Christian Stangl
Encyclopedia
Christian Stangl is an alpine style
professional mountain climber. He practices what he calls "skyrunning": rapidly climbing or running up very high mountains, directly from the base camp to the summit and back, alone, without supplementary oxygen, intermediate camps, resupplies by Sherpa
s, or other external help.
In 2010, Stangl claimed to have reached the summit of K2, but later admitted that he had lied about this feat. All his previous achievements are now under scrutiny and might turn out to be inventions of Stangl *http://derstandard.at/1282979723794/Stangl-und-seine-Maerchen
Originally employed as an electrical technician, he became a professional climber in 2002 after having climbed Aconcagua
in Argentina
in 4 hours and 25 minutes. Between 2002 and 2007 he climbed the Seven Summits
(Messner list) in what he called "The Seven Summits Speed Project"; he reported the total ascent time for the seven mountains from base camp to summit as a record 58 hours, 45 minutes. As part of this project, he climbed the north-east ridge of Mount Everest
, alone and without oxygen, from Camp III (ABC) to the summit in the record time of 16 hours, 42 minutes; this involved an elevation difference of about 3450m and a total distance of about 10km. The descent to Camp III took 6 hours, 48 minutes. This climb took place on May 25, 2006, the same day that German climber Thomas Weber died on the mountain and Australian climber Lincoln Hall
was left for dead on the mountain but found alive and rescued the next day. (Earlier, in 1996, Italian climber Hans Kammerlander had reached the Everest summit from Camp III alone and without oxygen in 17 hours before skiing back down.)
The 2007 film The Skyrunner deals with Stangl's 49-minute ascent of the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia
.
His claims of having climbed K2
on August 12, 2010, and the photo allegedly taken on the top later turned out to be incorrect: Doubts about Stangl's version were raised based on the photo from the summit and missing traces of on the route taken to the summit as observed by other climbers. Fellow mountaineers also noted the complete lack of exhaustion of Stangl. On September 7, 2010, Stangl had to admit that he had "just imagined" a successful ascent because of "stress and fear of failure".
During the preparation for these extreme climbs, Stangl aims to work for 20 hours at a constant pulse rate of 164/minute. One technique involves running up a mountain while pulling a 30 kg tractor tire behind him. During his climbs, he motivates himself by uttering Russian phrases, reminding himself of the film The Hunt for Red October
with Sean Connery
. To combat fear he switches to English phrases.
Stangl views skyrunning as an advance of the sport of mountain climbing and holds that it is more environmentally friendly than other climbing styles which often leave remains of camps, ropes and other hardware behind. He has been criticized by more traditional climbers who claim that he diminishes the accomplishments of others.
Alpine style
Alpine style refers to mountaineering in a self-sufficient manner, thereby carrying all of one's food, shelter, equipment etc. as one climbs, as opposed to expedition style mountaineering which involves setting up a fixed line of stocked camps on the mountain which can be accessed at one's leisure...
professional mountain climber. He practices what he calls "skyrunning": rapidly climbing or running up very high mountains, directly from the base camp to the summit and back, alone, without supplementary oxygen, intermediate camps, resupplies by Sherpa
Sherpa people
The Sherpa are an ethnic group from the most mountainous region of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. Sherpas migrated from the Kham region in eastern Tibet to Nepal within the last 300–400 years.The initial mountainous migration from Tibet was a search for beyul...
s, or other external help.
In 2010, Stangl claimed to have reached the summit of K2, but later admitted that he had lied about this feat. All his previous achievements are now under scrutiny and might turn out to be inventions of Stangl *http://derstandard.at/1282979723794/Stangl-und-seine-Maerchen
Originally employed as an electrical technician, he became a professional climber in 2002 after having climbed Aconcagua
Aconcagua
Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Americas at . It is located in the Andes mountain range, in the Argentine province of Mendoza and it lies west by north of its capital, the city of Mendoza. The summit is also located about 5 kilometres from San Juan Province and 15 kilometres from the...
in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in 4 hours and 25 minutes. Between 2002 and 2007 he climbed the Seven Summits
Seven Summits
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such and achieved on April 30, 1985 by Richard Bass .-Definition:...
(Messner list) in what he called "The Seven Summits Speed Project"; he reported the total ascent time for the seven mountains from base camp to summit as a record 58 hours, 45 minutes. As part of this project, he climbed the north-east ridge of Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
, alone and without oxygen, from Camp III (ABC) to the summit in the record time of 16 hours, 42 minutes; this involved an elevation difference of about 3450m and a total distance of about 10km. The descent to Camp III took 6 hours, 48 minutes. This climb took place on May 25, 2006, the same day that German climber Thomas Weber died on the mountain and Australian climber Lincoln Hall
Lincoln Hall (climber)
Lincoln Hall is a veteran Australian mountain climber and author. Hall is the author of White Limbo, the story of the first Australian team to climb Mount Everest. While others in the team made it to the top, Hall was forced to turn back close to the summit due to illness...
was left for dead on the mountain but found alive and rescued the next day. (Earlier, in 1996, Italian climber Hans Kammerlander had reached the Everest summit from Camp III alone and without oxygen in 17 hours before skiing back down.)
The 2007 film The Skyrunner deals with Stangl's 49-minute ascent of the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
His claims of having climbed K2
K2
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...
on August 12, 2010, and the photo allegedly taken on the top later turned out to be incorrect: Doubts about Stangl's version were raised based on the photo from the summit and missing traces of on the route taken to the summit as observed by other climbers. Fellow mountaineers also noted the complete lack of exhaustion of Stangl. On September 7, 2010, Stangl had to admit that he had "just imagined" a successful ascent because of "stress and fear of failure".
During the preparation for these extreme climbs, Stangl aims to work for 20 hours at a constant pulse rate of 164/minute. One technique involves running up a mountain while pulling a 30 kg tractor tire behind him. During his climbs, he motivates himself by uttering Russian phrases, reminding himself of the film The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October (film)
The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Tom Clancy. It was directed by John McTiernan and stars Sean Connery as Captain Marko Ramius and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan...
with Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
. To combat fear he switches to English phrases.
Stangl views skyrunning as an advance of the sport of mountain climbing and holds that it is more environmentally friendly than other climbing styles which often leave remains of camps, ropes and other hardware behind. He has been criticized by more traditional climbers who claim that he diminishes the accomplishments of others.
External links
- www.skyrunning.at Stangl's website
- The Skyrunner European Outdoor Film Tour 2007/08
- http://derstandard.at/1282979723794/Stangl-und-seine-Maerchen
- TheFirstPost Web article on Stangl 10/7/2009