Yesterday, shortly before Conrad was flown out to Kathmandu,
he said he was probably not going to come back to try this mountain,
so I've been thinking about what I'm actually doing here,
because I'm still here and the mountain is still here,
and I'd still like to climb it
that's why I figured: Why not try it alone?
It's great to see this progression of alpinism,
and the future of climbing is
a lot of it what David is,
and to be here for David's
first trip to Nepal is kind of – it 's special,
because the people of Nepal – they identify with him.
So, there's a lot of ways in which
this trip is unique.
It's rich, it has some meaning for me.
To visit the summit of an unclimbed peak in Nepal,
elevation 6907 meters –
that's once in a lifetime.
How often did you end up climbing Everest?
Three times. Twice from the North side and once from the South side.
Alright. Did you ever go up Cholatse?
Yes... this one here in the sun. That was ten years ago.
There have only been permits to climb Lunag Ri for a few years now, and
although it has been attempted by a few strong teams,
nobody has made it so far. So it's probably not that easy,
and the technical difficulties must not be underestimated.
The ramp looks the best to me, climbing wise,
cause the serac is not really frightening.
What about that lower stuff? It's bare rock.
We have now chosen a really steep wall to get to the ridge
for the simple reason that the flatter parts are too exposed to rocks and ice falling
On the first day we want to get up to the ridge and follow it from there.
This means more mixed climbing and ice climbing,
that will ultimately lead us to the summit, hopefully.
And the most precious thing of all:
Two brand new lighters, never used.
That's good stuff. Bic – those are the best.
Somehow you get the feeling that Conrad has the right gadget for everything
He has extra long spoons so he can reach to the very bottom of his travel lunch.
It's the small things. You get the feeling that he's really well prepared for everything.
But I think he's good at improvising, too which is important in climbing, obviously.
What's the temperature down here?
The night before last was the coldest. It was minus 15.
And 6,5 degrees per 1000 meters,
so 2000 meteres above us we're guaranteed 13 degrees colder than here today
and that's not even with wind... We're looking at 30, 40 degrees below, so...
... it's gonna be cold. – Yeah.
– I'd like to ask you a little bit about feelings, but that's...
What are you talking about feelings here? We're mountain climbing!
When I'm climbing I don't have all that many feelings, really.
Maybe before climbing or after climbing
but while you're at it and while your are exposed
you're quite busy making the best of the situation you're in.
The most intense part of being up here
is balancing the fear, the exposure,
the severity of the location with
the joy and happiness.
When you're up here and you look around to Cho Yu and to Everest just over there,
Lhotse, Nuptse,
you can't help but be in awe of nature
and the forces that create the Himalayas.
The 6000 meter peaks in the Khumbu, there's a certain allure,
because they have a certain symmetry and geometry,
they're primarily granitic,
so they're the good rock, the type of rock that you wanna seek out.
This is the moment "wir verabschieden" from the camera team
to go up on the climb. We're rolling.
Check the time: It's 5:55.
The jewel is in the heart of the lotus.
There was this one passage where I fixed my backpack to a friend,
because it would not have made it.
But without the backpack I somehow managed to squeeze through the chimney.
I need maybe 12 meters!
How many meters do I have? – Ten! – Okay!
When we reached the ridge we realized it was going to be dark soon
but we also knew we had to keep at it if we wanted to make it to the top the next day, so
we kept pushing as far as we could.
I lead another two pitches on the ridge
that were quite demanding, because we couldn't get any protection into the snow,
and it was sketchy for climbing, too.
How ist it going, Conrad?
It was already dark when we found a spot for the bivy.
I found a crevasse where we could fit the tent after digging for maybe two hours.
It still saved us a lot of digging time, that little hole for the tent.
The next day we got up at two in the morning
and climbed the first pitches in the dark. It all went very smoothly.
But up on the ridge, we ran into some really bad snow and no ice for protection,
so we had to climb a few 100 meter pitches,
which means the lead climber climbs until he is out of rope and then the other follows.
So, when both are climbing at the same time, you wanna make sure
that one is on the right side of the ridge and the other one on the left,
so that the ridge is the actual belay, in case someone falls.
Do you mind following a few meters? – Okay!
Careful with the rope! There are rocks there!
When we saw how long and difficult the ridge actually is
especially the last 300, 400 meters,
I think that's when it dawned on us that this might not be working out.
Still, we kept pushing on until late in the afternoon,
but at some point we had to decide if we wanted to keep trying,
At first we played with some ideas like digging in at the summit or on the ridge
to wait through the night and continue the next day,
I feel like even if we dig in today
we might be able to make it up to he summit tomorrow
but it's gonna be a lot colder, more wind, and
the worst part is,
that I have my doubts that we make it back from the summit,
like climb the summit from here and get back to he tent.
Fuck!
I don't wanna say it, but I feel like we should go down.
What's your feeling?
I'm in the same boat.
But in the end going back to the bivy was the only right decision.
It was quite a challenge in itself.
There's no way we could have survived a night out there.
Giving it our best? Yes. Giving it our best. Giving it all?
That's the end of the day.
23 pitches.
That's a tougher, bigger mountain than we are.
