Why do we have to go up there?

23.03.2020 | Arthur Kudelka, our LOWA Service Manager, is the first point of contact for the LOWA PRO TEAM and an experienced alpinist himself. He has successfully combined his hobby, passion and profession and consequently has a completely different perspective and maximum motivation, which he shares with us as part of #ForTheNextStep.

Why do we have to go up there?

This question occasionally crossed my mind when I was travelling to the next camp in a snowstorm and the snow was whipping in my face. Why?

What's the point of climbing the northernmost 7,000 metre peak on earth?

The answer is quite simple, it makes no sense. Mountaineering is pointless and that's why it's so incredibly beautiful.

"Reaching a mountain peak under your own steam is something emotional, something special, that's why we don't take the gondola."

It's July 2019 and I'm sitting with my climbing partner in an old Russian army helicopter that is taking us to the base camp of Khan Tengri in Kazakhstan. We land on the Inyltschek Glacier at 4,000 metres and set up our tents. The view is always in the direction of the ascent route and the peaks, which tower imposingly and steeply into the air. The very next day we begin our acclimatisation and climb slowly from camp to camp over a period of 1.5 weeks until we reach Chapaev Peak, a 6,000 m peak in front of us. After the exertions of acclimatisation, we allow our bodies another 2 days to recover before we set off for the final summit attempt. The weather forecast for the summit day is good and we can hardly wait to get started.

We finally get going. I'm still panting like a locomotive, even though I'm actually well acclimatised and fit. The individual stages between the high camps are still steep and long, which unfortunately doesn't change the altitude acclimatisation. After three days of climbing, we are now standing on Chapaev Peak for the second time. It's snowing and we can hardly see anything. Nevertheless, we allow ourselves a short drink break before descending via an abseil point on the bergschrund. Camp 3 is at 5,900 m, so we have to make the hard-won metres back down again. Tired, we reach our last bivouac site and set up our tent. We try to recharge our batteries and sleep early, even though our bodies can hardly recover at this altitude.

"AND THEN ARRIVING AT THE SUMMIT AND ENJOYING THE VIEW IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT."

"TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT ON THE ROAD, TO LIVE FROM ONE DAY TO THE NEXT AND SWITCH OFF THE MOBILE PHONE, TO SIMPLY ENJOY THE PEACE AND QUIET."

The night is short, the alarm clock rings at 0.00 am. We fire up the cooker and try to make some breakfast. At 1.30am we are already on our way. It's cold, I reckon around -20°C or more. If I stop, I immediately start to freeze. So the motto is: keep going. The summit stage is anything but easy. Over 1100 metres of ascent lead up to the 7,010 m high summit, mostly in terrain that is at risk of falling. After about 3 hours, it finally starts to get dark but the temperature remains well below freezing. We are travelling north or west and the sun does not reach us. Instead, we can finally switch off our headlamps and continue climbing in daylight. After about 5 hours of climbing, we finally reach the end of the striking couloir and the terrain becomes somewhat flatter. But now we have to make tracks, because it had snowed the day before and we are the first up here. Another 2 hours of strenuous track work pass and the summit doesn't want to show itself. A few more steps and I finally see the small wooden cross within reach. Just a few more metres, I think, but at this altitude every metre is tedious.

Half an hour later, we are finally standing on the summit of Khan Tengri at 7,100 metres. The view takes our breath away. It is almost cloudless and we can see in all directions. The Tien Shan mountains with their huge glaciers and mountain peaks are revealed in all their splendour. As Khan Tengri is a border mountain, we are also in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and China at the same time. An indescribable feeling. We take time to take a few photos and savour the moment before heading back to Camp 3. After a total of 14 hours, I lie in the sun next to our tent and don't want to move. I accept a few congratulations, tear open my packet of summit gummy bears and savour this unforgettable moment!