Ski touring speed record on Dhaulagiri 7 summit under 8 hours | Full movie | DYNAFIT
Since I'm a father I became more conscious about how to approach the mountains less risk taken and foresighted while improving my instinct. Speed Mountaineering is my way to go and allow me to move fast and in order to be fast I learnt that I had to go slow first because the finishing time of my targets is the result of my experiences, the choices and the mistakes I made and much more... Time becomes a different meaning when you are leaving behind all the comfort zone it is hard in the beginning, until become liberating, because you are forced to live in the very very moment. We were flying from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj and then from Nepalgunj to Dunai and that's really the last airport, I mean, is not even an airport, it's like one road.
Yah, from Dunai we really started the adventure. I wanted to really experince the Dolpo area this remote and authentic area I wanted to get in touch with the locals, I wanted to see how they live I wanted really get away from our modern civilization. It's really amazing to go through the area, you feel like 300 years ago. You walk all day, then you set up your tent...
You go bed very early because you get started at 6.30. Then it gets cold and there is not much to do. Wake up, get the breakfast...
pack your stuff, put down the tent, pack everything on the donkeys or mules and then you walk. The next day same procedure. This permanently changing environment and the trekking in was not only great in terms of for your mind and for your physics but also really really great for your acclimatization, because every day was a couple of meters higher and I think we all felt better and better after every day because we got so used to the altitude. And suddenly we come to Kakot, wich is another village and this is really the very very last point where you see any people who are permanently living in that place.
There was also a school. So we were very surprise that people are really living all the time. Always when you see kids you're reminder of your kids and you think about... wow, what are they doing... I would love to call them every night and son, but I also try to discipline a little bit myself to also stay with the mind here and not too much in the other world because you really get kind of home sick.
I try to shut off it completely and try to keep the worlds separate. We were all the time thinking where is Dhaulagiri, where is Putha? Where is it? And we were walking every day more... We already heard we only see it very late and late... But suddenly when we reach Base Camp, not even we reach it, you had to go into Base Camp, you had to turn around the corner, and then suddenly you saw Putha! And this was the really first time that we saw this amazing mountain. Yea! Finally Base Camp! A couple of expeditions, I guess two... but wonderfull spot.
I guess... up there over the ridge... this is already the summit. It took us nine days to get here. Wow. Well done buddy! Also the italians arrived at Base Camp! eh?!? We had a really great team, this was maybe another pillar in this entire set up of Dhaulagiri VII. Team of six, but in the other hand we were three teams of two persons. In the group I was the one who decided to go for speed style.
I wanted to start from Base Camp and in a non-stop push up to the summit within 8 hours, so... 8 hours for the total travel up and down, this was my target. And the other guys wanted go from camp 2. Doing an expedition means that you want reach the summit. You have to find the proper ways for yourself.
Either you stay in one of the highest camps, which is terrible, but the distance is very short so, I mean, you are basically close to the summit. Or you stay in Base Camp, but the distance is very long, from Base Camp to the summit and back in one shoot is just super tough! First day to carry up stuff at camp 1 so, heavy load and feels like a porter today What everybody has to do... everybody has to acclimatise, this is an absolute crucial factor that means that you push up... up and down all the time, and you build up certain camp sites, and you sleep in an high altitude. Yhooo! That's what we are here for, that's what we born for! I asked myself if I try to kill my instinct of adventure... of being an adventurer...
being out there ... than I'm getting a really really sad person and this is not good for anybody because first of all you have to be happy with yourself to somehow spread happiness around you, and that's also part of being a father. The risk taken in years... mhhh... I've already finished before I got kids. Then suddenly I saw the first things happening and the risk taken was really going down But I also learnt, this is probably almost a Buddhist, today we had a Putcha... We can also reduce the risk to zero, I mean, to almost zero...
If you stay in Base Camp. You always have the option to not go to the summit. The most dangerous time it's when you push to the summit but it's a tough one, because of course you invest a lot of time, a lot of money... invest a lot of suffering, and than to say... no it's not working. Stay for next time, the next year, the next years...
Ok buddy! I really need to go pee. Yhaaa, if you don't mind. Me too... Yaaa! The first altitude night we had, was horrible but even a little bit better than expected.
Fucking cold feet! After the first night you go back to the Base Camp... you relaxed a little bit again... finally we said ok now we sleep one more night up and... Today we go up to Camp 2. We have one last sleep up there. But so far so good Only today my stomach is really... uaahhh...
bad... really bad. Yes really bad. And something that is not good in high altitude it always means you're messed up You're totally bad. Your body is fighting all the time defending itself against all the influences we have... About the permanent exhaustion... about the permanet cold, about the permanent different enviroment, about the food we have not used to, about about about...it's a mix of everything...
