Expedition Baikal
January 31 - February 12, 2020
South Siberia-Irkutzk-Lake Baikal-Olkohn Island
Echser Martin
Arnold Fredy (my father)
Thomas Monsorno, South Tyrol, Photographer
Lukas Kusstatscher, South Tyrol, Filmmaker
I don't know how many expeditions and projects I have done. I don't write it down either, it doesn't interest me. I always try to do what I am most motivated for. In the past, those were more the classic mountaineering places like Patagonia, Nepal and Alaska. Those were always very rewarding and educational projects. I was mostly only interested in the mountains, the country and the people were not that important to me. Sure, I'm an athlete and I want to climb through difficult, new, wild and adventurous climbing routes. That is the main focus, but not only. Over time, the different cultures and people have become a very big part of the whole. Before, a big city was a horror. Now I go to see them on purpose. But then one day is quite enough!
The really demanding projects like the Free Solos require a lot of energy, not physically, but mentally. That's precisely why it's important for me to tackle projects that don't involve quite such a big risk. Nevertheless, they are not uninteresting or unimportant for me. These considerations led us to Japan in 2019 and to Siberia this year. Ice climbing, winter and cold I like very much, that's why I already considered a few years ago to look for vertical ice in Siberia. At that time we still postponed it, now it was time and it was absolutely worth it!
We want to be there in the coldest season. So the end of January was perfect. It was very difficult to find helpful information. Since certainly very few ice climbers or even none have been there before and because Siberia is not exactly tiny. When we left, everything was still unclear, we didn't know if we would even be able to hammer in the ice tools anywhere. But there was also hope, because there had to be something there. In a country where there are just three months of summer and the lowest temperatures in the world are measured. We tried our luck on Lake Baikal. There at least we knew that the whole lake was frozen with a thick layer of ice. When I told my parents at home where my next destination was taking me, my father was thrilled with the idea. I said he could come along after all. However, with the knowledge that he would definitely not come along. I was all the more surprised when he was serious. It's not that he's not interested in my projects, he just likes being at home. As a gamekeeper, he is always on the road in the canton of Uri, making sure that our wild animals are doing well. He has also not boarded an airplane many times in his life. My joy was great that he would come with us once. I didn't have to persuade Martin for long. He was also fully motivated. Two South Tyroleans, Thomas and Lukas, were also with us. Their task was to document the whole thing and at the same time take some product shots for Mammut. All of us together were a super team.
When the announcement about the temperature of -30° Celsius sounded from the pilot during the landing, we asked ourselves for the first time if we had enough warm clothes with us? The ride on the hovercraft was something new for all of us. We tried to talk to the driver, but it was almost impossible because of the language. Our translator helped us a lot. This vehicle was driven by a big propeller and, as usual for Russia, very noisy and not exactly fuel-efficient. One liter for one kilometer. The first steps on the lake or better said on the clear ice will remain in our memory for a long time. The perfectly clear layer of about 40-80 cm of ice was already solid. Nevertheless, we moved away from the safe boat only hesitantly. The knowledge that we were on the deepest lake on earth was naturally present in our minds. We traveled north all day in the hovercraft, searching for ice. Unfortunately without success. At least Martin and I could climb up a very nice rock pillar. The view was magnificent, but we couldn't really enjoy it. Minus 35° Celsius and about 50 km/h wind. Every move becomes tedious in this cold and everything takes much longer. We were then also completely frozen through when we reached our boat again. Only now we realized how important this heating is on the boat! But it was an eventful day and we made our way home. Our trip didn't last too long and there was a loud bang on the rear drive. A steering rod had broken and gotten into the propeller! Patching it on the spot was not possible. So our driver had to run back to shore and repair the whole thing at a hut. The whole action took about two and a half hours. But we had made ourselves comfortable and protected from the wind inside the boat and we had the important heating. Then we could continue. It became night and the strong wind made driving challenging. It turned us in circles countless times. Then came what had to come: the hovercraft stopped and the driver said, "Out of gas!" It was quickly organized by radio, but it took quite a long time until another driver came with supplies. This waiting time was now then without heating no longer so cozy! We were all then also not really unhappy that we were back on land.
The next time we spent on Olkohn Island. One of about 50 islands of Lake Baikal. There we also found our climbing routes. With each day the routes became longer and more difficult. In total we climbed about ten new lines. From WI5 to M8. All directly above the frozen lake. Due to the cold, the ice was as hard as a pimple. For climbing it still went quite well, but turning in an ice screw has never been more tedious anywhere in the world! A squeak and enormous friction needed almost both hands! And the screw was new and sharp! One evening, as we were heading home after sunset, a fox came running. He was hungry, of course. It was casual how this animal ate right out of our hands. We could guess how hard it is for the animals in Siberia. And how they have adapted and become resilient.
Over time, the lake became more familiar to us and we got used to this constant crackling and hissing. At the thought of its depth of 1640m, however, we became very queasy again.
It was an incredibly nice time in Siberia, many nice people, a beautiful, huge country and a great destination to discover something new. Sometimes you have to dare something, it's almost always worth it.
I would like to thank everyone very much for their support.
Dear greetings
Dani