Andy Holzer: I grew up in the Dolomites and was born blind. As a child, I didn’t even know that what I was doing was considered mountaineering. I simply found that I could get about more easily on steep slopes than I could on flat terrain. As a blind person, you use your hands a lot to orient yourself, which is difficult when walking upright. When I was scrambling over rocks, I suddenly had the world under control. That’s why moun-taineering is still the safe option for me to this day.
Andy, you would think that climbing the highest mountains in the world would require the full use of all your senses. As someone who’s visually impaired, how did you get into mountaineering?
You have climbed the highest peaks in the world. What does the word "safety" mean to you?
As a mountaineer who can’t see, every step I take is another step into the unknown. Over the years, however, I have learned to live with this constant sense of uncertainty, and to learn from the fact that something unexpected could happen at any time. Ultimately, that’s what keeps me safe even in unsafe situations. I had to take countless steps like this to reach this realisation. It’s the kind of thing you really have to work at, allowing yourself to feel the fear time and again so that you can eventually make it work for you in a positive way. Nobody but myself is responsible for making sure that I am really and truly safe. And safety is always relative.
As a blind person, you use your hands a lot to orient yourself, which is difficult when walking upright.
When I was scrambling over rocks, I suddenly had the world under control.
How do you climb a mountain? Are you guided along by a rope or someone’s hand, or do you feel your way along?
No, I don’t have to be guided in any special way. The success of the tour depends on what we call "dynamic leadership", meaning that everyone in the team has to be able to lead at any time, but also to stand back and be led by someone else. In other words: I have to guide my leaders so that they can guide me! I use my senses to help me. I hear, touch and feel my way to the top. Also, I can do things like using my ice pick to expand my tactile and acoustic skills and tell me whether the snow is frozen solid, melting, brittle or light and fluffy, which helps me to know how safe it is to walk on.
You climb some of the most difficult routes in the world. Do you think your senses are stronger than most sighted people? Can that be an advantage in certain situations?
In purely mathematical terms, I have 80% of the traditionally recognised senses or perception that sight-ed people have. However, my brain isn’t aware that I can’t see. So I "see" all the more intensely with my other senses. In my mind, I have images of my surroundings – a 3D visualisation that is generated by specific information taken from various stimuli in my environment. In addition to the usual four senses such as hearing, smell, taste and touch, I also have my sense of balance, temperature and the other physical sensations in my body. These senses allow me to form an overall impression of my surroundings, which is how I "see", so to speak. In fact, other people are often unable to work out which member of our team is blind.
It’s a sort of confirmation that my thought process is in line with what’s really happening around me.
If I make a mistake, I won’t get up the mountain.
In enclosed spaces, sensory inputs are less pronounced than in the great outdoors. Do you feel less safe indoors than outdoors?
Yes, definitely. I grew up in the great outdoors – in the mountains – and I perceive nature very vividly through smells, sounds, temperature fluctuations, winds or topographical changes. I have been exploring the natural world since childhood, which has given me a pro-found sense of safety when it comes to navigating the great outdoors. Nature is inherently logical. So-called civilisation, on the other hand – the man-made world – is a much more difficult place for me to navigate. The built world is unpredictable; it often lacks the intrinsic logic of nature. I tend just to get annoyed by guidance systems for the blind.
In purely mathematical terms, I have 80% of the traditionally recognised senses or perception that sight-ed people have. However, my brain isn’t aware that I can’t see. So I "see” all the more intensely with my other senses.How do you protect yourself on a psychological level when you feel uneasy or unsafe about an ascent or descent? How do you decide whether to go on or turn back?
When we’re on a climb and I feel uneasy or uncomfortable in a certain situation, I articulate that to the team. I call upon the help of my sighted colleagues and we explore the issue together. There have been times when my climbing partners have noticed from my hesitant or uncertain movements that I may have sensed something was not quite right. And there have also been moments when I’ve been the one to warn the team of an impending problem, having identified it earlier.In your book about conquering Everest, you write: "Imagine being thrown out of a plane at an altitude of almost 9000 metres. It’s 40 degrees below zero, there’s an icy wind blasting your ears, and the oxygen level of the air you’re breathing is only a third of what it should be: you can’t actually survive that. And now, strap a rucksack on your back and push your mind and body harder than you ever have be-fore ...". Why do you take on such strenuous and dangerous challenges?
Some people believe in life after death. Deep down, I am a very religious person and I do feel that there’s some sort of divine power above us, but, first and fore-most, I believe in life before death – a life that is there to be experienced, enjoyed and conquered. Spending 24 hours a day, 365 days a year living in comfort and safety gets dull and makes you lethargic. I am a curious person. I want to discover new things, over-come new challenges and develop even further. And to do this, I have to leave the safety of my own four walls and get out of my comfort zone ...
