“If you want to be fast, you have to be slow”: Benedikt Böhm keeps reminding himself of this motto these days – compulsively. Since last Tuesday, the 45-year-old speed climber from Munich and his three companions have been staying at the base camp almost 3,000 meters below the summit of the Himlung Himal on the Nepalese-Chinese border.
After a hike lasting several days through the rain forest and a visit to the Chitwan National Park, they soon want to set off from there with a spectacular tour, the highlight of their “Expedition Himalaya”: Within eight hours, the 7126 meter high peak of the Himlung Himal is to be from there on skis directly back down to the base camp.
“The mountain moves a little more into the distance”
After setting up sleeping places and refreshment stations and the necessary acclimatization to the sometimes adverse conditions at an altitude of around 4000 meters, Böhm and his crew are now actually ready for the final ascent. But the conditions are not yet ideal, the weather is too bad and the forecast is too uncertain. Patience is the order of the day.
“Of course, sometimes you get a bit frustrated when you look at the summit and can’t see it again in the fog. It feels like the mountain is getting a little further away with each passing day,” says Böhm in a voice message to the FAZ descent – regardless of whether they made it to the summit or not.
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Best things: Benedikt Böhm (left) and Prakash Sherpa on their way to base camp.
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Image: Dynafit
But Böhm knows that if you aim for a summit at the wrong time or start a mountain hike without the necessary preparations, it can quickly become life-threatening – whether in the Himalayas or in the Alps. As early as 1931, the South Tyrolean mountaineering legend Luis Trenker formulated the “Ten Commandments of Mountaineering”, which are still relevant today. The Austrian Mountain Rescue Association also has tips on its website that professionals and beginners should definitely consider before setting out on a mountain tour.
Among other things, every hike in the mountains should be well prepared – no matter how short and not really demanding. Because the conditions in the mountains can change within a few minutes – the weather can change, paths could suddenly become impassable after previous storms or you could suddenly run out of strength. You should always have a map for orientation, a charged mobile phone with a map or hiking app, a lamp, rain gear and enough food. If you are setting out on your own, you should definitely inform someone before and after the tour.
Good planning also includes assessing the weather conditions and your own ability. If it is cloudy or even rainy in the valley, above a certain altitude it can snow and get freezing cold, increasing the risk of an avalanche. If you find yourself in a sudden change in the weather, you should quickly seek shelter, as wet and cold can lead to a drop in performance. In general, you should assess your own performance realistically, eat and drink enough and, especially as a beginner, take it easy. According to the Austrian mountain rescue service, “fatigue, exhaustion and excessive demands” are among the most common causes of accidents.
Should an emergency nevertheless arise, the mountain rescuers from South Tyrol have the following advice ready: “Keep calm, provide first aid and secure the injured, dial the emergency number”. In addition, the mobile phone should only be used sparingly in order to save the battery.
And if there is no other way, the tour up the mountain has to be postponed. Speed mountaineer Böhm knows this – and finally gives a tip to avoid too much frustration: “It’s always good to move and distract yourself instead of sitting around grumbling.” He always helps, for example, a long walk or – if it does one there – a visit to the sauna. In the meantime, he and his crew spent their time elsewhere in the base camp due to the lack of a wellness area: “We cleaned up the camp and collected a lot of rubbish in the immediate vicinity.”
