Tale of courageous Kurz can teach us all a lesson

IMAGINE for a moment you are hanging from the face of a mountain. You are metres away from safety yet have nothing left both physically and mentally for that one last push to reach safety.

In that moment, you know you are about to meet your own mortality. Do you think you could find something extra?

It’s quite possible many of us feel this way right now – and are wondering ‘how much more can I take?’

For a young German climber, Toni Kurz, this was a reality – not just a metaphor.

In 1936 Kurz was part of a team that took on the north face of the Eiger. It was a feat that had never been done before due to the sheer difficulty of the climb.

During this attempt, one of the climbers was hit by a falling rock which left him with injuries that forced the team to turn back.

As they made their way down the Eiger, an avalanche was triggered above and came down the mountain.

One of the team who had unclipped his rope was instantly swept to his death.

Another fell – still roped onto the team – and crashed into the rocks below, dying on impact.

The climber who was higher up and had the rope wrapped around his chest died from asphyxiation.

This left Kurz hanging on the rope, alive and uncertain of what was to come next.

I have always found great inspiration from the mountains and from those who explore them, pushing out of their comfort zones in the pursuit of their goals.

There are a lot of lessons we can take from these explorers and adventure athletes which can help us in our daily lives.

For me personally, these stories have given me strength in facing my tumours. They have taught me how to live.

I am always searching for a better understanding of life, and I recently just finished a short course from the University of Michigan called Finding Purpose and Meaning In Life which explained what we can learn from the story of these climbers.

The professor spoke about facing your own mortality and how this can actually help you to live a more purposeful life.

Some adventure athletes have said that they never felt more alive than when they were most at risk. I can relate to this – both from a sport side and surgery side.

Memories of skiing off piste when you live for each turn, to those long walks to the anaesthetic room. They were moments in my life that gave me that feeling... the feeling that tomorrow didn’t matter and all that really mattered was the right now.

I understand this can be a hard way to live. Amid all the uncertainty that Covid-19 has put upon us, it is easy to get pulled into a state of anxiety around the future.

I always try to challenge myself to the philosophy of Marcus Aurelius: Live not one’s life as though one had a thousand years, but live

ATHLETICS