2. CONTENTS
• 1. What is High Mountain Trekking?
• 2. Different mountains in Mexico I have climbed
• 3. Reaching the summit: project management and leadership behaviours
• 4. #Toughdecisions: Managing #Uncertainty and #Change

3. HIGH MOUNTAIN TREKKING
• High mountain environment starting at 4,000 MASL (meters above sea level) and
contending with:
• Decreased amount of oxygen
• Extreme temperatures and wind
• Decreased air pressure
• Trekking in high mountains:
• Team activity
• Breathtaking views from high altitude
• Being where only a few have been
• High performance physical training required at 4000 MASL and higher
Ascending a mountain for 4 hours requires the same amount of energy as running
a marathon in that time.

4. 1
La Malinche (4,461 MASL)

5. La Malinche (4,461 MASL)

6. Acclimatizing at base camp
(myself in grey) – La Malinche,
Mexico, 2010

7. Sunrise, La Malinche, Mexico, 2010

8. The view, La Malinche, Mexico, 2010

9. Summit (myself in green). La
Malinche, Mexico, 2010

10. 1
Izaccihuatl (5,282 MASL): The Sleeping Lady

11. Izaccihuatl (5,282 MASL): The Sleeping Lady

12. Iztaccihuatl from La Malinche
The Head
The Breast
(Summit)
The Feet
The Knees
The Sleeping Lady

13. A younger me with long hair at the „feet“ of
Iztaccihuatl aka the Sleeping Lady. My dad in
red. Izaccihuatl, 2004

14. Same location years later, 2011

15. Glacier before the summit (the Belly), 2012

16. View of active volcano
Popocatepetl from the „Knees“, 2012

17. 1
Nevado de Toluca (4,564 MASL)

18. Nevado de Toluca (4,564 MASL)

19. Leading the way, Nevado de
Toluca, 2012
„El Sol“ Lagoon
@4,300 MASL, 2012

20. Summit, Nevado de Toluca, 2012

21. REACHING THE SUMMIT: PROJECT
MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS
Project Management High Mountain Trekking #LeadershipBehaviours
1.Project Initiation Set target to climb a new mountain #Strategy #Target #newChallenge
2. Planning and Designing Choose climbing partners #Team
Define team member activities #Weaknesses #Strengths
Map out the route, identify the climbing path #Assess
Plan milestones (camping sites, breaks) #Plan #Measure #What'sAchievable
Define timings to completion #Timings
3. Project Construction Acquire necessary equipment #RightTools
Start high performance training #Practice
Initial trip to the mountain to scope it out #Observe
Climb step by step between milestones #Clarity
Potential redesigning of route #Improvement
4. Execution Arrival to base camp and gear up #StartUp
LET'S GO!! #Execute
Acclimatize at different stages of the path #HardWork
On going risk assessment of summit viability #RiskAssessment
Team assessments and continous motivation #PushHarder #Motivate
Climb to the summit or concede defeat #MatureDecisions
5. Monitoring and Controlling Systems Analyse successful or failed attempt #Analyse
Learn from mistakes and improve #FindSolutions #Grow
Execute again if needed #ContinuousImprovement
6. Project Completion Reach the summit and come back safely #DeliverTheBest #SUMMIT!

22. #TOUGHDECISIONS: MANAGING #UNCERTAINTY
AND #CHANGE
• In February 2012 we set out to conquer the Iztaccihuatl, after 3 months of intensive
training and several trips beforehand to get a feel for the territory.
• We started climbing at 2:00 am from camp „La Joya“ with the intention of reaching the
summit at around 2:00 pm
• At 1:00 pm the summit was in our view. All of a sudden, the climate started to
#change for the worse. With an increasing storm #risk we decided to go back.
• The videos explain it better, both of them captioned from the original Spanish to
English.
• 1. In the first video, at almost 1:00pm, I appear explaining that we will climb one more
hour, reach the summit and head back#UNCERTAINTY
• http://youtu.be/TDUCfkKeN6M
• 2. 20 minutes later, with storm clouds engulfing us, we decided to turn back, only 100m
away from the summit. The wind makes the words hard to understand  #CHANGE &
#MATUREDECISIONS
• http://youtu.be/60fO_KuVd-Y