Mountaineering is such a sacred practice. It shakes you at your very core and makes you feel alive like nothing else all while being the humblest of experiences. It allows us to access breathtaking places far away from crowds and mass-tourism, far away from modern society and so much closer to our true selves.

In the Andes the indigenous refer to the mountains as Gods – ‘Apus’. There are countless ancient stories about each of the Apus and their relationships among one another. Ancient tales, which explain the reality of the landscapes that we witness today. Hearing about this as a foreigner who has never been to the Andes, I understand how one would be entertained by these but nonetheless disregard them as being nonsense – I know I probably would myself.

However, when in the remoteness of the Andes you undoubtedly feel the sacred link between humans and cosmos – the sky and earth and how everything is intertwined. From humans to animals, from plants to rivers, oceans until the rocks and the stars. Every being is indeed endowed with a spirit. This cannot be adequately encompassed or described with words, but it can be experienced. And mountaineering is the key that opens up this world so ever full of wonder.

Once out there, thousands and thousands of meters above sea-level, by yourself in the secluded wilderness surrounded by jagged peaks, listening to the glaciers crack and the rocks falling – you feel the spirit of the mountain, you feel its aliveness. This intimacy that is built right here between you and the mountain is an incomparable kind of high. You never forget a mountain and you never forget a summit. We take them with us for the rest of our lives wherever we go.

Living in the modern world which is more and more structured every day, we humans need a sense of relief, a sense of: Freedom. In modern society we strive for perfection – a world without mistakes and full of security. This is attempted by imposing countless rules and regulations. Directives given by everyone else but us. In the modern world we don’t want to die even though everyone will die one day. And we don’t want to fail even though everyone fails – it’s human nature. Perfection is not human. In the mountains there are no shields to protect us from reality. It’s a world where we are free to be, to make decisions and to make mistakes. In fact, we have to make decisions, we cannot just be ignorant bystanders, because we are the only ones out there. Your life is given back to you and put into your own hands. And that feeling is simply exhilarating.

Because it is our life after all. Right? Or is it? Our right to life in modern society doesn’t always allow us the right to actually risk it. And if that fact doesn’t feel strange to you then think about it again, because it really should. The mountains are wild, inherently risky places and not to be confused with busy boulevards or café-lined shopping streets. And for now, they are still a holy sanctuary where modern society has not yet left its mark. These far-away places are thrilling because our lives there are not shepherded by another, our safety not curated. It is very difficult to describe with words, but oh how it can be felt once experienced. This kind of freedom is our real nature and whether you feel it or not it is lingering inside of all of us: It is truly the only thing we really, actually need. No material goods can make up for this deficit.

Our prescription? You already guessed it – the mountains! To us the mountains = freedom in its purest sense. Especially the Andes mountains. Here you won’t find hordes of people, cable cars or helicopters soaring above every 10 minutes. It is truly wild and untouched. There is a sacred energy source that radiates from the powerful Apus. Looking at them and climbing them respectfully, you will feel the wisdom, love and life-lessons which they carry in each rock, crevasse and icicle.

So, is the pursuit worth the risk? If you need to ask this question you have probably never tried mountaineering before, because any climber would tell you yes, but they wouldn’t be able to explain to you why that is in a logical sense. Because the answer is so much bigger than just logic. To a non-climber it will never make any sense until they feel it for themselves. However, this entire blog post is an attempt to explain exactly what it is that makes the pursuit worth the risk to us.

Climbing big mountains is a way to overcome the self and experience the sublime at the same time., but this inherently entails an environment of risk. You cannot have one without the other – that’s the balance of the mountains, of nature, of life. The mountains hold this sacred complementary duality, which can be transferred to the perspective of life itself. The contrast between climbing up in the dark night and descending in the bright daylight, the contrast of life and death, freezing nights and feeling the caress of the warm sunrays in the morning. You cannot have one without the other and so is life. We need darkness in order to know what light is, we need cold to know what warmth is and if death didn’t exist we wouldn’t know what being alive really is.

The mountain does not take consideration of our limitations, so we are forced to push ourselves to thrive within its challenges. Push ourselves to become confident in the ability to handle discomfort – to find resilience in the face of adversity. And these are all lessons we bring with us to help us overcome hard times, not just in the mountains where it’s extreme, but in any situation in life. It is also in the mountains that we are faced with ourselves – our egos. We are taught our place in this world, which is not above or at the center of anything. Nature is not external to ourselves, it IS us – we are nature. We are all connected, and humans are not more alive or entitled to anything than the mountains, rivers and trees. We are faced with the immense strength of Pachamama (Mother Earth) and have to succumb to the mountains, which are so much greater, bigger and stronger than us. We learn to listen and to feel every breath of the mountain; to respect and to coexist, for in that moment you are absolutely dependent on one another.

Being out there requires your complete presence and all distractions are taken away – something that is very hard to come by in everyday life. It Is a place beyond competition – far away from the commercial athletic world. It is just you and nature – one and the same. This is where I feel the most pure, the most rich and the most real. Nothing else has ever been able to give me that feeling. So, if you ask me I would say: The biggest risk of all is to live a life not reaching for your dreams. We are not going to be here forever, so if the mountains are calling, you must go.

Go and be present in the Now surrounded by the most incredible landscapes. Open your soul, listen to the mountains, climb ethically, feel the power from within and come back different. The Andes are where I feel the strongest and humblest at the same time – a very rare mix of human emotions.

This is where adventure still exists.

Check out all of our ethical expeditions in the Andes HERE