Among the host of Everest ascents and a list of increasingly various records, there remains one never-before-done climb that really deserves attention. It meets four criteria that can only be described as ultimate: solo, in winter, without supplementary oxygen and by a route other than the normal one. Although climbs have already been made in each of these categories, the combination of the four criteria remains unique.
Such an ascent seems so daring that the looks on the face of the pretender to such a feat, Germany’s Jost Kobusch, are often perplexed, not to say condescending. How could the 32-year-old mountaineer achieve such a feat?
Although he has already made a number of noteworthy ascents, including the first of Nangpaï Gossum II (7296 m, Nepal), Annapurna (8091 m) without supplementary oxygen and, more recently, Denali, solo and in winter, Kobusch is not one of those hyper-active mountaineers whose many adventures can be followed on a regular basis. Nor is he a mountain guide.
Screenshot of Jost Kobusch’s real-time GPS tracking from his website on December 26, 2024.
In fact, the most seasoned Himalayan climbers don’t mince their words. In an Arte documentary filmed in 2019, David Goettler tells Kobusch that he finds him very presumptuous given his meagre Himalayan experience, and gives him a lordly 0.1% chance of reaching 6,000m. Worse still, Reinhold Messner himself considers Kobusch to be just a “PR man”. Cruel is the battle of the Ancients and the Moderns, even in mountaineering. Yet didn’t Goettler’s faithful climbing companion, Hervé Barmasse, say that “style is more important than the summit”?
As I write these lines, Kobusch is back at the deserted Everest base camp for the 3rd time, accompanied by a handful of Sherpas for the portage to base camp and cooking, but without fixed ropes or oxygen cylinders beyond. The climber is already at an altitude of 7,000 m, above Lho La, on his way to Everest’s West Ridge.
Does he really hope to reach the top?
Since his first attempt in winter 2019-2020, Kobusch has been determined to make further progress on this ridge. But does he really hope to reach the summit? Does he really believe he can succeed? Who knows? Treading the Hornbein couloir, which should lead him to the summit, would already be quite a feat alone and in winter. But the base of the couloir is at 8000 m. And this year, Kobush says he’s already aiming for 7500 m, surpassing not only his previous highest point, but also the highest ever reached on this ridge in winter (by Frenchmen Benoit Chamoux and Vincent Fine, 7500 m in 1985).
the young German stands out
in the highly codified world of Himalayan climbing
The young German stands out in the highly codified world of Himalayan climbing, but we can’t help but respect his determination. In 2019, he declared that he wanted to “go into the unknown”, “practice true mountaineering” and attempt Everest “because it’s the highest peak on earth”. Which is, after all, a good definition of exploration, of alpine style, and one that boldly assumes the enduring fascination with the highest peak on earth.
These days, one man alone on Everest, even if he comes back empty-handed, is worth a hundred more in the Guinness Book of Records.