Peter von Känel: “Our main goal was the adventure itself with all the many uncertainties”

In just 51 days this summer, Peter von Känel and Chrigel Maurer climbed all 82 four-thousand-meter peaks in the Alps. In an interview, Peter von Känel reveals what they took away from their Climb&Fly adventure, which peaks proved to be particularly difficult and the means they used to combat the progressive weight loss.

It's been about two weeks since your 82x4000 project ended. Are you back to your everyday life or are you still at the high point of your adventure?

Peter von Kaenel: I'm back to everyday life, but a lot of things still revolve around our adventure. While we were on the road, I often didn't have enough time to process all the impressions and experiences. This is one of the reasons why I kept a brief diary.

Now I am writing a book about xpeaks, which will be published this autumn, in time for our lecture tour. This will help me to put what I have experienced into perspective and I can immerse myself in the adventure again, and it will make the transition back to everyday life easier. I am also happy to finally have enough time and energy for sport climbing again.

Starting signal in Frutigen: Chrigel Maurer (left) and Peter von Känel set out to climb all 82 four-thousand-meter peaks in the Alps on foot or by paraglider. Photo: Karin von Känel
Starting signal in Frutigen: Chrigel Maurer (left) and Peter von Känel set out to climb all 82 four-thousand-meter peaks in the Alps on foot or by paraglider. Photo: Karin von Känel

When you look back at XPeaks now with some distance, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

It is an indescribable feeling when an opportunity suddenly presents itself and you can use it to pull off an unexpected magic move. The mix of emotions between joy, pride and a little bit of guilt sometimes felt similar to how I felt as a child when I did something forbidden and got away with it. The memory of the intensity of these feelings still resonates.

It's an indescribable feeling when an opportunity suddenly presents itself and you can use it to make an unexpected magic move.

Peter von Kaenel

You regularly give lectures on the topic of risk management. What did your risk management look like for this project? 

Chrigel and I agreed from the beginning that we wanted to keep the risks within an acceptable range throughout the project. This meant, among other things, that we took emergency parachutes with us, chose a parachute type with high passive safety and generally used ropes when climbing in high mountains.

Approaching Piz Bernina, below Chrigel Maurer the distinctive Biancograt. Photo: Peter von Känel
Approaching Piz Bernina, below Chrigel Maurer the striking Biancograt. Photo: Peter von Känel

Another key element was our fundamental view of our project. Our main goal was the adventure itself, with all its many uncertainties, and not necessarily its successful completion. The possibility of failing without feeling like a loser was liberating and paved the way for our magic moves. 

Our main goal was the adventure itself with all its many uncertainties, and not necessarily its successful conclusion.

Peter von Kaenel

Were there any situations in which you would have acted differently in retrospect? And if so, why?

In hindsight, there are always details that you would do better. For example, I would eat more consciously. It was only after a month that we realized that we were losing weight permanently. In my case, this was particularly pronounced, with a weight loss of 8 kg. This was because we didn't take enough time during the day to replace the calories we burned.

When more pounds flow than intended: Chrigel Maurer stocks up on high-calorie snacks. Image: Peter von Känel
When more pounds flow than intended: Chrigel Maurer stocks up on high-calorie snacks. Image: Peter von Känel

A hearty breakfast and a substantial dinner are simply not enough in the long run if you are on the road for an average of 12 hours.

Peter von Kaenel

So from now on we stocked up on tasty things like Pringles chips, bread, mayonnaise, cheese, sausage and ham in the valley and used the time waiting at the take-off point for the thermals to start eating for real feasts.

We also took every opportunity to eat in the huts and were able to maintain our body weight from then on. In general, I am very happy with how the project went and I wouldn't want to change anything essential. 

What was the biggest challenge of this project (the paragliding, the mountain climbing, the physical exertion, the psychological aspect…)?

Flying in extreme conditions was a challenge for me, especially the strong wind takeoffs from high, narrow and exposed takeoff sites. Chrigel is the world's best paraglider pilot and if something just about works for him, it may already be too risky for me. As soon as I put on the paragliding harness, I was responsible for myself and had to make the right decisions based on my ability.

This is where my perception trap of "social recognition" lurked: I didn't want to be seen as a coward who didn't dare and limited us as a team. On the other hand, after more than three decades of flying experience, my gut feeling is finely balanced and reliable.

So when it wasn't right for me, I had to swallow my pride and veto it, even if it meant a missed opportunity or at least a difficult descent. Before the project started, we often discussed how to deal with such situations and, looking back, we had a good handle on it.

Chrigel is the world's best paraglider pilot and if something just about works for him, it might already be too risky for me.

Peter von Kaenel
After the take-off from the Bishorn summit. Photo: Peter von Känel
After the take-off from the Bishorn summit. Photo: Peter von Känel

You have been a mountain guide for a long time. Before you started the project, had you already climbed all 82 four-thousand-meter peaks in the Alps?

No. Outside of Switzerland, I was still missing several four-thousand-meter peaks, namely the Jardin and Brouillard ridges, Dôme du Goûter, Bionnassay, the Gran Paradiso and the Barres des Écrins. The missing peaks and the associated uncertainty made the project even more attractive for me.

Which peaks were the most challenging from your perspective and why? 

I found the first few pitches from Col Émile Rey to Pointe Louis Amédée to be the most technically demanding. The vertical dihedral had rotten ice and was a bit of a challenge with my light crampons and light ice axe. On many routes we were the first rope team of the season and found wintry conditions, including Liskamm, Nadelgrat, Täschhorn and Weisshorn.

