In winter 2019/2020 we accompanied the German extreme mountaineer Jost Kobusch on Mont Everest. Jost’s trademark is solo ascents at high altitudes. His minimalist approach is a way for him to set difficult goals and achieve them in a way that conserves resources and the environment. He deliberately turns away from today’s age of extreme tourism and is committed to the ‘departure into the unknown’.
This extraordinary expedition was to take him across the west ridge to the winter roof of the world. Jost carried a SPOT tracker with him, which regularly sent us his location on the 3D map. After weeks on and off the mountain and a lot of highly technical solo-climbing, Jost reached a highpoint of 7.300 m on the West Ridge of Everest. Unlike the classic ascents via the North- and the South Route, this part of the mountain rarely sees visitors. It was first ascended by an American expedition in 1963 which proceeded to reach the summit through the Hornbein Couloir. Since then, only a handfull of mountaineers where able to set foot on the ridge. Photo Gallery
Interactive map: Live Tracking 2019/2020
Jost Kobusch attempt on Everest West Ridge
“Visiting the routes virtually and evaluating options step by step in combination with tour reports was very valuable for my preparation – at the same time, the 3D live tracking made communication a lot easier and helped many people to participate”
(Jost Kobusch)
