelt has become common practice. This also applies to mountaineering with bottled oxygen on the eight-thousanders. Unfortunately. I would rather say that I try to omit the safety belt. I will have the hand on the belt and I would fasten it, if necessary, very quickly.

Do you consider it as a break in style?

Quite certainly, it’s a break in style to take a backup with you. It is not the usual variant, but I don’t care now, because I want to finish my way. I look forward to it and can accept it for myself. I’ve been struggling with me for a while, but now it’s all right for me. Before or afterwards or whenever anyone can tell me what he wants. For me, this fits. And since I don’t hurt anyone, it should be fine.

Cholatse (in the centre, seen from Gokyo Ri)

All expect that Everest will be crowded this spring. There will be much more climbers than usual, not only on the Nepalese but also on the Tibetan side. You know have already experienced that. Probably it won’t impress you, will it?

Before I go to Tibet, I will pre-acclimatize along with my partner on a six-thousander in Nepal. Doing this, I want to escape a little bit from the crowds of people. Then I will reach the Advanced Base Camp in Tibet relatively late, so I hope that I won’t get into the mass ascent. Of course, there will also be many climbers on the mountain during my summit push. But that will not affect me, because I can not start as early as most of the people who climb with bottled oxygen. Start times on 10 or 11 p.m. are quite common now. However, I can not start so early, in this case I would cool down too much up there. I have to use the sun, which will hopefully help me a bit.

This sounds like you choose the same tactics as Ueli Steck on the south side of Everest, who wants to let the first weather window pass, so that the mountain is not so crowded anymore.

If it becomes apparent that a second weather window is developing, I would probably also speculate on it. Normally, it has been too busy on the mountain during the first weather window. And I just have to be able to go exactly at my pace. Too slow would not be good, because I cool down. I can not go too fast either, because I would lose too much body heat due to increased breathing.

Ralf in Everest high camp (in 2014)

On your last attempt in 2014 – I leave out the 2015 season with the earthquake in Nepal – you reached Camp 3 at 8,300 meters. At that time, you said: “I’ve made mistakes.” Did you learn from it?

I used a too light tent at that time, a single-walled one, weighing just one kilo. There was pretty much wind at night. Another problem was that I had a wet lighter and so I could not melt enough snow to drink water. However, in the end I failed because there was strong wind in the morning. I will not have any influence on the weather. But for all the other things, I hope that I will have the right options now. So I hope that everything fits, at least from my side.

You say, this will be definitely your last attempt on Everest. I can’t help smiling. But let’s assume that it will be really the last time. Are you tempted to take more risks?

I do not think so. I know myself very well. I also know that I can turn around. I have often done and would do it again this time, if necessary. For me, health is still the highest good. I won’t give up this principle of returning safely on my very last attempt – even if you smile, it really will be the last one.

Nancy Hansen, in the background Praqpa Ri (7134 m)

It is raining – at 9 p.m. at 5,000 meters in the Karakoram. “It’s incredibly warm here,” Ralf Dujmovits, Germany’s most successful high altitude climber, tells me via satellite phone from the Base Camp at the foot of Praqpa Ri. “We sat together until late in the evening with an open tent.” The unusually warm weather has resulted in difficult conditions on the seven-thousander so that its summit remains virgin. Like before on the also unclimbed seven-thousander Gasherbrum VI the 54-year-old German and his 47-year-old Canadian partner Nancy Hansen had to abandon their summit attempt. “We fought for every meter on ascent,” says Ralf. In vain.

Ralf, how far up did you climb this time?

Highest point that Nancy reached

Up to 6,300 meters. We had changed our original plan. We wanted to climb via the left pillar, and then via the corniced ridge to the summit. We had hoped to be able to climb on the back of the overhanging cornices. But we didn’t come so far.

Did you choose the wrong route or were the conditions just too bad?

The snow conditions are extremely bad this year. We have found similar conditions like on Gasherbrum VI: much “sugar snow”, rotten snow you break into, partly groundless. We climbed partially in very steep terrain, 70 to 80 degrees, sometimes vertical.

Digging through the snow

There you could push the ice axe horizontally into the loose snow and your arm right behind. But then also blue ice again, covered with only half a meter of snow. Very changing and bad snow. In the steep passages, we have partially needed an hour for one pitch, because we had to balance ourselves up in the almost vertical sugar snow. We have just run out of time in these poor conditions.

