Jost Kobusch has been quiet lately on social media. The German climber soloed Chulu West three weeks ago, but then he caught dengue, a potentially serious illness that has struck down a lot of climbers in Nepal this mosquito-y fall.
ExplorersWeb spoke to Kobusch today, just as he arrived back in Chamonix.
“I am doing better, but I am still far from fully recovered,” he said. “I have been really low energy these last days.”
Kobusch admits that the illness has been both physically and mentally hard. “I want to train, I want to do things but…my body is still too weak,” he admitted.
Winter plans
With his long-term plan to solo Everest West Ridge in winter, we expected that he would again be spending the winter in Nepal, as he has the last two years. But that wasn’t his idea, even before he contracted dengue.
“I am still engaged in my Everest project, but my next winter goal is Alaska,” he said. “It is also part of the Everest training because Alaska temperatures are so much more brutal.”
Kobusch hopes that he will recover soon enough to make Alaska happen.
