Lena Müller is committed to climate-friendly climbing and shows how to get to the climbing spots by public transport. She already has a good complexion on her face this morning. She's just back from a trip to Arco - she didn't have a car, just a train and a bike. Inconvenient or liberating? For Lena, the answer is clear.
Sinceshe became the first German to climb a route in grade E9/E10 two years ago with the trad test piece "Prinzip Hoffnung", Lena Müller has been on the media climbing map. We talk to the Allgäu native, who lives in Innsbruck, about climate-friendly climbing, her work as a climate researcher, the freedom to act and her new project, the sustainable climbing guide for Tyrol.
Interview questions Simon Schöpf: In the current film project 'Alps - to go?!' by Ortovox, you can be seen carrying out field tests as a climate researcher in the Stubai Valley and climbing in the Karwendel. Where are you putting more energy into right now?
Lena Müller: "To be honest: Most of my time now goes into research and my self-employment. Climbing has unfortunately taken a bit of a back seat over the last two years, but I'm definitely struggling with the fact that climbing is getting a raw deal. But that's probably the case for many of us who work. Otherwise, it depends on the time of year: I find most of my time for climbing in winter, and in summer I carry out my research experiments because that's when the plants are growing. In my doctoral thesis, I'm looking at the effects of the climate crisis, especially the increasing drought events, on mountain regions. We are conducting experiments in the Stubai Valley and in the Innsbruck Botanical Garden."
In the intro to the film, the voiceover says, accompanied by impressive shots of nature: "Today we are at a point where we are doing more harm than good. We are destroying what we love and need. And we know it." Knowledge is one thing, action is another - how do you manage to unite the two hearts beating in your chest?
In my case, the two are mutually dependent: knowledge and action! The main reason for me personally to change something in my life was the knowledge of the effects of the climate crisis.
Through my studies in ecology and now my PhD, I have dealt with the climate crisis so much that at some point I felt the need to change something in practice. Since then, I've been campaigning for political change and trying to reduce my personal footprint at the same time. Climbing can also be climate-friendly.
The new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was recently published, which unfortunately got lost in the turmoil of the war in Ukraine. As a climate researcher, what do you think when you read the conclusion?
It makes you realize how much suffering is still to come. And that the later and slower politicians act, the more people will suffer in the end. But the other side is that the report also shows how much opportunity we still have. We need to act now. There are strategies on how different regions can prepare for the changes. Above all, however, the report shows that politicians must finally act - decisively!
Theoretical question: Would you also cycle to the climbing garden if you hadn't studied ecology?
Very good question and really difficult to answer. In fact, maybe not. For me, dealing with the climate crisis during my studies and research was the impetus to change many areas of my life. At the end of the day, that included mobility in sport, climbing. I had the feeling that it wasn't enough to stop eating meat and buying organic food, but still drive to the crags a few times a week. But my answer also highlights a major problem: the climate crisis is an information crisis! We are not being sufficiently and honestly informed by politicians and the media about what we are facing.
Photo: Tobias Attenberger
This is also where political control comes into play on a massive scale: If it becomes more convenient to travel by train and also affordable for everyone, if public transportation is automatically the most convenient and cheapest solution for mobility, then a correspondingly large number of people will use it. And otherwise only fanatics like me who think it's important (laughs).
In your doctoral thesis, you are researching the effects of drought events on mountain ecosystems. Can you describe in a few sentences (that we can understand) how climate change is already manifesting itself for us mountaineers and climbers?
The Alpine region is extremely affected by the climate crisis. Because the warming in the Alpine region is much stronger than the global average and the mountains are also a very sensitive ecosystem. The consequences are: Glaciers are melting, the duration of snow cover is shortening, permafrost is thawing and extreme weather events such as heatwaves, heavy precipitation and droughts are increasing.
Looking into the future: What consequences can we expect if we continue to practice "business as usual"?
If politicians do not act and do not limit global warming to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century, the consequences will be dramatic! The consequences are well known ... rising sea levels, a shortage of drinking water, increased crop failures, floods, a dramatic decline in biodiversity. The effects are also extremely unevenly distributed globally, both the consequences and the possibilities for adaptation.
Photo: Peter Dippel
Sure, you can reduce CO2 consumption, but climbing is and remains a sport in which traveling, getting to the rocks, is essential. We climb on polyamide ropes, in rubber and leather boots, in colorful Gore-Tex jackets; all of this consumes energy and resources that, one could cynically argue, are more urgently needed elsewhere. In view of the escalating climate crisis, is it still possible to climb without a guilty conscience?
You're right, even if you travel with aslittle CO2 as possible, if you use sustainable or little equipment and repair your broken jacket ... you still use resources for your leisure time and personal fun. Whether someone has a guilty conscience is a very individual question and goes beyond climbing. I think many of us are becoming aware of our situation: that we in the global North are very privileged. We are less affected by the climate crisis than the global South, we have a high emissions debt, and high emissions compared to other, mostly poorer regions; and this awareness can lead to action. That's what happened to me. I try to act and change things, which helps me to combat a guilty conscience. Moving from a guilty conscience - or becoming aware - to proactive action is liberating!
You try to set an inspiring example and make a personal change. You make films, write articles, talk to people, draw attention to climate-friendly climbing. Is that infectious for others? How do your friends perceive it?
I really hope it's contagious! I've received a lot of positive feedback, even from people I don't even know. Since I climbed the "Prinzip Hoffnung" in Bürs, I've basically just been lucky to keep getting requests on this topic, the opportunity to talk about it publicly. And with all the feedback, you can see that you're not alone, that it's a shared concern, that you're a community; if it wasn't for that, I couldn't do it!
But it's still difficult to find someone who wants to take public transport to go climbing. But I'm confident that this will become easier and easier and that climate-friendly climbing will become part of everyday life.
Photo: David Herzig
You come from the Allgäu, but live in Innsbruck. What brought you here?
Exactly, for over 10 years now! I came here to study, Bachelor's, Master's and now my doctorate. I've also climbed a lot in the Allgäu, so I really wanted to stay in the mountains, so Innsbruck was a natural choice.
What are your favorite climbing areas? And can you give us a few tips on which walls are easiest to reach by public transport?
In winter, I really like going to the Martinswand, it's easy to get there by bus or train.
I now also often go to the Kufstein region, because it's easy to get there by train and I like to be comfortable. The Geisterschmiedwand is great, really good climbing and if you take your bike on the S-Bahn, you can be at the crag in 10 minutes from the station, which is really easy. The Morsbach climbing garden is also good, as is Sparchen, which takes about 20 minutes by bike.
You're also currently working on a sustainable climbing guide. Tell us more about it!
We're going to print it next week! I made the climbing guidebook together with a friend of mine, Deniz Scheerer. In it, we present climbing gardens in Tyrol that are easy to reach from Innsbruck by public transport or bike. The focus is on how to get there: our aim is to make climate-friendly climbing easier and to keep the barrier to entry as low as possible. I spent a lot of time trying things out and researching at the beginning, it all takes energy. We hope that our guide will make it easier for more and more climbers to leave the car at home.
"Climate-friendly climbing - A guidebook for traveling by bus, train and bike in Tyrol" will be available free of charge as a printed guidebook or online from May 2022.
