Martin Feistl: “The greater the fears, the greater the experience”

Together with his rope partners, Martin Feistl climbed three impressive ice and mixed lines for the first time in the Dolomites within just a few weeks. The German alpinist and aspiring mountain guide explains in an interview why a clean ascent style is very important to him, how he weighs up the risks on tricky routes and what mishap happened on his first tour with Simon Gietl.

Martin Feistl His enthusiasm for the mountains was born in his cradle. From an early age he went on ski tours, mountaineering tours and alpine climbing tours with his family - learning mountaineering from scratch. The DAV expedition squad becomes a springboard for him.

With routes like Stalingrad (1000m, M8, WI7), Fear Control (800m, M8, WI6) or Victimes des étique(ttes) (110m, M10, WI3) he is making a name for himself as a purist first ascent with a preference for traditional protection - Even if he does sometimes put bolts on developments for the wider public.

This early winter, Martin Feistl benefited from the extraordinary conditions in the Dolomites and climbed some challenging ice and mixed lines for the first time within a week. It's high time for a conversation.

Martin, you went through the DAV squad forge. Are you already a professional and can you make a living from it?

I tried for a long time not to want that. I would say that I actively resisted getting paid for what I do out in the mountains. 

I'm lucky that I only have to take care of myself and can take that out of it. I'm probably more of a professional now than I would like to admit to myself. but I don't live from it. 

Where does your idealism come from?

I think that has developed over the years. Maybe also through my critical view of being a professional. I've seen a few pros have this exact thing happen to them. So that through the influence of money they have done and marketed things that we know that they are not 100 percent behind. 

I think that has shaped me, combined with my privilege, that I don't have to make a living from it. I think I'm also generally a person who, when I do things, does it as perfectly as possible. 

If you look at your tour book, you'll notice that you do a lot of first ascents. Would you rather venture into the unknown than follow in the footsteps of others?

First of all: I think it's really important to repeat routes because that's where you can really grow, where you learn to assess and evaluate things. If you only made first ascents now, I think you would quickly become stuck in your own style.

I see many of my first ascents as a kind of work of art, as an expression of what I was able to achieve that day.

What criteria does a route have to meet to appeal to you?

So I climb in summer and winter, which is extremely different. In winter I don't really care, as long as there's two meters of ice hanging somewhere. The steeper and the more twisty, the better, of course. I think it's also a bit of the spirit of the times that people are accepting more and more rock through dry tooling. 

This is quite difficult to find in the Alps, as you can traverse 10 meters to the left without immediately fearing that you are crossing two old routes. That you have the freedom to decide where you go. That was such a cool experience in Greenland, where you have a whole wall to yourself.

Is there a first ascent in your career that means the most to you personally?

Yes, I would say there are two, both in winter. Once at Stalingrad in Karwendel with David Bruder. On the one hand, it was the next borderline experience ever for me, with personal boundaries, but also with David. 

What's so special about the line is that it's simply 1000 meters of new climbing terrain, without an old route to the left or right. And such a logical line over the length, it's unbelievable that you can still find something like that in the Alps. 

The second is the fear control on the burner. It's similar, also 800 meters, in winter, a brilliant cone line. There is no other route on the entire mountain, there is only this line on the entire wall. In addition, we reached it by public transport from Innsbruck. 

You are an advocate of Ecopoint climbing. Where does it come from?

This has grown over the last few years. I lived in Augsburg for a long time, so it was absolutely normal for me to spend at least an hour in the car to go exercise. Now in Innsbruck I have the privilege that there are damn good options for very little money. 

Added to this is my geography studies. It's only logical if you also implement what you see every day in your private life. A lot of things came about through trying things out, where I realized: This really works really well and maybe it's not a waste of time if I need half an hour longer. It can even give you something back.

What principles do you hold dear when it comes to climbing?

I would say primarily free climbing. I can't do anything with technical climbing, not even as a means to an end. 

And then as soon as you're in the public eye and you turn professional and there's money behind it, behind what you publish, you just have to be brutally honest.

What is important to you about the people you rope with for an adventure?

The older I get, the more important it becomes who you do something like that with. I think when I was 18 I probably roped with anyone who could somehow secure themselves. Those days are long gone.

For large projects, I may have one or two people who really come into consideration. These are mostly people who know me better personally, who know me in extreme situations and can deal with me, to whom I don't feel like I have to explain myself for my tough style.

You recently went on an ice cream trip with Simon Gietl for the first time to, as you wrote, “celebrate your shared understanding of good alpinism.” What was this first ascent like for him?

We have known each other for a long time and have spoken about Lowa personally. But actually being on the road with him now was of course very interesting and super cool.

It was also kind of funny because I had forgotten my crampons in the car. I was standing at the entrance and just thought: Oh my God, now I'm on the Simon Gietl and I've forgotten my crampons, that's not possible. 

On the other hand, Simon also said that he hardly slept at all because he was traveling with the crazy guy, or whatever his reputation is. 

You've done a lot of bold routes in the past that have rarely been repeated. What are you looking for in lines like that?

I think in the ice it's really the aesthetic of the line. The thinner the ice line, the more beautiful I find it just to look at. And if you're still able to climb it, then that's the greatest thing. Once you've learned how to move in the ice and are lucky enough, then you can do really crazy things. 

How do you find the right size for you?

I had my last really big accident in 2018, where it was my own fault by misjudging the placements. Since then I have the feeling that I still take at least as much risk as I did back then. But when I do it - well, first of all, I do it less often - then I'm more aware of the consequences. 

So before I get into a column, I take a very close look at it: Where do I make the stand so that it is safe in case something collapses? I'll take a look, can I maybe put a floating safety device somewhere? Where am I flying to? How far do I fly?

Especially with mixed routes, they are often perceived as very wild if you climb on one or two hooks secured to some pins, such as on Ethics Gardener. 

Have you always been endowed with a strong psyche?

I think so, but the level has increased and with it the danger of what I do on the ice. But I've always had some kind of switch that's either climbing or belaying. 

I can stand in one place for 10 minutes and just worry about the belay. But if I then decide to switch to climbing, then I climb to the point that I previously imagined in my risk analysis.

You once said, “The greater the fears, the greater the experience.” Would you still sign this?

Yes, definitely. The moments when you are most afraid are the ones that stay with me the longest. But fear doesn't necessarily always have to be completely negative; as long as it's not panic, it can really be a good thing. 
 

That might interest you

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• Stand construction in the ice - Here's how | Ice Climbing Pro Tips
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Credits: Cover photo Garry Knopp