The role of mountains in our lives | Lecture by László Mécs, mountaineer | International Mountain Day

The lecture explores our relationship with mountains from the perspectives of geography, culture and religion, while also presents the history and different branches of mountaineering, and gives an insight into the challenges of an 8,000-meter expedition.

From an early age, László Mécs went often outdoors with his parents and tried his hand at various sorts of sports. After graduation, he enrolled the Faculty of Philosophy (PPKE BTK) and studied Hungarian language and literature and communication. Duting university years, he started to discover the magical world of mountaineering, became more and more involved, and, in 1999, his first major achievement was the Ibn Sina (or Lenin) peak (7134 m) in Pamir. He was the technical leader of the successful Hungarian Everest expedition in 2002. Subsequently, together with Zsolt Erőss and Lajos Kollár, he set up the Hungarians on the 8000s of the World expedition project with the aim of setting the Hungarian flag on all 14 peaks higher than 8,000 metres. They tried to follow the traditional alpine style, without the aid of supplemental oxygen or high-altitude porters, using little equipment. He has been involved in the first Hungarian ascents of eight 8,000 m mountains, three of which - Broad Peak (8051 m), Gaserbrum II (8035 m), Hidden Peak (8068 m) and Karakorum - he has stood on the summit. He has been involved in teaching since 1999 and is proud to get many excellent alpinists started their way. He is also an examiner for the Hungarian Chamber of Mountaineering Instructors and works as a mountain guide, gives educational and motivational lectures and training courses.

To attend the programme, you will need an exhibition ticket valid on the day of the programme.

Attention, the language of the programme is Hungarian!