You look like a Sherpa Building up tents I'm super weak, I'm super slow, and much slower than the others even they were very very slow to acclimatise. Just arrived in Camp 2, first time. We are gonna sleep up here... and... Yhaaa! And today was an hard day for me especially because... I have a really big stomach problem. but somehow I get better, but I'm not super fit! Uahh! God! Ok it's one night buddy, one night we'll so have. No?
I'm really looking forward to get home now. No? Back to comfort zone man! I need this night, because if I don't have the night, than I probably have no chance to reach this 8 hours. A little bit of body hygiene Wow! Look at the moon. Wow! Good night buddy. Still love you. Good night. Was the first and the last night up here.
Can you see from breathing it's crazy, it's totally wet. The night was also bad but my stomach recovered, this was the good news and this also gives you confident again. I went up a little bit. I push myself, I didn't still feel great of course
but this was over. It was really quick, as quick as he came, it also left. When you know tomorrow is gonna be the day, then you feel excited from your brain moving through everything and you know suddenly is the day. Tomorrow is gonna be the day. You concentrate all the energy and you feel the excitement I almost waited this time to explode. I was in my tent down in Base Camp before the summit push Schorsch and Much and Alex were in the tent in Camp 2.
Hey Beni! Can you hear me? Hey Alex! Yes, everithing ok? Yes! Super! So, what time do you think you will start? Eh...We say at least radio on, from 3 o'clock almost and we see how the wind is, but I guess some between... Ehhh... 4:00 and 5:00. I think will be the timing.
Ok buddy see you tomorrow! Arrivederci. Au revoir. Thank you. Ciao. Grazie. Last night! Last night in the fucking high camp! If you feel alone just come over. Ok! Oohhh! Look at this. Eh? Beautiful view, man! I think I woke up at 3 o'clock in the morning. And at 4.17 I started. Hey! Let's go. See you later. Ciao.
We were ready at 4:30, so really ready to go. Pretty much at the same time when Beni left the Base Camp. The night was dark and long.
We felt fine so far but not like: "Wow! Now let's go! Let's run!" It's really like: "Whoo...uhh..." Everything is tough. Everything really... is very exhausting! Camp 1. Getting undressed. I had no feeling in my fingers, no power in my fingers, and I had to somehow get this socks on. Aahh!
It was really...It was crazy to get this socks on. I only left Camp 1 after more than 2 hours. That's too long. Fifteen minutes or even more for exchanging is too long. Knowing Beni, and knowing that he's one of the few really performers at exceptional level at this elevation... so we knew, I mean...
If we play well we might be on the summit quite at the same time. Starting from Camp 2, I saw two little dots. Ok, these are Schorsch and Much, my only goal was now I've to catch this little two dots.
And I have to speedup! I always enjoy it and was also safe for me, to take all the energy from Base Camp and to really have a short window to go up and down. If I wanna make it in 8 hours I've to be faster We have about 1 hour left, no? Ok buddy! I was on the way up to the summit, they were just coming down from the summit This is where we met, and I saw that Schorsch and Much they look very... You know, in one hand happy, in the other hand very concentrated and exhausted We met maybe fifty meters below the summit... I knew he's gonna make it because he was so close.
Summit! Uahhhh! Summit!!! Ahhhhhh! Fucking cold! Hey! Good news... I just reached the summit of Dhaulagiri VII... About six hours from Base Camp. Yaahhh! Super!!! Yahuuuu!!! Yahoo! Yeah buddy! I went down the first, I don't know, 200/300 meters and I put on the skis and the skiing was just horrible. It looks like I just learnt skiing, it's so bad, it’s so so bad. During the descend I was really only thinking about I have to go back very fast, but I couldn’t ski fast, I was too exhausted.
It cost a lot of energy skiing down but it cost even more energy if you fall. Then I thought it's going to be tight. I was fighting in my brain, I remember all the time the fighting. One side says, just fucking, who cares if you are down in 8 hours or in 8 and a half.
Who cares, it’s only for you! And the other side says hey man what’s wrong with you? You said 8 hours, come on, do it, hurry up. don't stand here in high! Fucking snow! Everything feels slow, and you know time is ticking... I mean, I really know time is ticking time is ticking. If you continuing this way after Camp 2 I've no chance. There was a friend waiting also in Camp 2... Michael... I just clap his hand, and I though... Ok now...
You have to, you have to go for it. Alex. It's Beni. So I made it, from Base Camp to the summit and back down here! In exactly 7 hours and 53 minutes. Because I started at 4 o'clock, I started at 4 o'clock... 4:17 here from Base Camp.
And I just come back 12:10. Whooo! How do I look? Do I look good? Yes, below 8 hours! Life... Life is dangerous, and I'm not trying to talk away the risk of mountaineering. Not at all. I know that I'm very exposed, also as a family father in what I'm doing. Absolutely. This is maybe the price for very intense life, not only for me, but also for the family. In the end we live only once and that means both, to be very carefully about your life on the other hand, to take the maximum of this one life. Bring this in to the ballance is my personal big challenge, but it's getting better... now.
2022-02-23 17:27
