-Analysis-
I was not there, I have not been there these past days. It is therefore difficult to comment on what unfolded in those Nepalese valleys, when a massive avalanche swept through and buried everything. An Italian climber, along with at least six other victims of various nationalities, died when a slide struck base camp on Yalung Ri in the Rolwaling valley, Dolakha district, on November 3.
Mountains are dangerous: we should not always look for someone to blame, nor should we reflexively point to global warming or climate change as the cause. We must remember that the mountains simply exist, in a part of the world that is hostile to us. Our species is not built to frequent such places. I recall a few years ago in the Khumbu Valley, the approach to Everest, not even at great altitude, when a snowfall trapped more than 100 people and they had to be rescued and flown out by helicopter.
There is a wonderful form of tourism called trekking, conceived in the late 1960s by Beppe Tenti. Thousands of agencies now offer it. Groups from many countries walk mountain trails to high passes, even wide and easy ones. Yet the environment is not easy, and in these remote valleys, where adventure is found simply by walking or by climbing slopes that are not technically demanding, this must always be kept in mind. You may choose a beautiful, inviting peak for acclimatization, but it is still not a place suited to humankind.
Mountaineers choose to go where death is a possibility
When we speak of mountaineering, we should remember that it is: the art of not dying. Mountaineers choose to go where death is a possibility. And even trekkers seeking adventure in remote valleys must be aware of the danger and the risk that come with it.
Fifty years ago there were no communications and not even the option of helicopter rescue. Back then, the valleys of Nepal were the end of the world. Today we have lost our sense of nature; we behave as if we no longer need it. Many people think a mobile phone allows them to control whatever may happen. They believe that keeps them safe, but it does not.
In those places, death is a constant presence. I know this outlook is not always appreciated, but it is simply the logical result of being aware of the reality of the uninhabited mountain. To face it, you need self-control and, above all, preparation down to the smallest detail.
Reinhold Messner is a legendary Italian-born mountaineer and explorer. As told to Enrico Martinet.