DAVID GÖTTLER

My dad introduced me to the mountains when I was 7. That's how it all started... I stopped when I was 12 because I was too afraid of heights. When I was 14, I decided to start again, because I noticed that something was missing. I was never that into typical team sports. I feel at home mountaineering and climbing and I found something that continues to motivate me to this day. Personal challenge forms a large part of my motivation.

To be honest, I didn't have any heroes who I wanted to copy. But I am inspired by certain individual accounts. For example, Herman Buhl or Habeler/Messner expeditions.

If I am, I don't assign myself this role. I don't conduct myself any differently, now that I might be a role model. I think that it's important to be honest and show respect for others, including their achievements and points of view, whether mountaineering-related or in general. I try to live my life according to the motto that you should always be honest and remain true to yourself. I hope that this is acknowledged and appreciated by others. Ultimately, I hope that other people are inspired by my actions to go out and experience their own adventures.

My time with the German Alpine Club expedition team (DAV Expedkader) was really important – although I only realized this later on. That was back in 1999-2001. It helped me lay important foundations, including my future choice of career as a mountain guide. I also met some great people and made some good friends, such as Michi Wärthl or Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and Ralf Dujmovits.

Other important milestones were often moments and experiences that proved decisive. I recognized some of them as such as they took place, while others only became apparent at a later stage.

I can still clearly recall the night we spent on Cholatse, at 6000m. We bivouacked in a snow hole and then climbed to the summit as dawn broke. Or the descent from the summit of Dhaulagiri back to base camp, without any further nights on the mountain.

These experiences taught me what I was capable of and how far you can push yourself.

Without a doubt, the events on Ama Dablam. We'd reached the summit, but couldn't make it back down on our own. During our rescue, the helicopter was involved in a terrible accident. Many people have helped me to try to come to terms with what happened, from the trainers at Air Zermatt to the families of the two helicopter pilots who died. The incredible friendship shown to me by the pilots' families continues to help me to this day –it is a product of my darkest times, but it has turned into something rather wonderful. The events on Ama Dablam will always remain with me. I am not proud of what happened. It is something I will never forget.

I don't have a best-ever climbing experience. There are just too many of them. One that ranks right up there was standing on the summit of Makalu with my best friend. Or climbing for the first time in the Picos de Europa with my father (who was 74) and my girlfriend... It was an unforgettable day.