Stefan Glowacz

Mountaineers and climbers travel. Frequently and as self-evident. Finally mountains do not come to them. This is precisely why it should be self-evident that people involved in mountain sports should raise their voices when the freedom of travel is restricted or even abolished – as now by US President Donald Trump for people from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen. So far, the great outcry of the climbing scene has stayed away. Is it perhaps because in these countries – with the exception of Iran – the number of mountaineers and climbers is limited? Or because those countries are (still) not among the favorite destinations of the mountain friends? After all, German top climber Stefan Glowacz didn’t mince his words.

For freedom, tolerance and respect

“With the restriction of freedom of travel for certain nationalities, I feel indirectly affected because friends and acquaintances are directly affected,” the 51-year-old writes on Facebook. “Like the Iranian climber Nasim Eshqi, whom I personally know and appreciate.” The 36-year-old woman is one of the best rock climbers in her country.

Nasim Eshqi in action

Climbers, says Stefan Glowacz, define their sport above all by freedom: “No rules, no referees. We appreciate and live the freedom to be able to set off at any time (and almost everywhere). Freedom is the decisive part why climbing is so fascinating for many of us.” Democratic values ​​are in danger, says Glowacz: “Have the incidents and wars of the past not shown us that it only works by cooperation? With tolerance and respect, such as we climbers experience again and again – no matter what country we are traveling to?” Glowacz warns against burying our heads in the sand in the face of Trump’s policy: “Dodging or staying silent means accepting. We should want to change something.”

A shame!

Farnaz Esmaeilzadeh is angry

The Iranian sports climber Farnaz Esmaeilzadeh does not know what to do after Trump’s entry ban. “I am just an athlete and I did not choose where to born,” the 28-year-old writes on Facebook. “Even though I love my culture and country, I’m just trying for progress, better living and working on my goals as many other successful people do.” Trump’s decision is “racist and inhuman”, says Farnaz. “It’s a shame! If all people in the world had the same conditions, we could see who is really talented.”

Adam Ondra cheered after his success

What a hotshot! The 23-year-old Czech Adam Ondra succeeded his free climb through the mostly vertical, partly overhanging “Dawn Wall” in the granite of El Capitan within only eight days. It was the only second free ascent of the rock route, which is regarded as the most difficult in the world. At the beginning of 2015, the Americans Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson had “freed” the “Dawn Wall” after 19 days in the approximately 900-meter-high wall, a milestone of climbing history. They had been preparing for it for more than seven years. Ondra spent just two and a half weeks on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Kevin Jorgeson finds the success of the young Czech “totally badass”, as he wrote to the magazine “Rock and Ice”: “For Tommy and I, the question was whether it was even possible. We left lots of room to improve the style and Adam did just that! Super impressive that he was able to adapt to the Dawn Wall’s unique style and sort out so many complex sequences so quickly.” The German climbing scene is also thrilled.

“As if Bolt had won the marathon”

Climbing also in the night

Alexander Huber, aged 47, the younger of the Huber brothers, writes to me, that Ondra’s performance “equates to his ability: masterly, brilliant”. Alexander’s older brother values Adam’s success in a similar way. “This is the statement of the new generation per se,” tells me Thomas Huber (who, by the way, celebrated his 50th birthday on Friday last week): “For me it is the greatest achievement in climbing of our times. Now the bar is high!” Stefan Glowacz is also blown away. “I’ve been climbing for more than 40 years, but this performance is simply unbelievable,” writes the 51-year-old on Facebook. “It is amazing to see how the young generation catapult climbing into ever new dimensions that were hardly thought possible hitherto.” Ondra’s performance is “a kind of fusion of passion, obsession and extraordinary ability, but above all, an unprecedented mental performance,” says Glowacz, pointing out that it was Adam Ondra’s first big wall experience: “Somewhere I read this comparison: It is as if Usain Bolt had won the marathon race too.”

“Dawn Wall” within in 24 hours?

For years already, experts believe Adam Ondra to be the world’s best sports climber. During his climb of the “Dawn Wall” on El Capitan, he was accompanied by his countryman Pavel Blazek and the Austrian photographer Heinz Zak. Ondra led all 32 pitches ofthe route. “The first two days I was as nervous as a cat,” Adam said in an interview with the Czech climbing website emontana. In his words climbing the two key pitches (No. 14 and 15) was “like holding razor blades. But apart from them there are the pitches which I consider to belong among the best ones I have ever climbed.” It is quite possible that Ondra will soon be back on the route. “I would love to climb it a lot faster than this time”, says Adam, putting the bar high: “I think climbing ‘Dawn Wall’ in 24 hours is a nice challenge. It won´t be my ambition for the next year, that´s what I am sure of. I would like to take a mental rest for a few seasons but it would be interesting as a dream for life.” As absurd as this dream may sound, this hotshot could really do it.

Mike Horn (r.) and the German players

Nothing can go wrong anymore for Jogi and his boys. Yesterday, just before the start of the FIFA World Cup in Brasil, the German national football team got a motivational training by an extreme athlete at the team base Campo Bahia. Mike Horn reported to national coach Loew and Co. on his adventures at sea, in the ice and on the highest mountains. Then Mike took the footballers along to his 35-meter-long expedition yacht “Pangaea”, showed them some basics of sailing and headed out to the Atlantic Ocean for a short trip.

Seasick

Captain Mike (r.) with Captain Philipp

“To be honest, there were some who did not feel quite well”, said team manager Oliver Bierhoff. The medical department did not intervene, hence it can not have been so bad. Philipp Lahm, the captain of the national team, not of the yacht, was impressed by Mike Horn. “He has told us many things that could be helpful”, Lahm said. “He has shown us what the human body is able to perform. Unbelievable!”

North Pole in the Arctic winter

Mike on the top of Makalu

The South African Mike Horn has been living in Switzerland for a long time. The 47-year-old is a very versatile adventurer. So he trekked and swam solo from the source to the mouth of the mighty Amazon river in 1997, about 7000 km in 171 days. In 2006, Horn reached with the Norwegian Børge Ousland the North Pole with skis and sled – in the polar night. And Mike climbed on the highest mountains in the world. In 2007, he scaled the eight-thousanders Gasherbrum I and II, in 2010 Broad Peak, all in the Karakoram. Bad weather stopped him at K 2 in 2013. This spring he scaled his fourth eight-thousander, the 8485-meter-high Makalu in Nepal. Among the about 50 successful climbers on the fifth highest mountain in the world Mike Horn, his Swiss teammate Fred Roux and the German climber Florian Huebschenberger were the only ones who did not use bottled oxygen.

Follow-up therapy

Mike Horn will return soon to Brasil to assist the team as they get closer to winning the Cup – and to give them if needed a little “kick in the ass” to make them highly motivated. Before the World Cup 2006 German top climber Stefan Glowacz had made a motivational training for the German national players. They took third place then, after all. But only a secondary summit.