What’s about the avalanche danger?

It was added. It’s an east ridge. From 4.30 a.m. it is in the sun. Not later than 9 a.m. there is acute danger of avalanches. Snow masses sweep down to the right and left of you. We ascended a slope covered with half a meter of sugar snow. Later the whole slope slid down. Now a huge area of blue ice is left there.

Freeze-dried food at 6,000 meters

What has made you finally turn back? Has it taken you just too long or was it like on Gasherbrum VI where you reached a point that you could not overcome?

We have reached a point, where Nancy said: “That’s too dangerous.” She stood 30 meters above me in the sugar snow, on top a thin crust of harder snow, 60 degrees steep. I probably would have turned around earlier.

So the conditions were the reason you turned back, not the route?

I think, in good conditions we would have moved forward significantly faster and could have reached further up.

If you compare the two attempts on Gasherbrum VI and Praqpa Ri, where have you been closer to success?

Actually you cannot say that. On both mountains we were still 600 or 800 meters below the summit. This is still quite far away. In both cases, it was simply too dangerous.

Simply dangerous

Again you have fought through the snow for six days, again you had to realize that there’s no point. How do you feel now?

We had a good time together and truly experienced it as a nice adventure, extremely exciting. Despite all the effort and hardship we enjoyed it and will take two beautiful mountain experiences back home.

And you have returned safe and sound.

Yes, especially on Praqpa Ri we were really happy at the end to have reached Base Camp unscathed. It was extremely precarious.

Nancy at 6,400 m at Gasherbrum VI

The seven-thousander Gasherbrum VI in the Karakoram in Pakistan remains unclimbed. 54-year-old Ralf Dujmovits, Germany’s most successful high-altitude climber, and 47-year-old Canadian Nancy Hansen abandoned their attempt to first climb the 6,973-meter-high mountain (other elevation: 7,004 meters) in the Karakoram. They turned around at an altitude of 6,400 meters. “We did our best,” Ralf tells me via satellite phone. “Nancy fought in the slabs like a bear. It just was not meant to be. Finally we don’t want to commit suicide.”

In the gully

Spectacular campground

Just getting from Base Camp to the Col at 6,197 meters was difficult. The 700-meter-high, up to 60 degrees steep snow and ice gully was interspersed with seracs, says Dujmovits, so far the only German who has scaled all 14 eight-thousanders. In their second try, Nancy and Ralf reached the Col, “with the view on Chogolisa, Masherbrum and Muztagh Tower, one of the most spectacular places where I have ever pitched my tent.”

Belaying was not possible

Ralf above the Col

The rock barrier above the Col was a too hard nut to crack for the two climbers. “We had hoped for a thicker snow or ice crust so that more ice climbing would have been possible,” says Ralf. “But the marble-like slabs, covered with a thin layer of ‘sugar’ snow, didn’t offer any opportunity to set even the thinnest knifeblade piton.” After two failed attempts, Dujmovits and Hansen decided reluctantly to abandon their attempt to first climb Gasherbrum VI. “It was exciting to enter unknown ground,” says Ralf. “Of course, we are a bit disappointed. We have invested a lot of time and effort into this project.”

Next goal: Praqpa Ri

Nancy Hansen (l.) and Ralf Dujmovits

There is yet another chance remaining. On Thursday, Ralf and Nancy will break their Base Camp at the foot of Gasherbrum VI and move it about nine hours’ walk away to a place near K 2. There they want to have a try on Praqpa Ri, another unclimbed seven-thousander (there are different altitude data: 7,134 and 7,152 meters). “There we will able to do more ice climbing,” says Dujmovits. After three nights at 6,200 meters on Gasherbrum VI, he and Nancy feel well acclimatized and in good health. “We remain positive and hope that it will work on Praqpa Ri.”

Gasherbrum VI seen from Base Camp

“Really annoying that this happened to me at the very beginning!” Ralf Dujmovits, Germany’s most successful high altitude climber, is upset that he has first suffered from diarrhea and then from a bad cold while trekking on the Baltoro Glacier. “Meanwhile I feel better, but I realize that I still lack power,” Ralf tells me, when I reach him on satellite phone during an exploration trip. The 54-year-old and his girlfriend, the 47-year-old Canadian climber Nancy Hansen, traveled to the Karakoram in order to try first ascents of two still unclimbed mountains: first Gasherbrum VI (the reported altitude varies between 6,973 and 7,004 meters), then, not far away, Praqpa Ri (different elevation data too: 7,134 or 7,152 meters). The two climbers have pitched up their Base Camp at the foot of Gasherbrum VI.

