Mountaineer Nicolas Hojac climbing up a mountain rock face.

© Thomas Senf

Mountaineering

Success isn’t always about being on top, just ask Nicolas Hojac

Swiss mountaineer Nicolas Hojac was part of a team that attempted an ascent of India’s Mount Shivling in 2021. A new film, Tribute to Failure, charts how it didn’t go to plan…

Written by Susanne Loacker

4 min readPublished on 18.07.2023 · 13:10 UTC

Mount Shivling is located in the Indian part of the Himalayas. With its 6,543-metre-high altitude and its shape reminiscent of the Matterhorn in the Alps, it’s no surprise that scaling this peak is considered technically demanding. For mountaineers, the mountain almost has mythical status, given the complexity of climbing it.

The mountain is named after the Hindu deity Shiva and is famous among Hindu pilgrims for being the holy source of the water that fills the River Ganges. It has steep rock faces on three sides, and only the west side is flat enough to make a reasonably clean attempt at climbing it. The first ascent via the west side was made in 1974. Since then, the eastern ridge and northern side of the mountain have been successfully ascended but with much difficulty along the way.

Mount Shivling as viewed from distance. — Mount Shivling
© Nicolas Hojac

In 2021, four Swiss mountaineers – Nicolas Hojac, Jonas Schild, Andy Schnarf and Stephan Siegrist – made an attempt to try a new route up Shivling. If they succeeded, it would be the first accession of the mountain on its south side.

The team faced challenges such as unfavourable weather, an ill team member and at times an impenetrable mountain – all of which is documented in the film, Tribute to Failure, which tells the story about the attempted ascent of Shivling's south face. The film shows the boundless courage and unconditional solidarity of Hojac and his colleagues in the face of adversity. A decision was ultimately made to abandon the attempt when Schnarf suffered a high-altitude pulmonary edema and had to be taken off the mountain.

Tribute to Failure artwork

1 h 6 min

Tribute to Failure

Four Swiss alpinists attempt the first ascent of a new route on the 6,543m Shivling in India.

English +2

Reflecting on that expedition, Hojac sat down to talk to us about the attempt and its failure.

What goes through your mind when you hear the word Shivling?

Nicolas Hojac: I'm thinking of a beautiful mountain, but also a sacred mountain - the name refers to the Hindu deity Shiva. Of course, I'm also thinking of the south face, which is still waiting for a first ascent. For me, this mountain is the perfect goal, but I have to reckon with others getting ahead of me. I would wholeheartedly give it to them. But, of course, it would bother me a little, too.

So no further attempt is planned?

Certainly not this year or next. After that, we'll see. I already have quite a few projects in the pipeline, and you can't just do an expedition like the Shivling on the side. On the other hand, we have already done so much planning work that we could do it exactly as it is.

Nicolas Hojac and Jonas Schmid as seen on their attempt to climb the south face of Mount Shivling. — Nicolas Hojac and Jonas Schmid on the side of Mount Shivling
© Nicolas Hojac

Victories and successes are often simply discarded. Defeats and failures are analysed more thoroughly. As a result, you usually learn more from it
Nicolas Hojac

The film features you talking about "difficult decisions" – which one was the most difficult?

Decisions like when we decided to turn back were made quickly, unanimously and without complications. After all, it's a matter of life and death. We knew that rescue was never to be expected, and that's why we always played defensively. From my point of view, decisions about strategy, material, route, schedule, etc., were more difficult to make because there is not only one right decision in such matters.

Is it really like they say – that the journey is more important than the goal?

Definitely for me. When it comes to mountaineering, it's not like the last step on the summit is difficult, and you're successful when you've taken that last step. Such an ascent, and of course a first ascent in particular, is a very large number of small successes. And it's not like we made a big mistake - high-altitude pulmonary oedema is sometimes just bad luck.

The south side of Mount Shivling as seen from distance. — Hojac left abseiling equipment should others try this route up Shivling
© Nicolas Hojac

The Swiss climber Ueli Steck once said, “Every defeat takes you one step further” – is that right?

That's a truism in top-class sports. Victories and successes are often simply discarded. Defeats and failures are analysed more thoroughly. As a result, you usually learn more from it.

What does an expedition like this do to friendships?

There's no question: it welds you together. We all know what's going on in each other's minds. I've also had altitude sickness, so I knew exactly how Andi felt, physically and mentally. It's true that we mountaineers tend to be alpha animals. But we've all been around long enough to know that we have to work as a team.

Part of this story

Nicolas Hojac

Swiss mountaineer Nicolas Hojac is known for scaling peaks all over the world – including many speedy ascents of the Eiger north face in his home country.

Tribute to Failure

Four Swiss alpinists attempt the first ascent of a new route on the 6,543m Shivling in India.