Climbing
Stefan Glowacz: Climb Of A Lifetime
Stefan Glowacz and Holger Heuber stake their claim on one of the world's most difficult ascents.
To climbers, Mount Roraima is one of the ultimate challenges. The iconic mountaintop plateau sits on the border of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana, and towers above the jungle, taunting those who dare to attempt its sheer 400m walls.
Don't look down!
© Klaus Fengler
One of them is the Red Bull athlete Stefan Glowacz who, with Holger Heuber, made a successful ascent of La Proa wall, a story now told in their new film, 'Jaeger des Augenblicks'.
Against the flow
© Klaus Fengler
It was off the scale epic, claims Glowacz.
“You have to understand it in context,” he says. “There are walls where there’s a nigh-on 100 per cent probability that you’re going to die, just because there’s basically always something crashing around you: falling rock, falling ice, everything. Things you can’t control which, to a certain extent, are beyond the realms of the predictable.
“And of course, most of these walls still haven’t been climbed. Anyone who goes there comes back to tell the tale is then a great hero. 'Wall of death conquered. Ta-da!' But if they die, then they’re idiots.”
Holding tight
© Klaus Fengler
Just getting there was an adventure, involving weeks of hiking with heavy loads through rough terrain just to get to Mount Roraima.
Glowacz's first attempt had been as a trio in 2010 with the German climber and redpoint pioneer Kurt Albert. Tragically, he died in a via ferrata accident three years ago.
Despite the danger, the climb, which they christened "Behind the Rainbow", remains the ascent of a lifetime. “It's the perfect route for me!", Glowacz later told The Alpine Journal. "The higher you get the more difficult it becomes and each pitch has its very own characteristics. The backdrop and scenery you’re in is impressive. It's one of a kind!”
Time for a break
© Klaus Fengler
Jaeger des Augenblicks (trailer above, German language) is out now in cinemas in Germany. Learn more at http://www.jaegerdesaugenblicks.de.
