Munich vet Sebastian Haag and sports manager Benedikt Böhm share a great passion: speed climbing high mountains. This means that the two of them climb various giant mountains at record speed - and then ski down them even faster. Together they form the Gore-Tex Dynafit expedition team, which has already achieved several eight-thousanders and other highly acclaimed successes. Their latest project: the 8047-metre-high Broad Peak in Pakistan.
Setting off for Camp I of Broad Peak
Excerpt from the Broad Peak diary: "We feel like young dogs that are finally getting some exercise. The anticipation is reflected in our faces. Just attaching the skis to the backpack makes us feel happy. Arriving at the foot of Broad Peak, we immediately decide not to take the normal route to Camp I, but the much steeper and more direct Hermann Buhl gully of the first ascent. Basti is already raving about the ski descent through the gully. The gully starts off comfortably and becomes increasingly steeper and narrower. Hubert is in his element and films with incredible confidence like a madman in this fall terrain. We keep fighting our way up and Beni regrets having only taken one ice tool with him. Sweat is pouring down everyone's faces due to the massive effort and absolute concentration at over 5000 m in unsecured terrain. You can see the adrenaline in everyone's eyes. Beaming with joy and exhausted, we stand on the plateau where we deposit our tents and provisions for the next few days to set up a temporary camp. We feel good and continue to climb up to around 6,000m. There we enjoy the already familiar view of the Karakoram glaciers. We strap on our skis and other mountaineers watch us in disbelief. We make our first turns on the steep slopes, whooping with joy. Our safety and self-confidence grow with every turn and jump. Hubert is still filming and is almost in a state of intoxication - that's how perfect this day is. We ski to the end of the glacier without having to unbuckle and make our last turn in the last finger of snow surrounded by scree at 5000 meters. We can hardly believe our luck and are grateful for this perfect day of skiing. We march back to base camp for an hour and a half, humbled and satisfied at the same time."
Speed ascent of Broad Peak ends with reaching the pre-summit
After several acclimatization tours, Benedikt Böhm and Sebastian Haag set off on their planned speed ascent of the 8,047-metre-high Broad Peak from the 5,000-metre-high base camp on 20 July.
They set off well prepared, but it quickly became clear that the heavy snowfall of the last few days meant that a speed ascent was not possible. Nevertheless, the alpinists had the summit constantly in sight: "The conditions were difficult the whole time here on Broad Peak. We were the only ones, together with participants from the German Summit Club expedition and two Italians, who had the luck and stamina to make it to the pre-summit (8,027 meters)," reported Sebastian Haag. "Beni and I managed to get from base camp to the highest point in 17 hours." But both the late time (3 p.m.) and the worsening weather thwarted the attempt to reach the highest point of Broad Peak. "This pre-summit is still like the summit for us and therefore a complete success. We are now back at base camp, exhausted but happy, and looking forward to returning home soon."
Two short videos of the expedition
The project: They have already climbed two eight-thousanders and are now preparing for the next expedition to Broad Peak (8,051m). Beni and Basti report on the preparations for the project.
Speed ascent Broad Peak - Episode 2
The extreme mountaineers Sebastian Haag and Benedikt Böhm have covered around 400,000 vertical meters in the run-up to their speed ascent of Broad Peak.
Speed ascent of Broad Peak - Episode 3
Munich - Pakistan - the journey begins: Benedikt Böhm and Sebastian Haag first travel by plane to Islamabad, then on to Skardu.
- - "Video speed ascent Broad Peak - episode III">Video speed ascent Broad Peak - episode III
Speed ascent Broad Peak - episode 4
Sebastian Haag and Benedikt Böhm can still drive from Skardu to Askole in a rickety truck. But then they have to continue on foot for seven days.
