'I Understand the People Who Think We're Nutcases'  

SPIEGEL: Mr. Kammerlander, Italian mountain climber Karl Unterkircher (from South Tyrol) died at the age of 37 in a tragic accident on July 15 on the Rakhiot Flank of the Pakistani mountain Nanga Parbat. His two climbing partners, Simon Kehrer and Walter Nones -- also from South Tyrol -- escaped with their lives because a fog lifted before they succumbed to exhaustion. You knew Unterkircher well. Was he not cautious enough?
Kammerlander: No, that can't be what happened. We were on the Jasemba in Nepal twice, in 2005 and 2007, a difficult mountain, one of the most challenging in the world. It wasn't until the second attempt that we managed to climb this breathtakingly beautiful peak. (Jasemba is 7,350 meters, or 24,100 feet, high.) You get to know someone in a setting like that. Karl had the ideal approach. He was courageous and cautious at the same time -- able to turn back and head down the mountain again if the situation seemed too dangerous. But I'm relieved that Kehrer and Nones were rescued. I was worried about them because it would have been difficult to survive another two or three days at an altitude of 6,000 meters...

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