The CheapTents blog is always a great source for excellent interviews with outdoor athletes and adventure personalities. They do a good job of not just tracking down the men and women we want to know more about, but also asking them interesting and fun questions. With that in mind, CheapTents has published its first two interviews of 2013 by catching up with mountaineer David Göttler and high alpine skier Tamara Lunger, two North Face athletes who are very good at what they do.David Göttler is a mountain guide and cameraman with four 8000-meter peaks under his belt and impressive winter summits on the Eiger, Grand Jorasse and Matterhorn. He has attempted K2 twice and last year he summited Nuptse with Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner. In his interview with Cheap Tents he talks about what inspired him to get into climbing while sharing his biggest accomplishments and weaknesses. David discusses the biggest challenges to his training, his worst injuries and what he has planned for the future, including an attempt on the West Pillar of Makalu this spring.
When you've finished reading that interview, be sure to follow it up by reading Tamara Lunger's thoughts on her climbs of Lhotse and Kahn Tengri. She shares the biggest moments of her career thus far and talks about her favorite accomplishments to date as well. Tamara offers advice for aspiring outdoor athletes, predicts where she'll be in five years and briefly discusses her plans for the year ahead, including bagging an unclimbed peak.
Both Göttler and Lunger also share their favorite pieces of gear that they take with them on their expeditions, which is always a highlight of CheapTents interviews for me. Unsurprisingly, both of them name North Face gear amongst their favorite items for use in the mountains.
These are two inspiring and interesting interviews for sure. Check them out when you get the chance.
