Go All-In or Go Home? Extreme Mountaineer Jost Kobusch on Knowing Your Limits

Let’s get straight into it: What went through your mind when you made the decision to call off your Everest expedition?

I’ll be honest—everything actually went according to plan. I injured my back during training at the end of 2023. It wasn’t some dramatic fall or big incident, just overuse. My hip couldn’t handle the sheer number of training hours I was putting in every week.

So I went into this expedition fully aware that I wasn’t in the right shape for a proper summit push. The main point was to show my sponsors how my training was progressing and to test out a few new strategies and prototypes. Reaching the summit was never the goal. What I really wanted was to break the existing winter altitude record of 7,500m—a record that had stood since 1984.

How hard was it to make that decision?

I broke the record within six days of the winter season officially starting, completely solo. I tested my new strategy, pushed the prototypes to their limits, and ticked off everything I set out to achieve. So honestly, it was an easy decision.

What did this experience teach you about yourself and your limits?

It showed me that my approach works and that I’m making huge progress in the right direction. I’m building the skills I need to gradually become the mountaineer capable of reaching the summit of Everest in winter—solo and without oxygen, via the West Ridge.

Success often lies on that fine line between recognising your limits and pushing past them. How do you decide when to stop?

It’s all about balancing risk and reward. If the risk outweighs the reward, I turn back. Simple as that.

At the end of the day, that decision is intuitive but that intuition is built on my own ‘big data’. Years of experience, lessons learned, and values I’ve developed over time. The key is feeding the system with good data because if you don’t, intuition can lead you way off course. You get good data by questioning yourself, reflecting—not just when things go well, but especially when they go wrong.

What’s your advice for anyone facing a difficult decision?

1.) Ask yourself: is this decision driven by fear, or by curiosity?

2.) Which option fits better with your personal ‘why’?

Have you ever made a decision you later regretted?

No. I live my life in a way that leaves no room for regret.

How would you define “going all-in” (differently) today?

How do you mentally prepare yourself to make the right call in extreme situations?

I think of it in three zones:

• Red is when the mental pressure is so intense, I can’t physically control my body anymore. For example, if I’m 12 metres above my last anchor point—and even though the fall wouldn’t be fatal, my brain won’t let me let go and take that 25-metre fall into the rope.
• Green is like being at home on the sofa, totally relaxed.
• Orange is the sweet spot, where most of my training in the Alps happens. It’s challenging, uncomfortable, but I’m still in control.

How important is your health—physically and mentally—when it comes to taking on these extreme challenges?

If I’m not healthy, I can’t prepare, mentally or physically. And without a trained body and mind, nothing works.

What role does nutrition play for you? Does AG1 support you on your expeditions?

AG1 is really helpful, especially when I’m travelling or on the mountain, where fresh food is limited and getting enough nutrients becomes a real challenge. But even in my regular training routine, when my body’s under constant strain, AG1 helps me push that bit harder before my immune system starts to struggle.¹

Do you have any specific routines—like AG1 in the morning—that help you stay balanced?

At home, my morning starts with a glass of water. Then I do push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups, followed by an ice-cold shower. After that, I have my smoothie with AG1. Same routine every single day.

On expeditions, I use my hot water bottle. I keep it in my sleeping bag overnight, and by morning the water’s cooled down to the perfect temperature for AG1. After that, I cook breakfast, prepare my tea for the day and make my morning coffee. Then I get into my down suit and pack up the tent. That whole sequence is the same every time. It brings stability to the unknown.

At night, when I get into the tent, the first thing I do is get straight into my sleeping bag and cook from there. First the meal, which warms me up inside my down suit, then my evening tea. Same routine, every day—it becomes automatic.

What can people learn from mountaineering that applies to life in general?

At the end of the day, I’m just climbing a meaningless, ice-covered pile of rocks. Mountaineering is completely pointless—like a lot of things in life. The meaning comes from what you make of it.

Thanks, Jost! We can’t wait to see where your next adventure takes you.