Ralf, how have you experienced Pakistan so far? The country is still said to be a risk area.

Nancy Hansen, in the background the 7000er Masherbrum

We have been warmly welcomed everywehre. When we visited a polo game in Skardu (city in northern Pakistan, starting point of most expeditions in Karakoram), people shouted: “Welcome!” Nancy was the only woman on the pitch. During our trekking all the porters welcomed us too. I feel the situation as very peaceful. There is great euphoria that this year finally once more nearly 30 expeditions have come to Pakistan.

This summer, more than 100 climbers have registered only for K 2. Have you noticed a lot of activity during your trekking on the Baltoro Glacier?

No. We met about 30 porters who carried equipment to K 2 Base Camp. But otherwise we didn’t notice anything of the heavy rush that is expected on K 2.

The last summers in the Karakoram were very warm. How is it now?

Today we have very nice weather again. However, we are slightly worried sitting here at an altitude of 5,000 meters in this scorching heat. We just had one and a half days of bad weather. At night, it snowed only for one hour, the other time it was always raining – early in June, at 5,000 meters! It’s just much too warm.

The Gasherbrum massif

You had a first look at your first destination, Gasherbrum VI. How was your impression?

Up to the col below the South Face, it looks quite good, covered with snow. It appears that we can find a way on the left side of the icefall which leads from the Baltoro Glacier into the little high valley where we want to go up. Then we’ll have to climb a 45 to 50 degrees steep slope to the col at 6,100 meters. But we were pretty flabbergasted when we saw the terrain further up: We’ll have to do a lot of rock climbing. We actually expected more ice climbing. In particular, a rock barrier above the col gives us food for thought. It straddles the entire South Face, in some parts even slightly overhanging. We still do not know how to come across this ledge. However, we have not yet seen the entire rock barrier. Perhaps there is a way through more to the right. Everywhere is much less snow and ice compared to what I remember from my last visits in this area.

Do you want to tackle the mountain in Alpine style?

We had originally intended to acclimatize on Snow Dome (a mountain near the seven-thousander Chogolisa). But in these conditions, we will probably have to work our way up Gasherbrum VI and to use a few meters of fixed ropes above the Col. I feel it’s unlikely that we’ll tackle our first summit in Alpine style. That will probably not be possible due to the quite challenging rocky slopes up there. We actually had planned to climb in a single push from the col to the summit. But it does not appear to be realistic.

Ralf Dujmovits (r., with Ashraf Aman, head of Adventure Tours Pakistan)

How much time will you take for Gasherbrum VI? After all, you want to climb Parqpa Ri, another unclimbed seven-thousander near K 2, afterwards.

Actually, we want to finish our climb on Gasherbrum IV until end of June. However, it will be no problem to stay longer, if health reasons or the difficulties in the upper part of the mountain should make it necessary. We have a sufficient margin, so that we are able to add a few days more on Gasherbrum VI. If you are a team of only two climbers, you can handle it quite flexible.

Are the two unclimbed seven-thousanders equally important goals or do you have a preference for one of them?

When we were planning the expedition, Nancy was rather enthusiastic about Parqpa Ri and I more about Gasherbrum VI. But I think the goals are quite balanced. We feel really motivated to do both. Especially Nancy who is in good shape now wants to make progress. Currently I am still slowing her down a bit. But the euphoria for both summits is there. And we have enough time for both goals.

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.

Destroyed house in Sangachok

Ralf Dujmovits is shocked. “I have rarely seen something so depressing and sad”, says Germany’s most successful high altitude mountaineer when he calls me from Kathmandu. He has just returned from an all-day trip to Sindhupalchowk District, about 80 kilometers northeast of the capital. There was no other district in Nepal where the devastating earthquake two weeks ago killed more people than in Sindhupalchowk. So far, the government has registered there more than 3,000 dead – at a total of more than 7,900 fatalities throughout Nepal.

