D.from K2 to the top of Kilimanjaro there is an immense distance, and it is not just a matter of kilometers. Tamara Lunger, 36, from Alto Altesina, a few weeks ago reached the highest peak on the African continent as part of a project against female genital mutilation. A topic that she had already been close to her heart for years, but to which she has decided to devote herself with more commitment since her new life began. At the beginning of 2021, during an expedition to K2, five of his companions died within a few days. She was saved, but she has changed since then and today she thinks that mountaineering needs more gentleness.
He will talk about it on Friday 2 al Base Camp Festival which will take place until 4 in Oira Crevalodossola (VCO): three days dedicated to the culture of the mountains and the outdoors, to the relationships between human beings and the environment. In a campsite surrounded by nature you can meet philosophers, mountaineers, explorers, artists, and participate in excursions, yoga climbs and many activities for young and old (for tickets, here).
Tamara Lunger, 36 years old. On 2 September it will be at the Campo Base festival, in Oira Crevalodossola (VCO). According to her, mountaineering today needs sweetness.
What will you talk about at the Campo Base Festival?
I think of K2, of my latest winter exploits. When I attend a meeting, I never want to know the topics in advance. I prefer to be surprised, the result is more spontaneous.
Tamara Lunger: “Me and the Masai women”
Before the tragic expedition to K2, a peak that she had already reached in 2014, she was twice the Italian ski mountaineering champion, and in 2008 the long-distance world champion. His first adventure in Nepal dates back to 2009. But then she changed trajectory. What did you go to do this summer in Tanzania?
I had wanted to do something about infibulation for a long time. Last year a volunteer association from Merano contacted me, Circle, which has set up an important project on this issue. I brought my small contribution: I met Masai women and girls, I told about my experience as a woman, my respect for the body, which is sometimes put under pressure by too intense training. I listened to their stories, with respect: you can’t go and explain why not infibulation. The reasons must be understood; each tribe is different, many women think that mutilation is necessary to become stronger. We have created a good relationship, I will definitely come back. And while I was there, I climbed Kilimanjaro.
Tamara Lunger, 36, with Masai women as part of a project against infibulation.
After the tragedy of K2, it has never returned to climbing 8000. Will you think again?
I don’t know, Kilimanjaro is 5895 meters high. The 8000 has become a circus, it has taken the city to a high altitude. People who have never ascended before go, tick and move on to something else. A consumerist vision that does not belong to me. For me the mountain is sacred.
Tamara Lunger: “In the mountains you need sweetness”
So what will he do?
I am looking for my way, a different way to go to the mountains, more aware. Maybe with other destinations, 7000 or 6000 in distant places, less vertical and more horizontal paths, of exploration, in contact with different cultures, little known. I will not return to the Tamara of once.
How heavy is the memory of that expedition on K2 still?
I think about it every day, talk often with missing climbers, ask for advice, and light candles in their memory all the time. The mountain is a fire that burns inside me, but I still feel the weight of that tragedy. Even if he left me one positive thing: I learned to listen to my body, I have more respect for it. Before I was my performance, I always wanted to succeed in a business. Now I have a softer, more feminine approach.
Tamara Lunger, 36 years old. On 2 September she will be at the Campo Base Festival in Oira Crevalodossona (VCO). According to her, mountaineering needs sweetness.
In the world of mountaineering, which has always been male, do you think this approach is necessary?
I think so. In the mountains you need sweetness, femininity, to get out of the logic of competition at all costs, of performance and of the exploitation of the territory. I am doing my own research, with a more spiritual path.
Tell us about it.
In 2016, after the expedition on the Nanga Parbat, I was under enormous external pressure. I have since started meditating and still do, every morning. I defend this space at all costs, it helps me feel stronger, more in control of my life. And also to face the day in peace.
Next goals?
Go forward with this inner journey, and understand how to communicate it to others; this is why I am following a professional speaking course. From a sporting point of view, I want to understand how far I can go while remaining in harmony with myself. I’ll go back to the high mountains when I feel like it, but with a new awareness.
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