The premature end to his winter expedition on the highest mountain on earth does not come as a complete surprise to me. Even after Jost Kobusch‘s first push of the season on his route – he reached an altitude of around 7,500 meters on the West Ridge on 27 December and thus already achieved the goal he had set himself for his third Everest winter expedition – the 32-year-old German mountaineer reacted rather cautiously to my question as to whether he would climb up again.
Survived earthquake physically unscathed
Jost finally set off again at the beginning of last week and was surprised by the effects of the strong earthquake in Tibet while climbing to Lho La, a pass that connects the Nepalese Everest Valley with the Tibetan side, in his tent at 5,700 meters. He survived the tremors physically unscathed. But after his return to his “base camp” in the “Pyramid”, an Italian research station and lodge located at around 5,000 meters, Kobusch seemed even more indecisive.
Kobusch cites protests in the Khumbu against helicopter flights as one reason
On Friday, Jost declared the end of his expedition via his social media channels – citing four reasons. Interestingly, he first mentioned the protests in the Khumbu against the large number of helicopter flights, which currently meant that no rescue flights were possible. However, it is “anyway very improbable to rescue me up there,” Kobusch admits on Instagram. “But this is part of my consideration.”
Point two is that the West Ridge route, which was “already prone to rock and icefall”, has become “more risky” due to the earthquake in Tibet and the aftershocks.
“I want to become a better alpinist”
Jost also points out that he is not yet back to full strength due to a back injury he sustained in October 2023 while training for Everest: “I am not where I want to be as an athlete to push for the summit.” And fourthly and finally, according to Kobusch’ s words, he had already achieved his previously set goal for this winter at the end of December, “in going further than anybody before me on the West Ridge in winter.”
Kobusch says that he cannot achieve his goal with a crowbar. “I’d rather focus on going back to training, building skill and becoming a better alpinist so that I come back stronger,” writes Jost. “I’m in this for the long run, my goal is to climb Everest in the winter by myself via the West Ridge – not some record of going a bit higher than before.”