Almost back to normal in Kathmandu

At Durbar Square

Originally, Ralf had wanted to climb Mount Everest from the north side this spring, without bottled oxygen, in a team with the Canadian Nancy Hansen. But then they had to abandon their expedition, like all other Everest aspirants in Tibet. The 53-year-old and his team partner flew to Kathmandu to get an impression of ​​the earthquake damage. The life in the capital has almost gone back to normal, Ralf reports, “except that there are hardly any tourists”. Many temples in the city centre are heavily damaged, says Dujmovits. “A sad silence lies over Durbar Square, dust is in the air, and everywhere piles of rubble.” Nevertheless, Ralf is convinced that “Kathmandu will soon be out of the headlines. But in the countryside, it is quite different.”

Smell of death

Sabina Parajuli with village children

Ralf and Nancy joined a team of doctors and nurses from the Siddhi Memorial Hospital in Bakhtapur  and helpers of the German aid agency “Nepalhilfe Beilngries”. Every other day, the hospital has been sending such teams to the countryside, to treat injured and to distribute aid supplies. “It was really shocking. You are driving from one village to the next, and all of them are destroyed. I estimate 85 to 95 percent of the houses are razed to the ground”, says Ralf, struggling to maintain his composure. “It looks devastating. We just stood there, speechless. Sad, so sad.”

The young doctor Sabina Parajuli led the team on this day. As a child she had lived in the village of Sangachok and had gone to a school that was funded by the “Nepalhilfe Beilngries”. “Sabina and the other doctors treated 300 people in Sangachok today. The earthquake has killed 200 people in her home village. That’s incredibly hard”, says Ralf. “Sometimes there is a pungent smell, because a lot of dead people and animals could still not be recovered from the rubble.”

Only a pile of junk

School in Thulosirubari: Ground floor collapsed

The people in the destroyed villages are traumatized: “Where once was hubbub, is now ghostly silence. The people are standing around staring at the ruins of their homes. They do not even know where to start to clean up.” Out of the schools of the “Nepalhilfe Beilngries” that he had co-financed, only the school in the village of Irkhu has “miraculously” remained largely intact, says Ralf. The local police are now using the building as a quarter. “All other schools were heavily damaged or destroyed. The ground floor of the large school in Thulosirubari, which Gerlinde (Kaltenbrunner) and I had opened in 2009, collapsed. The upper floors sagged. What once was a school for 700 children is now just a pile of junk.” Probably the school has to be demolished completely. Actually, Nancy and he thought they could help, says Ralf. “But a shovel is not enough, you need heavy equipment. Nepal will be dependent on foreign help for years.”

The Potala Palace in Lhasa

China shows its friendly face. For 10 May, the Chinese government is planning “to provide a charter flight free of charge form Lhasa to Kathmandu for all Sherpas – not just for Climbing Sherpas, but also for cooks and kitchen helpers”, Ralf Dujmovits wrote to me calling it “a generous gesture” – despite  the expected propaganda of the Chinese. The most successful German mountaineer arrived in Lhasa, like many other western climbers who were on expedition in Tibet. “The China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) generously bears the costs of transport to Lhasa, accommodation and meals. And they take care of the visa formalities for the stranded climbers coming from all Tibetan peaks”, the 53-year-old said. The land route from Tibet to Nepal is still blocked nine days after the devastating earthquake. Since yesterday, Chinese helpers are trying to clear the damaged road from the Nepalese border village Kodari to Kathmandu, using heavy equipment.

Boulders as large as rooms

ABC on the north side of Everest before China closed the mountain

Originally, Ralf wanted to climb Everest from the north without bottled oxygen, along with the Canadian climber Nancy Hansen. When the earth shook in Nepal, they were just above Chinese Base Camp at 5,200 meters. “We ran for our lives, when boulders as big as rooms crashed down from the moraine hills”, Ralf wrote. Four days later, when the Chinese authorities finally closed all Tibetan mountains because they considered the risk of further quakes to be too great, Ralf and Nancy were already in the Advanced Base Camp (ABC) at 6,400 meters. Then they returned immediately. “The probably best way to describe our and my own mood is calling it ‘emptiness’”, says Ralf. “Thousands of people have died on both sides of the Himalayan main ridge, tens of thousands are homeless, and those who survived are facing great distress and incalculable misery. Thus Nancy and I don’t want to breathe a single word about disappointment. We had hopes and dreams – and primarily we escaped with our lives (on the north side of Everest).” Dominik Mueller, head of the German expedition operator Amical alpin, reported on Facebook that a big avalanche released from the North Col on Saturday: “It was right to cancel all activities.”

