On tours, Jochen Mählmann climbs 3,000 vertical metres through the Alps or the Dolomites
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hen hobby mountaineer, Jochen Mählmann, sets out on a tour with friends, precise and responsible planning is essential: Is the equipment all there? Is the route clear and safe? Is everyone in the group fit enough for this undertaking? And does the weather allow for a mountain ascent? Then it’s time for crampons, pickaxe, rope and helmet. Mählmann’s hobbies are mountaineering and climbing.
JOCHEN MÄHLMANN AGE: 36 HOBBY: MOUNTAIN CLIMBING ACTIVE SINCE: 2002
At Krone, he works in strategy and program management. “There, I have to survey strategic issues, align them with one another and, if necessary, resolve conflicts,” explained the 36-yearold. He has to make informed decisions and assess situations correctly in the workplace as well. “As in mountaineering, the questions are very complex. And in this sport as well as in my job, an enormous amount of concentration is needed.” Concentrated, prudent behaviour can be vital in mountain tours. In addition, good safeguards are mandatory: When a group climbs high mountains, they are all connected by ropes. For example, if someone fell into a crevasse, the others could save him.
FASCINATING TECHNIQUE
Mählmann discovered his passion for climbing through his alternative service, which he completed in Ireland: Among other things, he had the task of cutting tree branches and to do so, he had to climb them. “We were taught the techniques for how to do it right,” he recalls. “That fascinated me and so I have stuck with it.” Back in his homeland, in flat northern Germany, he only had climbing gyms, in which to train. But he soon began to travel regularly to the Alps and the Dolomites. There he continues to go rock climbing, or undertake alpine tours at up to approximately 3,000 metres. He is not drawn to mountains that are much higher than that, since he values the sport as way of balancing things. “Mont Blanc might be exciting, or Ortler in Austria,” he explains. “But that’s not a necessity. I just enjoy the beauty of nature and the experience of being in the group.”