Sometimes the large amount of snow helped us, but often it turned into strenuous work of clearing tracks and we had to be careful to keep enough distance from the sometimes huge snow cornices.

Peter von Kaenel
Demanding terrain: Peter von Känel in the Pointe Louis Amédée, the key passage after the rotten ice in the Col Emile Rey. Photo: Felix Pfahler
Demanding terrain: Peter von Känel in the Pointe Louis Amédée, the key passage after the rotten ice in the Col Emile Rey. Photo: Felix Pfahler

Chrigel is the paragliding expert par excellence, and you, as a mountain guide, are certainly the more experienced mountaineer. To what extent were you able to benefit from each other's wealth of experience during this project?

Peter: We benefited enormously from each other. Around twenty years ago, I was one of the world's best paragliding competition pilots, but then I shifted my focus to mountain sports. I completed my mountain guide training and from then on focused on climbing and first ascents on rock and ice.

Since then, my paragliding has been limited to tandem flights and hike&fly. So I had to brush up on thermal and cross-country flying with modern solo equipment. Chrigel lent me his X‑Alps Omega and brought me up to date with my flying skills.

Since late summer 2023, I have been taking every opportunity to collect flying hours and practice taking off and landing in the mountains. When we were out and about in not too difficult terrain without any time pressure, Chrigel usually led and I coached him. That was entertaining for both of us and gave Chrigel a deep insight into the craft of mountain guiding. 

Chrigel Maurer and Peter von Känel in the air, where they experienced many a magical moment during the 51 days. Photo: Karin von Känel
Chrigel Maurer and Peter von Känel in the air, where they experienced many a magical moment during the 51 days. Photo: Karin von Känel

Were you able to follow the 10 rules you set for yourself?

The Regulate should be as simple as possible and clearly define our scope of action. Our aim was not to optimise our chances of success, but to lay a solid foundation for an adventure that was as exciting and creative as possible. With the xpeaks project, we did not want to break records or launch a competition.

Looking back, we were able to complete our project in its purest form without compromise and according to our ideal, thus showing that it is possible to leave the house with a backpack and experience a great adventure under your own steam and without external support.

Peter von Kaenel

How often did you have to give each other a slap on the wrist and was the risk margin ever insufficient?

In my opinion, we exceeded our risk limits twice during the entire project. On the Col de Peuterey, during the descent in the middle of the afternoon, several fist-sized stones broke off and flew around our ears. Chrigel was even grazed. We were late because we flew up with paragliders and landed on the Col de Peuterey.

We were aware of the increased risk of rockfall due to the warming during the day, but we accepted it because this move would allow us to climb the remote peak with very little effort. Given the short exposure time of less than two hours, this seemed reasonable to us.

Delicate mixed climbing from the Col des Grandes Jorasses to Pointe Young. Photo: Peter von Känel
Delicate mixed climbing from the Col des Grandes Jorasses to Pointe Young. Photo: Peter von Känel

The second time we took off, downwind of the Barres des Écrins. The turbulence was much more brutal than we both thought. At a distance of 2 km I was swept 900 m and had to make an emergency landing on a glacier plateau.

During this short flight, I was primarily concerned with opening large-scale collapses and keeping the glider flying. I was very happy that we chose the Theta, a paraglider with a large safety margin. A high-performance glider would probably have been too much for me on this flight. 

At a flight distance of 2 km, I was washed 900 m and had to make an emergency landing on a glacier plateau.

Peter von Kaenel

At first glance, XPeaks looks very similar to Ueli Steck's (with Michi Wohlleben and others) project from 2015. What makes yours different?

We were looking for an adventure that would motivate us and didn't look too far to the left or right. I have the greatest respect and admiration for Ueli Steck's achievement. He completed the routes between the mountains by bike and had a support vehicle. His project was linear and easy to plan.

In contrast, we moved between the mountains by paraglider and carried everything we needed with us. Often, in the middle of the afternoon, we still had no idea in which area we would end up spending the night and how we would spend the next day. This uncertainty was one of the most challenging, but also most exciting aspects of our project.

Demanding and time-consuming: the descent via the Lenzspitz south ridge. Peter von Känel
Demanding and time-consuming: the descent via the Lenzspitz south ridge. Peter von Känel

What do you take away from this mega experience?

The changeable weather and the heavy snow in the first part of the project were a constant challenge for us. Looking back, we pulled off the most spectacular magic moves when we were in trouble and looking for creative solutions. Since then, I have viewed unexpected difficulties in a more positive light, following the motto: "Use the difficulty."

Looking back, we achieved the most spectacular magic moves when we were in trouble and looking for creative solutions.

Peter von Kaenel
Chrigel Maurer shortly after take-off from the Dent Blanche ridge at an altitude of 3880 metres. Photo: Peter von Känel
Chrigel Maurer shortly after take-off from the Dent Blanche ridge at an altitude of 3880 metres. Photo: Peter von Känel

How has the Von Känel/Maurer rope team changed during these 51 days?

Peter: We started the great adventure in Frutigen as good friends and flew back to Frutigen as good friends after climbing the Jungfrau, our 4000nd 82m peak, after 51 days. The intense, shared experiences will shape us and connect us for the rest of our lives.

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Credits: Cover photo and article images Peter von Kaenel and Chrigel Maurer

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