Still many missing

Dujmovits and Hansen are going to fly from Lhasa to Kathmandu. Ralf wants to see for himself the scale of the damage in Sindhupalchowk district which is located in the east of the Nepalese capital. Along with the German aid organisation “Nepalhilfe Beilngries”, he had founded two schools in the area a few years ago. “Reportedly they either were severely damaged or destroyed”, Ralf wrote. This region, including the Langtang National Park, was hit by the earthquake particularly hard. To date, the Nepalese government has registered more than 2,800 dead in the district. Several hundred people are still missing. Among them are numerous trekking tourists, also from Germany. Overall, the death toll in Nepal has been rising to more than 7,300.

Ralf Dujmovits at the ISPO

His bookmark is still in the book of Everest. Ralf Dujmovits scaled all 14 eight-thousanders, as the only German so far. Only on Mount Everest in 1992, Ralf used bottled oxygen – something that the 53-year-old sees as a blemish by today. This spring, Ralf wants to travel to the highest mountain in the world for the already seventh time, for the fourth time to the Tibetan north side. Last year Dujmovits reached there an altitude of 8,300 meters on the northeast ridge. At that time he got angry about his own mistakes. And so Ralf’s repeatedly announced “definitely last” attempt on Everest became once again just his most recent try. This year, he wants to climb in a team with the Canadian Nancy Hansen. I met Ralf at the trade fair ISPO in Munich and asked him about his Everest plans:

Ralf and Mount Everest, a never ending story?

Not endless. Last year I said, it would be definitely my last attempt. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it, because I just didn’t feel that I had been given a real chance. Now I want to allow myself another chance, hoping that I can do my very best and that I am not blown away by the wind. If I have to turn around again then, it would be a totally different story. But at least I want to set off towards the summit and to do my utmost.

Camp 1 on Everest North Col

It seems to me that you created a new definition of “definitely”. Do you avoid the wording “my definitely last attempt” this time?

I learned that one should never say never. I don’t want to say “definitely no more” this time. I am so motivated at the moment. And I feel that I got so fit by intensive training that I simply don’t want to exclude anything, even in the event of failure. But of course, you become more reserved and cautious. I think that’s right. It all must fit together if you make for such a high destination and if you want to have a real chance there.

To put it in positive terms, you are in your early fifties, in less positive words, you approach your mid fifties. Has it become more difficult for you to prepare for such an extreme project?

I am still very motivated and don’t have any problem to train. I realize that I have to concentrate on training, not doing too many other things. I just returned  from Antarctica (Ralf led a commercial expedition to Mount Vinson, the highest mountain of the white continent). That was fairly intense mountain sports. But nonetheless it was not as intensive as a good training. After four weeks, doing almost nothing in Antarctica, I have a real training deficit. In this respect, I have to continue my efforts consistently in order to reach the level of fitness that I should have for Everest. And I will only set off again if I have the feeling that everything matches.

Do you feel that you turn around much faster now than before?

Maybe I love life more than before. Getting older, I also appreciate all the beautiful things besides mountaineering. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone anymore, but I just want to make it for myself. Probably I really turn around easier because I don’t feel any pressure. I want to make it for myself, but also want to return safely. So that I can simply be much more reserved.

Ralf at Everest high camp (in 2014)

You climbed on Everest from both sides, on different routes, in many attempts. What do you plan this time?

First I will take enough time to get used to high altitude, then I will set off well acclimatized towards the summit. I have not yet decided which route I will finally take, after we will have acclimatized on the north ridge. It depends on the conditions and on how we feel. I do not want to say much in advance. I think, if I feel good, I can also take a different route than the northeast ridge, which is exposed to wind on an endless distance. But I will decide at the very end.

Do you expect more climbers on the Tibetan north side of Everest this spring due to last year’s events on the Nepalese south side?

I have been following intensively which commercial operators really switched to the north side. Actually, it is only Alpenglow, an operator that had mostly very small groups in recent years. I think there will be some more climbers than normal. But it will certainly not be the big hype as it was on the north side in earlier days. For the simple reason that it still remains uncertain, especially for Americans, to get a permit for China.

But you have no problems with the Chinese?

I have no problems because I go there only for mountaineering and afterwards push off. There are other things that can be discussed. But I don’t want to mix mountaineering with something different.