Meru South. Simon Gietl interview after Goldfish first ascent with Mathieu Maynadier, Roger Schäli

In mid-May Simon Gietl from South Tyrol, Italy, Mathieu Maynadier from France and Roger Schäli from Switzerland climbed a new route alpine style from 11 - 13 May 2023 on Meru South (6600m) in India. The 800m line ascends the mountain's east face and breaches difficulties up to M6+ A1. Bulgarian journalist Tanya Ivanova has interviewed Gietl to find out more.

Simon, how did you get involved in this project, who invited you and when? You knew Roger Schäli and together have established impressive routes like "Odyssee" on the Eiger North Face, but did you know Mathieu well beforehand?
Roger has talked to me a lot about his last Meru expedition and at one point he asked me if I would be interested in joining him along next time. Of course, it was a great honour for me to be invited by them, and I was very happy to return to this special place where I climbed 5 years ago, at that time Vittorio Messini and I managed to climb an enchanting line on Shivling. As to Mathieu: it was the first time we met, in Delhi right before we started.

Have you previously been interested in Meru? And did you consider doing something like Valery Babanov’s 2001 solo? We know you more as a solo climber.
Of course, I have read and heard about Мeru in the past, but this mountain wasn't a specific goal I had in mind. I've actually been thinking about a solo expedition lately and I have a concrete idea in mind, but I don't think it's nice to talk about plans before you've successfully carried them out. But after I received the invitation to Meru it was clear to me that I would grasp this opportunity to climb with these two top alpinists. Of course, I was very impressed by the line and style of Babanov.

You must have seen the Jimmy Chin’s movie about the first ascent of the Shark's Fin. Did your expectations of the area and the summit match what you saw when you were there?
Yes, of course I know this film, the shots are superb and definitely make you want to come to this area. The good rock, the steep snow flanks, the seclusion and the guarantee of enjoying a unique adventure seduced me to go there.

Tell us about original idea of the team - the line, the style, the manner?
In the beginning we had very changeable weather. In the mornings we had blue sky, this became cloudy at noon and snow in the afternoon. In the evening it was clear again, it was like that for almost two weeks. We talked briefly about another line in order to make better use of the weather, but then we agreed to concentrate the primary goal for which we'd travelled to India, namely the SE face of Meru. The style was clear - a natural line in alpine style without bolts!

We've seen some drone footage. I've always wondered if these buzzing machines interfere with the overall experience as well as your concentration?
Yes, we had Daniel Hug with us on the team, a highly motivated, tireless climber who captured the entire expedition on camera. Did it disturb us? Honestly, no. Firstly because we weren't constantly being followed by the drone and secondly, because you're so busy climbing that you don't even hear it. But what I have to say is huge congratulations to Daniel, who managed to take some really impressive pictures and videos of this ascent.

According to Roger's initial report, this year there seemed to be more hazards than usual, as a "maze of crevasses", lots of snow and high avalanche danger. We see the same on the highest peaks on the planet. What were your tactics to minimize risk in such circumstances? And how do you think changes in the landscape (due to climate changes) will affect alpine climbing?
Yes, it was definitely anything but easy and safe to get to the foot of the wall at all. The constant snowfall combined with the wind made the avalanche danger on this treacherous glacier much higher. Finding a safe route through it was not easy to be honest. But you still have to adapt to the circumstances and at one point you need to accelerate, if you are given a chance, which we thankfully were. A lot will change in the next few years and I have to say I'm very intrigued to see how it will look in 10 years time.

You and Roger led across rock sections, on steep ice and in icy winds while Mathieu recovered from intestinal problems. It sounds pretty exhausting for the three of you, and it probably took longer than expected. What was your original plan and how did the teamwork work out?
It wasn't easy, especially for Mathieu who got sick on the day of good weather. He literally struggled up to Camp 2 where we knew he wouldn't be able to get to the next day. Originally we had planned two bivouacs for the ascent, but since the weather window was only forecast for 2.5 days, we had to devise a new plan. Roger and I broketrail up to the rock barrier and deposited the climbing gear at the ledge before descending back to Camp 2. Meme was able to recover well that day and so the three of us started at 3:00 a.m. in the morning, our idea being that we'd only needing one bivouac thanks to the work we'd done the day before. The plan worked out perfectly and we were at the summit at 9:00 the next day.

You 3 slept in two-man tent on a spectacular snow-mushroom. Excuse me for the silly question but - what did it feel like? Were you able to regain strength at all before the summit push?
Yes, that's right, where we pitched our tent was indeed a very special place . We stayed tied in overnight in case of emergency, for example should the mushroom collapse... I'm very lucky that I fall asleep quickly and easily, Meme had trouble falling asleep and Roger had a headache that made life difficult for him.

Can you tell us more about that pitch in the ice tunnel?
It was one of the best pitches I have ever climbed and that at 6500m. The tunnel is about 10-15m long and makes a 180' curve. You can't really describe it in words, you have to have climbed it. Meme said: "This pitch is for Simon, he deserves it!” That was a really kind gesture from him and made me very happy! I felt honoured. THANK YOU again Meme!

How did the name of the route come about and why did you decide to make this reference to the American expedition on the North face?
After the successful ascent, our thoughts of course turned to what we should call the line. Everyone had various different ideas but no name was approved by everyone until I made the suggestion with "Goldfish" - suddenly everyone was very enthusiastic and in the end we chose it. One reason was definitely the tunnel, because up there I felt like a goldfish in an aquarium!