Jan "Tráva" Trávníček is a fellow geodesist who was so captivated by the mountains that today he ranks among the most successful Czech Himalayan climbers. Although it is sometimes difficult to combine life roles, when you look for paths, they appear.
My colleague Jan Trávníček started at the Pilsen branch more than ten years ago as a surveyor. But because he is a man of many talents, staying with just one thing is not his style. He describes himself as an enthusiastic sportsman of all kinds, a teacher and organizer of sports and cultural events, the managing director of the outdoor company Summit Drive, co-founder of the Czech Pub - the first Czech pub and cultural center in Nepal, and above all a passionate traveler and hill climber.
Although it was not always easy to combine interests and work, today, thanks to his experience and better-arranged priorities, he has found a certain balance. And because our company HRDLIČKA, spol. s r.o. supports exceptional people, we want to create an environment in which they can develop in all directions. There are several ways, from flexible working hours to financial support for non-traditional activities. Why? Because those who do what they love have passion, and that is the driving force behind everything.
In August Jan "Tráva" Trávníček (hereafter referred to as Honza, because we know each other personally) returned from Czech Expedition Broad Peak & K2 2024, which was also attended by two other colleagues from the Pilsen branch: Jan Pánek and Lucie Pánková. And because expeditions are not cheap, we supported his efforts to try to climb the top of the eight-thousander Broad Peak. We waited with bated breath to see how he would manage it. We wished that everything would turn out without any accidents and that we would see the company flag flying at the top at least for a while as a symbol that "everything is in your head and if you look for opportunities, they will appear!".
Before the climb, I interviewed Honza a bit, because I am also a bit of an adventurer at heart. If you feel the same way, or if you're just a fan of Honza, take a break and read on.
(Laughs) "It worked out that way, it wasn't a plan. But it's a pretty good trade-off, right? In the meantime, I was on another eight-thousanders for the second time after ten years, on Manaslu in 2021. A piece of this expedition is made into the film The Tenderness of the Himalayas, which should be screened in cinemas now). So I thought I'd make a joke about it, I like anniversaries. But seriously: I don't plan to repeat all the expeditions on my previous list after ten years. We have some awfully interesting new projects, and I'm looking forward to those. I'd also like to point out that the primary objective of the expedition was not K2, but Broad Peak, another eight-thousander, with the base camps a short distance apart across the valley. And I jokingly said we were going to measure K2 because there is still conjecture as to exactly how many meters the peak is. For example, Annapurna took some meters, etc."
"First of all, there are more accurate instruments and then realistically some overhang, a piece of rock, for example, disappears. I'm just kidding about that. But it was a really big hype because Messner, who was the first person in the world to climb all 14 eight-thousanders, had some of the peaks taken away from him because he was supposedly not quite at the top somewhere."
"There are three groups of people officially participating in the expedition (about 30 people in total). The members of the expedition are Czechs, Slovaks and Nepalese. (Note: Honza wrote about the climb on the website: https://www.honzatravnicek.cz/expedice/czech-expedition-broad-peak-k2-2024/). Nepalese do not work there as porters, but the Sherpa designation is an ethnic group that lives in the mountains. One of them, Ganesh "Subin" Thakuri, is even the owner of the agency and a partner of the Czech pub in Nepal. Another, Sabin Thakuri, we've known basically since he was a baby and have raised him to be an excellent leader of the group."
"Sherpas are born there, they are used to a certain altitude. And we also move there quite often, so we're in a better position to avoid altitude sickness. But now if I were to pack up in one day and want to stay on Mont Blanc, the important thing is to 'stay' there, because 'altitude sickness' comes with staying at an altitude for a long time, so I can have problems too. If someone goes up and comes right back down, they usually avoid it. But that adaptability is genetic and we all acclimate differently. It can be trained to a certain extent.
As far as physical training goes, I recommend aerobic sports (low heart rate, long times): running, cycling, skipping and swimming are great for training your breathing. And I need to focus on the compensation and recovery to give it a good physical workout. And also, of course, I'm counting on getting something behind me and getting it back on again quickly.
"Nepalis usually wear them. They were there at work at that time, but now they will go as our partners, so they will have it differently. Sabin, for example, is not expected to do all 14 eight-thousanders without oxygen if he wants to climb them, but on Broad Peak we might persuade him to try without. I've barely used oxygen masks until now. We had them at base camp for emergency purposes in case there was a problem. Now we might move the oxygen to Camp 2, we'll see." (Note: You can also read how it was with oxygen in the expedition notes.)
"We hire helpers for the base camp because there is so much that we couldn't carry. But for the actual climb, we carry our own packs on our backs."
"Where we are going, which is to Pakistan to K2 and Broad Peak, the most stable season is summer. For Nepal to Mount Everest, it's again spring and autumn between the monsoon season. But we are talking about the "tourist" season. This year a group of Nepalese climbed K2 and the Poles are also known for their winter climbs. They are such madmen."
"Definitely. Even though in this case it is not a commercial climb, which would be for alpine tourism, and these people have some experience with climbing. I and the other guides are still there, trying to make sure that everything goes smoothly and the group reaches the goal, if physical and mental strength allows. We have expenses covered and some extra funding if something were to happen. I take it that I was very lucky to have walked with professionals like Marek Holeček and Zdeněk Hrubý and learned from them. Now I'm in a position where I can pass some of that on. I spend a lot more time on treks and actually what I do most for a living in this field is commercial treks, not climbing an eight-thousander. Even though it is an expedition with less demanding conditions, I feel a great responsibility. I'm not there to hold their hand and keep them tied to the rope, but I'm just there for them when they need it."
We talked with Honza for a long time and it is clear that we could have discussed even longer with such an enthusiastic, likable man who is used to lecturing regularly.
I liked the fact that even though he has moved on in his career into roles other than that of a surveyor, he is still loyal to surveying. He oversees and supervises important contracts in the firm. That's how I think of people who are involved in surveying: heartthrobs, adventurers, and outdoor enthusiasts.
Finally, I'll add some thoughts that came to me several times during the interview: "Why do you do it? Why do you climb those eight-thousanders?"
Honza gave me a simple answer, but there is a point: " I don't know. I just enjoy the uphill climbing. And that's what's important to me. If you feel the same way about something, don't give up. There is always a way to connect different worlds.
Mgr. Lucie Kmochová and Ing. Jan "Tráva" Trávníček
More about the expedition HERE.
