Courage of a blind mountaineer

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32787, 11 December 1971, Page 11

Courage of a blind mountaineer

(By

OLGA NOVAKOVA

Two mountaineers are climbing a sheer rock face high above the romantic countryside beside the glittering waters of a lake in Czechoslovakia. The ascent is difficult mountaineers have classified it as grade seven, and a group of hikers stop to watch the two men high above them.

From the top of the cliff, the view is magnificent. But one of the climbers will never see it: he is totally blind. Josef Kuhn went blind slowly eight years ago. Earlier, when doctors told him the grave news, he took it badly, even contemplating suicide.

During the years that followed, he went through periods of hope and despair as his eyesight faded. When he was 34 the last glimmer of light went out of his life. He was totally blind, unable even to distinguish light from darkness. One of the last things he remembers being able to see was the face of his son, Peter, then only nine years old. Friends helped Any climber will admit that once mountaineering gets into the blood, it is almost like a drug and impossible to give up. Josef was an excellent mountaineer, and had conquered most of the major mountains in Czechoslovakia.

Now it seemed impossible that without his eyes to guide his hands and . feet to the correct safe crevices in the rock he would ever be able to climb again. Yet his mountain-climbing friends would not allow him to despair. “Your arms and legs are healthy; it is only your eyes that have failed you. We will be your eyes. You can manage a climb as well as anybody,” they convinced him, and before he had time to change his mind, they took him off to the High Tatras, the loftiest mountain range in Czechoslovakia. He still remembers the elation of having conquered one of the toughest climbs among the snow-covered Tatra peaks.

Since then if the weather is good, he has spent evety week-end with his friends finding new peaks to conquer. But his favourite spot is the difficult Hruba Skala—“Rough Rock” frequented by mountaineering aces who find the sandstone pillars and chimneys ideal for training. Josef and his family live only 15 miles away, but still in the foothills of the Krkonose Mountains. Skis alone When winter comes, Josef puts away his rope, crampons and other mountaineering gear and gets out the skis. The area is famous for its good ski-ing slopes, and all the locals know the good skier who makes his fast, unhesitating way down towards the valley, with his wife, Eva, close beside him. Even when he skis alone, her voice, guiding him, is never far away: he has a pocket radio tucked under his anorak, and as he speeds down the incline he can follow her directions for a turn or a break. With Eva as his eyes, even in this difficult .field he manages to enjoy his independence and do what he likes. I sat with Josef and his wife over coffee in their cottage at Sedmihorky and we listened to Josef talking: “When I went blind I had to think about another job. I memorised the instructions for telephonists and now I’m working at the switchboard of a local factory. Gradually I mastered the Braille alphabet and typing on a special typewriter; now I am even trying an ordinary typewriter.” No self-pity He talks casually, but actually he passed his final tests at the telephone exchange with top marks, is a very competent typist and does all kind of jobs at home, even chopping fire-wood. Only those close to him—his wife Eva and son Peter—know the amount of willpower it involved to master simple everyday chores. Eva helps him with everything: she studies with him, checks results and encourages him whenever things seem hard.

“I could never have managed it without Eva,” says Josef candidly. “And my many good friends. They have helped me and are still helping me. I am happy among them. Some people are too introspective. We are the opposite. We like to be with people. Of course, you do come across an inconsiderate person here and there but that is an exception. Another thing that helps is the feeling that I can be useful to others.”

Josef even gives talks to holiday - makers on the natural beauties of the region, on sport and on the tough and humorous side of rock climbing.

He is not one for self-pity—-not any more. He puts his own philosophy quite simply: “No matter how hard things get, there is always something one can do. Life is always worth living.”