Posted: Apr 07, 2009 11:31 am EDT
(MountEverest.net) Founded in 1534 by Basque Ignatius of Loyola; right from the start Jesuit brothers were known to travel where others would not, pursuing science and technology, social justice, and human rights.

This had them banned by church and power from regions such as South America; where conquerors preferred to enslave locals rather than have them educated and made independent in trade by the Jesuits.

On this history is based the movie "The Mission," and probably also the tough Himalaya expeditions made today by courageous and outspoken Basque and Spanish climbers; mountaineers such as Juanito Oiarzabal, Inaki Ochoa, Edurne Pasaban and the proud climbing team on K2's Magic Line.

Carlos Pauner

Spanish Carlos Pauner has 8x8000ers summited plus an even larger number of attempts. Time enough to get familiar with the highlights and shadows of mountaineering: the triumphs and failures, and the risks.

In 2003, Pauner miraculously survived after being lost for two days lost on Kangchenjunga’s upper slopes. A few years later he barely escaped a chopper-crash on Makalu; and last spring he had another close call - on Lhotse. Pulmonary edema aborted Pauner's climb 300 meters below the summit; he was rescued down to BC, where he was told that his friend Iñaki Ochoa had just died on Annapurna.

And yet Carlos Pauner won't give up in his goal to climb all 14x8000ers.Today he set BC on yet another snow-packed 8000er - Manaslu - and answered ExWeb's Angela Benavides' call for a short interview. Here goes:

ExplorersWeb: You kicked off last season by summiting Dhaulagiri, after topping out Broad Peak prior to that. But you’ve also been in a number of expeditions which ended up with no summit. How different it is to come back home with a summit bagged vs. just an attempt?

Carlos Pauner: The summits on Broad Peak and Dhaulagiri helped me to overcome the awful 2006 season, when I failed to top-out both mountains. Returning home with the summit is different; climbing accepts no happy mediums. In other sports you may not win, but still consider you’ve had a great season. In mountaineering you either succeed by reaching the summit, or fail by turning around. You win or lose – there are no draws.

ExplorersWeb: Then came Lhotse – again, a retreat just meters shy from the top - and a very close call on descent. Any scars?

Carlos: No scars, luckily – but it was tough. I put myself far beyond the limit; I wouldn’t be here speaking to you had I not turned back. It’s incredibly difficult to give the summit up barely 300 meters away and after such a struggle. But that’s how things go: you must know when to call it quits, in order to stay alive.

ExplorersWeb: How do you feel about Manaslu – your next goal?

Carlos: Feelings are great actually. I perceive Manaslu as a “noble” peak; its summit is attainable as long as the weather holds. Snowfall will be a critical factor though; the avalanche risk is high when Manaslu is loaded with snow. Still, there will be quite a lot of teams there – and we’ll all fight hard for the top.

ExplorersWeb: You’re teaming up with Javier Perez, do you know each other well?

Carlos: Javier Pérez is a long–time friend; we’ve shared a lot through many expeditions in the past. His main role this time, besides climbing, is to work as high-altitude cameraman though as we’re filming the ascent for a local TV channel.

ExplorersWeb: You’re climbing the normal route this time; compared to some years ago when you considered a new route on Manaslu such as Hamor and Morawski are attempting now. Your thoughts on that?

Carlos: I’ve attempted and achieved new variation routes in the past (like on Kangchenjunga) and it’s beautiful. I like to look for alternative routes when I climb; it makes the ascent definitely more exciting, but will not do a new route attempt this time.

ExplorersWeb: Compared to the fame of Everest, or the danger of K2 and Annapurna – some consider Manaslu an “easy” 8000er. However, stats show the peak may be impossible to climb in heavy snow; how do you feel about that?

Carlos: I hope we will be lucky with weather this season as excess of snow can turn Manaslu into a really treacherous mountain.

ExplorersWeb: After so many years climbing in the Himalayas – what has changed and what remains the same?

Carlos: High-tech has no doubt been the real revolution. When I started climbing I would just say good-bye at the airport and disappear for 2-3 months. No one would hear of me until I returned.

It's so different these days; extensive logistics; teams filming the entire trip, sending live pictures, posting articles for friends and media - contacted through satellite-phones at any time.

It's good but has a dark side too: mostly - it's a lot of extra work.

ExplorersWeb: Fellow Spaniards Edurne and Co. are heading to Kangchenjunga. Any advice for them?

Carlos: I’d advice them to be alert and go with eyes wide-open. The higher you climb on Kangch, the more difficult it gets. There are several exposed and difficult sections on the upper slopes, and the summit pyramid is highly demanding. However, should they find the peak in good conditions; Edurne and her strong team have a good chance to top-out.

ExplorersWeb: What do you do when you’re not climbing? Are you still flying small planes over the Pyrenees?

Carlos: Yep, I own Aeronia, an air-taxi service operating in Spain and neighboring countries. We offer sight-seeing flights over the Pyrenees; I can point out to the main peaks while I'm piloting. We also work with the National Transplants Organization, performing medical-emergency flights between hospitals. And we do aerial photography – it’s a cool job, each day is different.

I also use the time between climbs to be with my family and friends, do some motivational speaking, train, etc.

ExplorersWeb: Do you get similar sensations flying and climbing?

Carlos: Not really; flying and climbing provide different feelings. But I love both – and luckily, I’ve got time enough to do both things.

ExplorersWeb: What else would you like to do besides climbing 8000ers?

Carlos: Running my air-taxi company and focusing on the 14x8000ers I barely find time for anything else, so any other challenge is out of the question for now.

ExplorersWeb: Iñaki Ochoa, who perished on Annapurna last year, was a good friend of yours. How do you deal with the void left by him and others lost to the mountains?

Carlos: Well… badly. I miss them so much. I often visit Pamplona, a town where I lived for several years. Each time I was there, I used to hook up with Iñaki and Ricardo Valencia; both were good friends of mine. Now they’re not there anymore. Many others are gone too, and I can’t help thinking of them. At least though, I try to find some comfort by thinking they lived their lives doing what they loved most, and knowing they enjoyed every second of it.

Spanish climber Carlos (Jaca, 1964) Pauner is attempting Manaslu this spring season. Carlos, with 8x 8000ers summited, is teaming up with Javier Pérez.

 EMAIL   PRINT   SHARE   TEXT