"The problem in climbing is the lack of imagination"

Spanish freeclimbers Eneko and Iker Pou dedicated five years to their project ‘7 Walls 7 Continents.’ Now they’re working on a book and a film about the extreme achievement of mountain climbing that took them to the most difficult walls of each part of the earth. In an interview the pair of brothers imparts some insight into their life between sublime peaks, dizzying abysses and dirty socks.

Which of your mountain boots do you tie first, the left or the right ...?

Eneko: No idea … I never pay any attention to it. I’m not superstitious. The only thing I do is knock on wood if I want good luck.

... and in the evening, do you take your socks off first and then your pants? Or the other way around?

Eneko: I’m going to tell you a little secret … In the mountain, you never take off your socks … It’s cold up there! You may take off your pants for sleeping, but your socks – never!

… which is why you should only go bivouacking with really good mountain climbing colleagues. But the focus of my questions was actually to find out more about instinctive reactions in routine situations. How important is this talent in mountain climbing?

Iker: Instinct is the most important thing. Being able to improvise and using that on the wall. You gain that instinct with experience. The wall in Antarctica was virgin territory. We had no previous experience to orientate ourselves on – not from anyone. And intuition tells you which day is the right one to attack it; when you have to take risks …

‘Three Pigs,’ the wall in the Antarctic, which you just referred to, was the last one of your ‘7 Walls 7 Continents’ project, and was particularly risky. What do you think of, concentrate on, during such an extreme mountain climb?

Eneko: We tried not to lose our aim: getting to the summit. All our concentration was focused on chasing that target and not letting anything distract us from it. You focus on not falling, completing your next move. The only negative thoughts we had were about the weather changing too fast, which was something we had no control over.

In ‘7 Walls 7 Continents’ – and even at the last wall in the Antarctic – forgoing all kinds of technical aid was particularly important to the two of you. What’s behind this philosophy?

Iker: Evolution. To us the most important thing is to find the cleanest and fastest way of climbing: Alpine style. As we try to use as little artificial material as possible, it might be more difficult but it’s much cleaner. The way of getting to the summit is much more important than the wall itself.

What factors made you choose the seven walls, which had to be typical for each respective continent?

Eneko: We had three parameters in mind: they had to be representative on their own continent. They had to be difficult walls to be completed in the free climbing discipline. And they had to be esthetic; beautiful routes that could be shown through images and pictures.

Which of the seven walls was the most difficult, the most beautiful, and which one gave you the most novel experience?

Iker: Phew … Difficult to say … The most difficult regarding grade was Zunbeltz, the European stop. But the most complicated was Antarctica, if we keep in mind the adventure of getting through the wilderness and back to civilization using our own power and not so much the difficulty of the rock climbing. The most beautiful was El Niño in Yosemite. It’s an outstanding route of almost 1,000 meters. The location is probably not the most esthetical one, but the climbing of the route for sure! And when it comes to novel experience, that might be the one in Africa. Madagascar was full of contrast, colors, a nice route … It was an incredible trip.

Let’s go back five years. What was the idea behind ‘7 Walls 7 Continents?’

Eneko: With this project we wanted to combine two things: to travel around the world and to climb impressive locations. We always thought one of the biggest problems in climbing was lack of imagination. We wanted to create a big project that was born from our own minds and which could be followed by other climbers in the future.

And how did realizing the idea change your lives?

Iker: With much more stress!!! Ha, ha! On the sports side, we matured a lot. It’s like getting a climbing doctorate! We learnt a lot in the process, and now we're able to climb much faster, much cleaner and not to use so much fix rope.

In what way did the relationship between you and your brother change through your mutual experience?

Eneko: We had to mature together during a really complicated project, sentimentally and professionally. Until 2003 we’d always thought about climbing in a recreational way. But after all this started, it became a profession. Sponsors, obligations … Now we live from climbing.

“We’re prepared for the next challenge,” you said shortly after your return from the Antarctic. What exactly are your next plans?

Iker: We keep on investigating and searching for virgin walls. And we would love to keep on combining adventure with difficulty. We have a couple of cool ideas, but we’re going to keep you hanging as to what they are …