Jost Kobusch is back in Nepal, preparing for the fourth round of his Everest project. His long-term goal is to climb solo in winter, without oxygen, self-supported, and via the Lho La and the West Ridge.
“If I am good at something, it’s planning,” the 34-year-old German told ExplorersWeb. In this case, his plan is to arrive at the mountain in the best shape possible, physically and mentally.
Training on the Chulus
Kobusch arrived in Kathmandu two weeks ago, together with friends Nicolas Scheidtweiler, Ella Bruemmer, and photographer Alex Pichon. The group soon moved to Manang in the Annapurna region and began acclimatizing in the Chulu range.
Jost Kobusch (in yellow) scouts around Manang. Photo: Alex Pichon
The plan was to spend a few nights at altitude and traverse the four Chulu peaks, all above 6,000m. “[However,] expeditions rarely unfold exactly as expected,” Kobusch admitted.
Alex Pichon felt exhausted after reaching the summit of the second peak, and the group abandoned the traverse there. “At least, we traversed from the summit of Chulu Far East (6,059m) to the top of Chulu East (6,584m) from the southeast,” Kobusch said. He says their line between the two peaks was new.
The line followed by Kobusch and his team up Chulu East. Photo: Alex Pichon
Next: 7K, 8K and Everest
Their next plan will be to climb a 7,000m peak in the area before Kobusch moves to the Khumbu in November. “I want to reach 8,000m, but on a different mountain than Everest, before the beginning of winter,” he said.
He wants to be completely acclimatized by the time he starts working on Everest on December 22, the start of calendar winter. Kobusch will have two photographers in Base Camp, but he will climb alone.
Acclimatization in Manang, Photo: Alex Pichon
“I need to be able to move efficiently, make good decisions when I’m tired, manage risk alone, and stay comfortable in an environment where very small mistakes can have very serious consequences,” Kobusch recently wrote on social media. He says that so far, all is going well. “I’m feeling good, I’ve done my homework, and I will start again on Everest better prepared than ever.”
A lifetime project
Kobusch has attempted winter Everest solo on three previous occasions, always via the Lho La and the West Ridge, thus avoiding venturing alone into the Khumbu Icefall.
In his first attempt in 2019-20, he reached the West Shoulder and pushed above 7,300m. On the second attempt in 2021-22, high winds didn’t let him go beyond 6,400m. He planned to try again the following year, but he caught dengue fever while training in Nepal and had to cancel.
Once recovered, he soloed Denali in February-March 2023. Everest had to wait one more year, this time due to a back injury. On the third attempt in 2024-25, he reached his highest point yet: 7,537m on December 27.
Kobusch’s highest point is shown with a green circle, and the Hornbein Couloir is the pink line on the 3D map by RealityMaps.
“The chances of success are not particularly high,” he recently wrote. “If I had to put a number on it, I would say around 20%. But that does not make the attempt meaningless. If anything, it is part of what makes it interesting.”
Further details about his preparations are in the video below.
