
Christof Nettekoven
Christof is a German expedition climber, alpinist explorer and devourer of cultural variety around the world. Christof has led expeditions to 5 first ascents in the past 5 years alone. Apart from unclimbed peaks the pristine culture of mountain tribes along the way fascinate him the most. His documentary “Afghanistan´s Secret Peaks/Das andere Afghanistan” about Afghan nomads has been shown at several recent film festivals.
Q&A
How did you first get into exploring/mountaineering?
The challenges and adventures of the greats who went before me are my real inspiration. The idea of mountaineering expeditions is the desire to discover and to explore remote places. It’s about the blank spaces on the map with nameless unclimbed mountains at the end of the world. But an expedition is not only focused on an unclimbed summit, it’s also the journey into far away regions and remote places with interesting people, traditions and culture. This unspoiled cultural experience is as important to me as the pure climb itself. That’s why I do it.
What is the most challenging or rewarding expedition you have achieved?
Since my preferred expedition targets always have to include two things, unclimbed peaks and fascinating culture of mountain tribes, there are two different kinds of reward.
As a cultural highlight, I consider the time living with Pamir nomads on the Wakhan high plateau in Afghanistan! The climbing was not the most challenging, but the experience with the local people was amazing.
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