terraceMountains around the world are the origin of wonderful stories thanks to people who decide to dedicate their lives to them. One of these people who has found a passion for nature is Bru Busom, an alpinist born in Terrassa on March 12, 1992. This year he received the FEDEME prize for the best non-European mountaineering activity and has the possibility of win the Piolet d’Or, the highest international recognition.
“What do you like to do on your days off? For me, going to the mountains, I have found throughout my life that it is the thing I enjoy the most”, says Bru, proud of the recognition received, but being clear at all times that he is not alone on the way. “Roger Cararach, Marc Toralles and I are friends with the same passion and we want to share what we do in our lives. We value the company very much, because we go through very hard times and the unity we have allows us to overcome all obstacles”.
In his last expedition, which won him the FEDEME prize, Bru dislocated his shoulder. It was on the Siula Grande mountain, 6,334 meters high, in the Peruvian Andes. “I fell into a crack. I was able to reposition my shoulder, but we already knew that the injury was inevitable.” Since he suffered the accident this summer, he has been recovering at NEXT Terrassa, the high performance sports and physiotherapy center where he is given both rehabilitation and physical preparation to face new challenges. “I train every day because I don’t want to miss the winter season. Ice climbing and climbing the Alps. When we enter this wheel we are faced with challenges with incentives one after the other. At the moment, the first objective is to get back on the wheel”.
Bru has lived this recovery period happily, always with a smile from ear to ear. “I do it to have fun”, he insists. “If I don’t have to enjoy it, I stay at home.” One of the attractions that Bosom finds in mountaineering, part of what fills him up, is adrenaline: “I like to be afraid and overcome it. Obviously, I don’t want to panic. It’s about being able to manage risk, that’s what we like. There is a point of self-knowledge. See where your limits are and how you react to adversity.”
These risks have been reduced by technological advances and, although they are very useful, they take away part of the magic of it all: “With the tools we have today, we study a route before starting it and know if we will get away with it. The ingredient of not knowing the end result is beautiful. Always knowing that you will get away with it becomes repetitive, it lowers motivation. We look for adventure, the point, that every day is new. It’s magical when you have to wake up. You let go of day-to-day problems and simply focus on that moment. This intensity is captivating and is what we seek in our activities”.
But this pursuit of uncertainty and playing with the danger line is not a headless mission. “We are very analytical of all the risks we take. We’re not there thinking we’re crazy and let’s go be the industry. It is a mental struggle of how far you accept the risk you take. At Siula we played a lot with the line and passed each other. Maybe it wasn’t worth taking that risk. We know the red mark was there and we crossed it to reach the goal. But I’m clear that we passed it because we wanted to.” And while Bru and his team know they can take special risks, he’s clear that different limits need to be set in each case.
In addition to being a mountaineer, Bru is a mountain guide and emphasizes precisely that the most important part of his job is to reduce dangers. “Zero risk doesn’t exist, but that’s where we want to get to. There is always the possibility that something will happen to us. Sometimes it’s hard for people to understand what role we play. We all want to make it to the top, but if we are paid it is precisely for not making it. When everything is going well it is very easy to get there, but when things are not going well we are the ones who have to decide to go down”. Ending an expedition is a much braver decision than it seems.
Bru received the mountain by family inheritance. “My father used to take me to the peaks. At the age of 3 we had already done the Pedraforca, at the age of 5 the Pica and at the age of 7 the Aneto. We were going on an adventure. We slept in tents during periods of heavy snow. We weren’t going on a pilgrimage. I, from the first moment, was a sufferer and followed him. Since then what I have always sought has been to enjoy”. And now, although without any pressure, he is already passing on the passion to his children. “If there’s one thing I want for them, it’s that they find what they like and do it with passion. If we can share the love of climbing, great, but I want them to find what fulfills them and live it with passion. If I can help them by teaching them my lifestyle, so much the better.”