As we all continue to live with restrictions on our outdoor activities, we talk to some of the world’s best mountaineers and mountain athletes about what they are doing to stay fit and focused during the Covid crisis. Next up is German alpinist and The North Face athlete David Goettler …
Where have you been during lockdown?
First I was at my winter base in Chamonix and on 1st of April I moved back to Spain where I am based in the summers. Here in Spain the lockdown was very strict. I was only allowed to go out for groceries to the closest supermarket. That’s it. For 31 days I didn’t leave our home. Lucky me that I have lots of outside space, a treadmill and a small but good gym here.
Have you been able to get out into the hills/mountains, or have you been restricted to your home and immediate vicinity?
No. It was not even allowed to go out for an hour or close to home. It felt very strange when I finally left our home for the first time in a month and went for a short run. As they started to de-escalate lockdown we were allowed out for some sport, but only inside the municipal borders. Since yesterday we are allowed to move within our province. But today it is very bad weather…so I stayed at home.
Have you been training/exercising at home, and if so, how?
Yes, a lot. I shifted my training to stuff I could do. So I focused on running form and speed workouts on the treadmill. Did strength workouts like box step and challenged myself with a yoga flow where I wanted to get from L Sit to Handstand.
What have you been looking forward to most when restrictions are lifted?
I am looking forward to when I can go back for longer runs and paragliding adventures to the nearby mountains. The restrictions have forced me to explore the nearby trails and options more than before and I’ve discovered some good stuff much closer to home which is great.
Name a book and/or film you’d recommend to help keep our readers motivated/entertained during lockdown?
As a book I can recommend two: ‘Why We Sleep’ by Matthew Walker. As we have now time, we should work on our sleep. The other is ‘Endure’ by Alex Hutchinson. Super fascinating and also for a me it was a great motivation boost.
How do you anticipate the Covid-19 situation affecting your future plans and activities, and what – if any – changes do you think you’ll need to make?
At the moment all projects are on hold. I only plan things I can control or am sure have a high chance of being possible. I dream of big adventures but don’t waste energy in exact planing as it leaves me with a lot of frustration if they dont happen. Honestly at the moment it is really difficult to say how Covid will change our lives in the long term. One thing will be that we maybe focus more on adventures close to home. Still I hope at one point we can again explore the world, as it is something I just love. We have experienced how fragile our society is, which is a good warning and has shown us that our freedom should not be taken for granted. I hope that as humans we are able to learn something out of this huge crisis.
Can you supply a photo of either a) you keeping busy at home during the lockdown or b) in the mountains during happier times, and describe the image in a few words?
In the picture (main image, above) I’m working on my L-Sit; started to work on that exercises when lockdown started and just managed three days ago to get from L sit to handstand and back. Still not smooth but pretty happy…have a look on my IG feed for the full sequence.
For more about David, go to @david_goettler on Instagram and his athlete page at The North Face.