“It doesn’t take much to make us happy, but the mountains are essential.” - A. BLÜMEL
BIOGRAPHY
An engineer and mountain guide, Alexander grew up in Mötz, a small village in Austria’s Inn Valley, where he still lives. It’s his safe haven, the base he returns to after every mountain excursion. Asked about himself, he highlights his desire for adventure, a drive he’s had since childhood. A day on skis, an afternoon spent climbing trees — Alex loved intense experiences, the adrenaline of life. Growing up, he discovered the vertical world, which allowed him to satisfy his need for powerful thrills.
At the age of 20, after completing his training, he became a mountain guide, a profession that he still practices and that has allowed him to travel the world while leaving him time to devote to his projects and ambitions. Dreams that have led him from Alaska to the Himalayas, from India to Kyrgyzstan, in the constant search for untouched walls or virgin mountains. Unexplored places where you can test yourself fully, using fair means, to understand your limits or even just to find friends who have gone before their time.
Climbing partners from a thousand adventures, with whom you’ve shared tired smiles after having faced the extreme difficulties of Annapurna III, Gimmigela East, or other mountains for aficionados of modern mountaineering.
A BRIEF CHAT WITH ALEXANDER BLÜMEL
What does searching for limits mean to you?
It’s the adventure, the art of finding a place where you can express yourself, where you can challenge yourself in the right way.
Do you have a special place where you take refuge to be alone with your thoughts?
I don’t have a specific place. The mountains are my place.
If you hadn’t ended up a mountaineer, what job do you think you would have done?
That’s a question I ask myself from time to time. I think I would have chosen the world of electronics, given my education.
What’s your favorite Karpos product?
The Federa Jacket because it always keeps you warm and you can use it for any activity in the mountains.
HIGHLIGHTS
2016 First ascent of the north face of Gimmigela East (Eastern Himalayas), with Hansjörg Auer
2016 First ascent of the southern part of Nilgiri South (Annapurna massif), with Hansjörg Auer
2016 Establishment of the “Loss of the Demantoid” route on the Kristallwand face (Kirchkogel, Alps)