welcome

WELCOME YANNICK GLATTHARD Mountain sports are a way of life for those hailing from Meiringen, Switzerland. In this alpine crucible, people live, breathe, sweat and bleed the mountains – which may begin to explain why the 16-year-old local resident Yannick Glatthard is already such an accomplished all-around athlete who has earned some impressive results in a diverse range of competitions such as freeride skiing, ice climbing and bouldering.

For example, Yannick took 10th place in the Ice Climbing World Cup in Saas Fee (after only three months of training); he has placed in the top ten on the Freeride World Tour twice, and he is widely considered one of the best boulderers and sport climbers in Switzerland. It’s easy to forget that Yannick is only a teenager, but remember that he grew up with climbing in his blood: his grandfather founded the first mountain-climbing school in the world and trained the great Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who completed the historic first ascent of Mount Everest with Edmund Hillary in 1953. We sat down with Yannick to ask him about his past, present and what the future will bring.

YOU APPEAR TO BE VERY MELLOW AND DETERMINED FOR YOUR AGE. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF? When I was 12, I spent a week on my own, climbing in Chamonix with a friend. We bivouacked there. I have often had to fend for myself. You find out more about yourself. I would describe myself as a person who’s at one with nature. Very inward-looking.

WE SAW THAT YOU LISTED BOB MARLEY AS ONE OF YOUR FAVOURITE MUSICIANS ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE. IS HE YOUR ROLE MODEL? His lifestyle is way too laid back – not my thing! But I like his music, especially for psyching me up at competitions. I’m not often nervous. Before getting started, I lose myself in my thoughts, which are far away in the mountains. That is when I need music. Without music, I would be incomplete.

WHAT SONG BEST CAPTURES YOUR FEELINGS FOR THE MOUNTAINS? There is a yodelling song called “Steinmandli Jutz”. It has a solemn melody and is almost ceremonial. It matches the way I feel when I’m out in the mountains.

YOUR SPORT CLIMBING ACHIEVEMENTS ARE IMPRESSIVE. DO YOU ASPIRE TO BE LIKE CHRIS SHARMA? HE IS ALSO ONE OF YOUR FAVOURITES ON FACEBOOK. Not really – that’s not my lifestyle either. Obviously, it would be cool to climb a 9b. But if it doesn’t work out then I won’t be heartbroken. Being outdoors in the mountains and chasing summits – that is my true passion. I am a mountaineer. Rock climbing is not the main thing. It’s the mountains that make me happiest, not the gym.

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO DO SPORT-CLIMBING COMPETITIONS THEN? I want to measure myself against others and see which training methods are most effective. Plus, it is simply unbelievable who you will meet at competitions. This is where I have met many friends for future climbing projects.

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY IN YOUR CLIMBING LIFE LOOK LIKE? It’s probably a lot different than what most people would imagine. I’m up at 5:30 a.m., and at the building site by 6:15. I’m currently working as an apprentice carpenter. I’m at the building site till 6 p.m. and after that, I go training. The job is great. It gives me a good level of fitness and strength, and keeps me grounded. I used to train too much.

WHAT ABOUT ON THE WEEKENDS? Out to the mountains! In winter and spring I often go freeriding or ski mountaineering. Discovering new territory – that’s what’s best.

HOW DO YOU TRAIN? I don’t really like the word “training”. I simply go climbing. For me, based on my intuition.

WHAT ABOUT CLIMBING IN THE MOUNTAINS, IS THAT MORE ENGAGING TO YOU? Climbing in the gym and on rock are completely different. Sport climbing is more about strength, and you can be distracted or not totally psyched while you’re doing it. The mountains are different. You can’t simply let go out there. A sound psyche and mental strength are necessary.

HOW DO YOU PREPARE MENTALLY? It’s not something that happens overnight. You need a lot of experience on rock. I try to climb as much as possible at a level where I feel safe. If it gets too scary, then breathe slowly and deeply. That calms you down.

WHAT FRIGHTENS YOU? My greatest fear is not of dying in the mountains. The worst thing would be an injury that would prevent me from climbing. But I am used to dealing with injuries. I was a bit wild as a kid, and fractured my skull when I was one and broke several bones later on.

WHAT DOES FAMILY MEAN TO YOU? Home, that is the place where I get food in the evening. And where I know that they care for me and stand behind me when I don’t feel well.

HOW IMPORTANT WILL CLIMBING BE TO YOU IN 10 YEARS? I’ll be 26. When I’ve finished my carpentry apprenticeship, I want to start training as a mountain guide. Once I’ve completed that, I would like to send a couple of projects alongside working as a guide. Basically, on a scale of 1 to 10, climbing will still have a priority of 9 to 10 for me.

WHICH MOUNTAINS DO YOU DREAM ABOUT? WHAT ATTRACTS YOU? Everything – except Everest! I would rather climb the North Face of the Grandes Jorasses. I go for technically challenging routes. Winter climbing would be a dream, in Patagonia, maybe in the Himalayas too. Or maybe big-wall climbing in Greenland.

COULD YOU IMAGINE DOING ANOTHER SPORT AS INTENSIVELY AS YOU DO MOUNTAINEERING? I started climbing about on rocks when I was five, so I don’t know any other way of life. I don’t know what life would be like without climbing.