Keyword: mountaineering

Spanish ultra-runner, ski mountaineer and alpinist Kilian Jornet completes his attempt to climb Everest single-handedly and without supplemental oxygen via the challenging Hornbein Couloir. This after an avalanche had swept him 50 meters away and he had already found extremely difficult conditions on the west shoulder.

With the establishment of mountain tourism on most of the eight-thousanders and all of the Seven Summits plus a few other mountains, the required alpinistic skills have been reduced to almost zero. By alpine skills I mean independent climbing, acting and making decisions on the mountain. Everything that used to be required on these mountains has now largely become superfluous thanks to the technical infrastructure on the mountain. It is enough if you learn to walk with crampons in the base camp and to attach yourself correctly to the fixed rope.

The three alpinists Roger Schäli, Simon Gietl and Mathieu Maynadier have opened a new, challenging route on the 6600 meter high Meru Peak in the Indian Garhwal Himalayas: Goldfish (800m, M6+, A1). Schäli and Maynadier had already tried the route together with Sean Villanueva in 2019, but had to turn around in the upper third of the wall.

In the summer of last year, the renowned alpinist and mountain guide Christophe Profit removed metal posts that were used to secure the heavily frequented Goûter route on Mont Blanc. Now he has been charged with theft. He faces a fine of 4000 euros.

Last winter in Patagonia, a strong rope team attracted attention: crack specialist Pete Whittaker and Patagonia veteran Sean Villanueva. During their time together, the duo managed, among other things, to wring a first free ascent from two hard crack lines.

The two alpinists and mountain guides Michi Wohlleben and Lukas Hinterberger succeed in their project Salbitschijen winter trilogy in the Uri Alps. Within 45 hours on February 15th and 16th, the two climbed the south, west and east ridges to the 2985 meter high Salbitschijen with its famous summit needle.

On July 12, 2022, the two Swiss alpinists Nicolas Hojac and Adrian Zurbrügg climbed the Swiss Skyline Route from the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau in the Bernese Oberland in a new best time of 13 hours and 8 minutes. In the video for their record ascent, the two comment on the fine line between speed and risk.

On July 3, 1953, the Austrian alpinist Hermann Buhl was the first person to stand on the summit of Nanga Parbat - the 8.125 meter high "mountain of destiny" in the western Himalayas, the climb of which claimed more lives than almost any other. And yet the mountain still attracts alpinists to this day - even in winter. In the Bergwelten documentation, Reinhold Messner presents the eight-thousander from his perspective and shows its uniqueness in the western Himalayas in Pakistan.