PowderPeople | Extreme mountaineer Basti Haag

PowderGuide: Hi Basti, it's great that you're here and have time for us. How did you actually get into ski mountaineering?
Basti Haag: I was practically born with skis. My parents are both state-certified ski instructors and put me on skis when I could barely walk. I "only" skied downhill at first. The big change came during my studies. On the one hand, I no longer had the money for the lift pass, and on the other, I only had proper touring equipment then.

PG: Why ski mountaineering on such big mountains and why always at speed?
Basti: The high mountains were simply the logical consequence of what we had done before. I spent many years with my buddy Beni Böhm in the Bavarian and Tyrolean Alps, then in the Western Alps, then in South America and later in the Himalayas. In the end, we wanted to test ourselves, we wanted to know whether we could make it up the 8000 meter peaks. Well, and the whole thing at speed. Speed is definitely more Beni's discipline. I was always looking for lines on how to ski down an 8000 meter peak. If I can combine that with a speed ascent, it's perfect. So a speed ascent means going up from the base camp and back down again in one go, without camp chains, without overnight stays.

PG: How much do you train for it?
Basti: Training is a passion for us; I'm happy when I can train. If I can, I train every day. I don't really have a plan. In winter, I just try to get on my skis every day and then I prefer to run 3000 meters in altitude. But 2000 is also okay, but I'm a bit dissatisfied at 1000.

PG: What was your greatest success?
Basti: The ski ascent on Gasherbrum II and of course the speed ascent, but even more so the ski ascent from the summit to base camp and the whole thing without touching a rope!

PG: This year, one or two huge avalanches happened again on Manaslu, taking Camp 3 with them and partially burying Camp 2. How did you experience the whole thing?
Basti: The avalanche went down shortly before five in the morning and the people were still in their tents. We ourselves had pitched our tents near Camp 2. Fortunately a little further away from the normal Camp 2, as there was no more space there and we didn't feel comfortable there either. You have to know that there were a lot of climbers on Manaslu this year. Most of them, including us, actually wanted to go to another mountain, but this one is in China and the Chinese didn't let any tourists into the country because the government was afraid of unrest in Tibet and didn't want any pictures of monks setting themselves on fire to go around the world... As an example: in 2007 there were 15 climbers on Manaslu, this year there were 300 climbers and then there are the many Sherpas and cooks.

But back to the avalanche. The first avalanche started and we felt the pressure wave, probably caused by a large serac that had broken off. We were already awake at the time and were melting snow for tea. Because of the strong pressure wave, we thought that the avalanche must have been close and large. Shortly afterwards, a second avalanche started, which probably took the entire Camp 3 with it. We heard screams immediately afterwards and also saw lights from headlamps, as it was still pitch black at the time.

PG: How did you then proceed?
Basti: At first, it wasn't clear what was actually happening and we still had to get dressed. We also didn't know whether more avalanches would follow. However, we then set off quite quickly and were at the scene of the accident around 30 minutes later and immediately started the rescue.

PG: How do you imagine it, how did you search?
Basti: It was actually quite simple. First we tried to help everyone who was somehow on the surface. After all, 30 people were caught and some of them were swept 600 meters up. Some of the people were in their underwear because they had been thrown out of their tents and sleeping bags. It was absolute chaos. But at least helicopters were able to arrive very quickly as the weather was good, which certainly saved many lives. We tried to provide the people with hot drinks, medication and oxygen and to protect them from frostbite as much as possible.

PG: If you look at the slope, it's obviously at risk of avalanches, why are tents being set up there?
Basti: That's difficult to say and I don't want to be the one to say that tents shouldn't have been set up there. You can't say "we did it right and they did it wrong". The camps are more or less always in the same place and there aren't many options to avoid them. Of course, we could have waited until the avalanche situation calmed down, as a good weather window had been forecast.

PG: Was it perhaps the problem that there were so many people on the mountain and if one person goes first, the others follow?
Basti: That certainly plays a role. Once 30 people have set up their tent, you don't worry so much about an avalanche.

PG: What safety equipment do you have with you there? Do you sleep with avalanche equipment?
Basti: No, not normally. In our group of 6 people, for example, we only had one avalanche transceiver with us, but we didn't use it during the search. The avalanches there are usually so huge that it hardly makes sense to search with an avalanche transceiver or there is often no one left to search.

PG: You had to turn back just before the summit, why and do you want to go there again now?
Basti: Unfortunately, I missed the last hundred meters of altitude. Beni had already made it to the summit and was already coming back to me. I had already made the mistake of climbing up too far and then not having enough strength for the descent. I learned from that! Of course, in hindsight I would have had time to take a break and then carry on. But I'm very glad that Beni was at the top and that we all got back down safely. Do I want to go again? Mmmh, not at the moment.

PG: Last question, do you use an avalanche airbag?
Basti: In the Alps, yes, almost always! I think it makes a lot of sense! But not in high mountains, it's just too heavy.)

PG: What are your next goals?
Basti: Many! But maybe 2013 on Cho Oyu as it was actually planned for this year. But nothing is certain yet...

PG: Thank you very much for your time! We wish you many successful tours.

Brief profile

Name: Sebastian Haag
Born: May 23, 1978 in Munich
Profession: Ski mountaineer / veterinarian (Dr. vet.)
Speed ascents: Mustagata, Gasherbrum II ...

Editor's note (September 2014)

Basti Haag was swept away by an avalanche during a world record attempt in the Himalayas on 24 September 2014 and fell fatally. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.