Mountains win.
The day that we got down to the base camp, the morning after, I found out
that a friend of mine who was over at Tao Che had died,
so at that point,
at that point the real cost of what we are doing out here were apparent
and I didn't wanna play that hand with my family
I don't think losing our fingers and toes would have been the worst case scenario,
I think that would have been realistic, something to be reckoned with.
This surely would not have ended well.
When I think of Nepal I don't think of the mountains in the first place
I don't think of Everest.
I think of the steep, green terraces around the village my father grew up in.
I was in this classroom 35 years ago. – funny how nothing has changed.
It still looks the same.
Beautiful. I like it. A rebirth. Again.
I was neither proud of having part of my family in Nepal nor did I deny it,
but at some point I suppose you just ask yourself: How did I actually become
who I am today?
After last year's failed attempt and turning around 300 meters underneath the summit
the project has evolved. We put a lot of thought into it and prepared better,
and we also grew closer as a team.
Not climbing at all with Conrad Anker.
Just laying there. – Chilling out
It's nice, cause you know, it requires a certain amount of attention,
a little bit of attention but not, like you know, you have to train.
Yeah, but I think your littel bit of attention and my little bit of attention –
there's a little bit of a difference.
I mean there's nothing I can teach David in terms of climbing.
He is a way better climber than I ever was at my best, so he is the next generation.
But there is pacing and the way that we approach the mountain.
You have to trust your partner and when you have the right partner
you can hopefully do great things.
This ist he edge of cutting, the cutting edge of alpine climbing.
That's the real stuff out there. Hold on for the ride.
When we got going, the conditions were much better than the year before.
There was more ice in the wall and the rock was less covered in snow,
so it was really good and I was leading the first four pitches
an then another one on top of it.
But at the belay I realized that something was wrong.
Conrad took extremely long; he didn't seem well.
Just before the anchor he had to lean against the wall a few times,
and that's when I realized there was something severely wrong.
So I told him to take his time and climb up slowly, which he did.
At the belay he had to lie down immediately. He said his lungs and his heart were hurting.
The situation is this: Conrad doesn't feel well.
He feels weak and has had to push himself hard for the last couple of pitches.
We're now going to rappel down and get back to base camp.
Well, I always wondered when I was gonna get the message
that it's time to let go of this game
and I think I got it.
Hey Conrad...
I really think we should call the heli.
I don't think that's a question really.
I will call Jiban.
Yeah, my lips are numb and my left arm is numb
and those are indications of a heart attack.
Let's call the heli immediately. – OK.
Yes. Can you hear me?
Ok, perfect. Jiban: So we're having a problem up here.
Conrad isn't feeling well
because it seems like he could have a heart attack,
so we need an immediate helicopter rescue from ABC.
If somebody is hanging in a wall at almost 6000 meters, 500 meters above the ground,
and there's something wrong with his heart, then there is no reason to be disappointed.
There is only one thing: Get Down!
Well, now I'm here all by myself,
and I'm constantly thinking
that it's theoretically possible to do this mountain alone.
With different gear, maybe, a little lighter and on a different route,
with the necessary adjustments,
but in principle it's feasible, even if the chances are not getting better, exactly.
All by myself I knew I had no chance trying the same route because it's just too demanding,
so I chose an easier line that is slightly more dangerous.
I started out around midnight to avoid potential ice and rock fall.
I climbed until sunrise and arrived at camp 1,
I took a break in a little crevasse. I set up the tent, cooked water and ate something.
It's not gonna be real cozy tonight, but the good thing is: My cough is getting better.
I only had to drink something warm.
I continued climbing on the second day, about 100, 150 meters
up to the `Toblerone', a distinctive rock formation on the ridge.
That's where I stared belaying,
and during the second day I slowly kept working my way up.
Slowly, because I had to climb up, build an anchor,
and then go back down again to get the backpack,
because it was just too demanding to do it with a pack and without protection.
We're now past the Toblerone pitch.
Up next is the awesome Dry-Tool-pitch,
first on the Nepalese side, then on the Tibetan side.
On top you can see the head wall and the summit.
Now I am approximately
30, 40 meters from the high point Conrad and me reached last year,
and I'm going to set up the tent here because this damned backpack is killing me.
I could do this all very easily if it wasn't for the backpack.
From the last belay to here it was maybe 10 meters.
It took me over an hour with the backpack.
And tomorrow it is not getting any easier.
And when I stand on the summit, I'll be totally exhausted,
and can't go back or forth.
So I'm thinking: This ends here.
Because moving on
would probably be suicide.
Brutal.
The summit was the goal. No doubt about it.
If the summit is not the goal for a mountaineer
you might as well go scuba diving
or do something else. That's just the way it is.
You once told me, the real goal is to push your limits...
Well, that's the result, anyway, no?
I don't think I have ever pushed harder.
So... now it's after the climb. What feelings do you have now?
Feelings are something so ephemeral, you know?
You can't sum up being alone on the mountain with just one feeling.
It's 100.000 feelings.
So please leave me alone with your feelings.
If somebody is hanging in a wall at almost 6000 meters, 500 meters above the ground,
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