Also, here in its entirety is the Q + A interview with Miha Valic.
Where are you from?
Ljubljana, Slovenia
What inspired you to try this feat? Why try this in winter, versus spring/summer like the others have?
I was thinking about similar projects, and when I started my research I learned about several previous attempts of marathon in the Alps. It looked very interesting and hard, so that’s why I decided to try. I chose winter because I wanted to make a step forward from the other attempts (and success from Martin Moran and Simon Jenkins in summer).
Many (or most) of these peaks will be unfamiliar to American readers, so to be brief, what range of technical difficulty are we talking about for all 82 peaks, and how much harder are they in the winter, and why?
It depends on which route you climb. The normal routes are usually quite easy, but when you start to connect the peaks there are some very hard ridge traverses. The easiest peaks (Gran Paradiso, Piz Bernina, some peaks in Monte Rosa range) I could do mostly with skis (French grade F). The hardest ones (Arete du Diable, traverse of Grandes Jorasses, traverse Taschorn – Dom and Schreckhorn - Lauteraarhorn, Brouillard ridge of Mont Blanc…) were hard climbing up do grade D+ and technical difficulties in rock up to V-VI in UIAA grades. I think that they are much harder in winter because of the short day, avalanches, snow on the rocks, cold, and wind.
You must have been using an incredible amount of energy – what kind of food did you take with you, or how much were you eating per day or each night to stay healthy?
For breakfast and during the day I usually ate some energy bars, and in the evening I cooked one package of instant pasta. That went on for many days, and right now I think they are really disgusting. I didn’t want to carry to much food with me, especially when I went in the mountains for 4 days or more.
What kinds of things went through your head on the peaks you climbed solo? Were there ever moments when you became so scared or tired that you doubted the sanity/validity of trying this?
When I climb solo I usually don’t think about anything. I try to concentrate on the next step and the next move. Or I think about really stupid things, and I repeat them on and on like a mantra. Of course there were some bad moments when you ask yourself, “why are you doing this?” and if it is still safe enough. But those were brief moments.
I know about the tragedy with Berhault – was this something that presented a mental obstacle or ran through your head up there?
Patrick Berhault was a great climber, of course I thought about him, especially when I was doing the Tashhorn – Dom traverse (where he got killed). The problem with this project is that you are in the mountains for such a long time that it is normal that you make a mistake. And on most of the places the mistake can be fatal, because mostly I climbed without the rope.
