Marek Holeček: His Greatest Challenge in Over 40 Expeditions

Our guest this episode is the Czech climber Marek Holeček, among the most successful alpine climbers of the past two decades. Holeček has climbed new routes all over the world, from Kyrgyzstan to Patagonia, Antarctica to Afghanistan. Two of his biggest successes came in the past five years, when he was already in his 40s: new routes on Gasherbrum I in Pakistan and Chamlang in Nepal, both of which were honored with Piolets d’Or. His new route up 7,162-meter Baruntse in Nepal, climbed in late May with Radoslav (Radek) Groh, is of similar stature. Holeček and Groh climbed the west face of Baruntse, 10 kilometers west of Makalu, in four days. Near the top, a fierce storm arrived a day and a half earlier than expected, and they had to fight to the summit, where they were pinned down for four nights. Finally, on their ninth day out from base camp, the storm let up enough for them to descend about 1,000 meters. After one more night, strung out and threatened by avalanche danger, and with no one left in their tiny base camp to help them out, they were picked up by a helicopter and flown off the lower mountain. Holeček said the route was the hardest he'd climbed yet, out of more than 40 expeditions. AAJ editor in chief Dougald MacDonald interviewed Holecek in late July. Since most of Holeček's interviews and videos are in Czech, this is a rare opportunity for English speakers to hear directly from one of the great alpinists of our time. The Cutting Edge is presented by Hilleberg the Tentmaker (Hilleberg.com), with additional support from Polartec, Gnarly Nutrition, and Lowa Boots. This podcast is produced by the American Alpine Club.