Samaya x Vadim Druelle
ATTACKING THE KANGCHENJUNGA
After his first feat in Manaslu in 2021, Vadim Druelle is once again making history in the high mountains. In May 2023, he climbed Kangchenjunga in Nepal, a mythical summit over 8500 meters, in one push and without oxygen. Back in the Alps, Vadim tells us about his memorable expedition, with his words and his feelings.
What prompted you to embark on this expedition, to this place and how did you prepare?
Vadim Druelle : For me, this mountain was a bit of a dream. I absolutely wanted to go there, wind, rain, snow, whatever, I wanted to set foot there, even if I didn't reach the top. It is one of the most sacred mountains because it is prohibited from India. There is no one there, she is very wild. I sprained myself in the winter and I was only able to do one or two weeks of preparation, so I did 6000 vertical meters in one week to train a little.
Have you had moments of doubt?
VD : I doubted because we made a first attempt where we took the wrong path, so we wasted a lot of time and energy. Except that at 8200 meters altitude, it's so physical that it's not fun to go back and forth. When I reached the summit, it was special because I left directly from base camp while the others had been gone for three days, progressing camp by camp. I was alone, I had to redo the track and I told myself that it was screwed, especially since 50 km/h of wind was announced for the next day at 8 am. But I said to myself that I had to try anyway, I only had 20kg on my back. I left super early and I arrived around 6:30 p.m. at camp 4, I quickly ate and made myself water, because I could see the frontals, in the distance, already very high. I had a headache, it had really tired me to do the trace. I did a lot of breathing work, slowed down for two hours and my headache went away. I was able to start going faster and at 8400 meters I was at 350 meters per hour, I was not expecting that at all. And then I finally made it to the top!
After so much energy spent and self-transcendence, how do you feel when you finally get up there?
VD : I was super happy, I looked all over the place, it was magnificent, even if you didn't really realize it at the time. I didn't stay long, only 15 minutes, it was extremely cold, I was freezing. I had to come down quickly, while remaining very focused and lucid despite the fatigue.
How did you maintain communication with the outside world?
VD : I used the satellite telephone, with a maximum of 160 characters and the messages which arrived out of time. It was my sister Keva who received all my messages.
Keva Druelle : I received little messages that I forwarded to everyone. For their first attempt, the communication went well, but for the second, he was supposed to arrive at 7am in Nepal, which is 3am for us, but we did not receive his message of arrival at the summit until 6:30 a.m. We were anxious. It was a real relief when the message finally arrived!
We can imagine. Do you have any plans for the future?
VD : Maybe do the fourteen 8000 meters, still in one shot. Afterwards, climb less high mountains but with friends. And then that's what I wrote when I was at base camp, like for Manaslu and Kangchenjunga, above all, the mountain must choose you and animate you.
