Cases of harassment related to mountain climbing became public last week when The New York Times published its extensive article about the prevailing inequality and cases of exploitation in climbing cultures.
Professional mountaineer Lotta Hintsa, 35, is one of those who experienced sexual harassment and abuse of power. Hintsa is one of the interviewees in the New York Times story.
– There is a significant difference between power positions in the sport. When you’re in a place where you’re already vulnerable and you can’t escape anywhere, it makes things even more twisted, Hintsa tells Urheilu.
According to the New York Times story, the person who sexually harassed Hintsa and several other female mountaineers is a Nepalese mountaineer who holds several records Nirmal Purja.
Purja is a very influential person in climbing circles. He has denied all the allegations.
Purja and Hintsa met in March 2023 to discuss cooperation on a climbing trip organized by Hintsa. Due to the popularity of the fans, Purja suggested meeting in a hotel suite.
Purja finally took Hintsa against her will to her hotel room and tried to strip Hintsa naked. Hintsa says that he repeatedly refused in the situation and offered reasons to get Purja to stop.
The situation in question finally ended with Purja satisfying himself next to Hintsa.
– Then I just wanted to get out of the situation and pretend it never happened, Hintsa recalls her thoughts at the time.
Almost half of women
Hintsa did not end up cooperating with Purja. However, Purja had tried to get a Finn to guide mountain climbing trips with him several times before.
Hintsa says that he also thought about the effect of his own actions on the matter.
– For example, I shouldn’t have let him flirt with me, but it’s difficult when a person offers work and makes himself trustworthy. She wanted to be a hero to many female climbers and be of help.
– When I heard that he has done the same to other women, I began to realize that this is a sick problem.
In the last few days alone, Hintsa has received several contacts from women involved in the sport, who tell about their own experiences. One of the female climbers targeted by Purja is April Leonardowho was a victim of sexual harassment on the K2 mountain in the Himalayas.
– Such persons are celebrated, which sends a message to the entire industry that the activity in question is ok. Although the topic is being talked about, no one has dared to do anything about it.
According to the US climbing community’s #SafeOutside initiative, 47 percent of women and 16 percent of men have reported being the target of unwanted sexual behavior while climbing.
Commercialization has strengthened culture
One of the most recent court cases is from February. At the time, the US climber Charles Barrett was convicted of three counts of sexual assault and assault of a woman on a hiking trip to Yosemite National Park.
According to Hintsa, one factor that intensified the phenomenon is the commercialization of the sport. The amount of climbing tourism has increased recently and most of the guides working in the sport are men. From the point of view of the female customer, the position of power is immediate.
– The matter cannot be the responsibility of only women. If you say no once, then it should be so, but this has not been the case.
For years, the topic has been swept under the carpet and commercial actors have dismissed the discussions as the words of the envious. Hintsa says that the ball is currently with the sponsors, who, in his view, are responsible for the next steps.
For example, Purja has the industry’s biggest sponsors behind him and has his own collections with several sports giants. Hintsa has not experienced serious sexual harassment with other colleagues, but the boundaries of physical integrity have been broken in the past as well.
– I locked the zippers of my tent at night. In the evenings, the use of alcohol was quite common, followed by hugs and kisses and asking if we could come to the tent. At the same time, I would have just wanted to focus one hundred percent on my own mission and whether there is a risk of a rock slide or an avalanche, or what the condition of the route is.
Career at risk
If Purja survives the incident without consequences, he has every chance to destroy Hintsa’s career as a climber. In that case, according to Hintsa’s own words, there would also be no business in Nepal, as Purja’s company is present in almost all bases.
Hintsa has also seen the other side. While climbing years ago, her ex-husband, a Canadian climber Don Bowie’swith, he was almost invariably the target of belittling, but was spared sexual harassment at the time.
– Then respect was shown towards him and I received a lot of teasing and belittling. At the same time, however, I did not experience any approach or harassment. The first time I seriously woke up to the phenomenon was when I was alone on Aconcagua.
As a solution to the prevailing culture in mountain climbing, Hintsa has ended up on his latest climbing trips mainly with women.
– I haven’t been able to solve the situation better than this so far. It has been important to show that we can manage in the mountains by ourselves. However, that should not be the solution.
Hintsa does not intend to leave the sport voluntarily, but with the exit he is also ready to give up his career as a professional climber.
– I’ve also taken up mountain running, because I’m interested in the physical side of it. It is unlikely that I will experience something similar in that sport.
Story edited at 21:14: Clarified in the headline that Lotta Hintsa has, according to her story, been a victim of sexual harassment.