Is Pirmin Bertle A Pious Environmental Radical?: A Playground To Protect

 Bertle crushing 9b in Switzerland. 

8a.nu recently posted an article with Pirmin Bertle, a professional German climber, on environmental issues… his response was both radical and insightful. 

I recommend you read the post. It’s not long and it has many great points… but if you’re lazy like me, here’s the Spark Notes version:

Bertle believes there is increasing ignorance of the effect we have on the environment (he gives a hilarious example in the article), and that we must do something about it. Climbers are more prepared to do so, as climbing encourages lifestyle change, working hard for a goal, and saving natural spaces. Bertle claims that prioritizing ourselves will not “emancipate us from the ecosystem”.  He gives examples of how he has tried to do this: an idealistic low-footprint lifestyle in a one room yurt with low consumption and permaculture. Finally, he states, “the most interesting voyages are those to the inside of you. They don’t cause any environmental damage, take only hours and leave much deeper traces and offer greater revelations than any holiday ever could.” 

Bertle is obviously worried about our effect on the environment, and I must say, he is rightfully so. As a teen, I’ve already witnessed eye-opening evidence of climate change and environmental damage in my lifetime. 

Where I believe most of us fall short is we plateau, just like climbing or training. As we focus on waiting for a solution, blaming others for being relatively worse than us, we stagnate progress. I don’t think Bertle is piously saying, “I only eat food I’ve grown myself, and I only travel within a 10 mile radius of my one room home to climb… quit sitting there eating a burger!” I believe he is showing what he has done to grow in this aspect. If all of us work to make a change in our lives, we can make a difference. For some that may mean ordering less from Amazon, and for others it may mean cycling 5 miles each day to work. Change is different for all of us… what matters is that 

we all make it.

We don’t all have to be so averse to flying that we flare up when we see a chemtrail, nor do we need to yell at someone throwing away a half-eaten steak. But we do need to start investing our money in sustainable companies, eating less meat, flying sparingly, planning more to avoid unneeded driving or consumption of goods, and USING LESS STUFF. Like Bertle says, “We have a playground to protect.”

8a.nu has published similar articles with A

Alex Megos and Jonathan Seigrist as well… check them out!