Speaker Bios

MADIDEA 2004 will be hosted by:

Nikki Wallis (Wales);  Jerry Gore (UK / France)

&

David Panofsky (USA)

  Ernest Bladé y Castellet

High Altitude Alpinist

Ernest Bladé is one of the most accomplished diabetic mountaineers of the world, with climbing and mountaineering experience rivaling the world’s top professional climbers.   

Soon after being diagnosed with insulin dependent diabetes in 1994, Ernest was told that his climbing days were over.  Through education and proper diabetes management, Ernest proved to himself and his climbing partners that his  diabetes would not be an obstacle to achieving goals  and only months after his diagnosis, he went to Everest and reached 8500 meters (less than 300 meters from the summit) without oxygen via the North Ridge.  Ernest has pioneered a proven system to monitor blood glucose levels in extreme conditions, which has been key to maintaining good glycemic control in order to accomplish difficult climbing objectives.  As director of IDEA 2000, Ernest played an important role as liaison with the Institut d’Estudis de Medicina de Muntanya and with IDEA 2000 South American aid partners.   He is a source of both inspiration and information to members of IDEA 2000 and provides thoughtful insight to the direction of IDEA 2000.

Since the age of 9, Ernest has been climbing mountains.  His resume on rock, snow, mixed terrain, and at high altitude is extensive, both pre and post diabetes.  He has reached the summit of hundreds of summits in the Pyrenees and Alps during summer and winter.  He has participated in more than a half-dozen Himalayan expeditions, including two to Everest.  In 1992, Ernest reached the summit of Shishapangma (8008 meters), alpine-style, via a second ascent of the Swiss/Polish route and in 1999 he reached the summit of Gasherbrum II (8035 meters), also in the Himalaya.  In 1997, Ernest completed the famous rock climbing test-piece, Yosemite’s El Cap Salathé Wall in a world-class speed of a day and a half.  As a diabetic, Ernest has completed such famous routes as the Walker Spur and Linceul routes on the Grandes Jorasses; the Freney Ridge on Mont Blanc;  the North Face of the Droites; the American Direct and Bonatti Pillar routes on the Petit Dru.  A few pre-diabetes noteworthy ascents include the North Face of the Eiger; the Supercouloir on Mt Blanc du Tacul;  Pumori (7,165 meters) on the Nepali/Tibetan border.

Ernest has been a climbing and paragliding instructor, served on a UIAA Safety Committee, and enjoys mountain biking.  He is also an accomplished alpine skier and ski mountaineer and especially enjoys climbing alpine-style and climbing routes with unique histories and legends.  Ernest is married to Laura and father to two girls, Maria and Vinyet.

Born and raised in Barcelona, Catalunya-Spain,  Ernest completed his undergraduate and PhD work in Civil Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Catalunya in Barcelona where he currently is a professor.  His native language is Catalan, though is equally fluent in Spanish and speaks English flawlessly. Ernest uses multiple daily injection (MDI) therapy and his diabetic control is considered excellent.  

Mauro Sormani - Italy

Cross Country Skier & Mountaineer

I am Mauro Sormani, I live in Sormano a small village near Como (North Italy). I am 27 years old and I am Type 1 diabetic since 1985 and from October 2000, and  I use the pump. I do different kind of sports and some of them at high level. Cross country ski is the sport I am most keen on and where I achieved the best results. Apart from that I do ski roll, ski mountaineering, high altitude mountaineering, free climb, cycling and running.

I took part in some competitions either national or international: 4 Italian 50 km championships of cross country ski reaching, in the last competition, 21^st place absolute and 3^rd of non agonists, some Italian 30 km championships, almost 20 marathons all of them finished in less than two hours and  some other Italian cup races.  I took part in 4 Italian up hill championships of ski roll reaching 4^th, 7^th, and twice 11^th places.

Mountaineering 

Regarding mountaineering, in January 2002 I took part in DISK expedition reaching the top of Kilimanjaro (5895 mt.) and , as a member of ADIQ, in the Ascensia Cho Oyu 2002 www.adiq.org expedition reaching 7550 mt. without supplementary oxygen and high altitude porters. During my preparation, I climbed many 4.000mt peaks and during the summer I climb regularly up in the mountain or I do wall climb.  

Cross country ski

Sweden 2003

Vasaloppet: 90km classic technique; 18.000 racers; I reached 272^nd  place in 4h46’.

This is the most famous, the longest and the most fascinating cross country ski race in the world. It has become a myth and it runs over the footprint of the king Vasa of Salen throughout the freezing Swedish forest.

Italy 2003

Marcialonga: 60 km classic technique; 5.000 racers; I reached 92^nd place in 2h50’. It is the oldest and longer Italian granfondo in the heart of the Dolomites.

Ski mountaineering

Trofeo Mezzalama 2003

It is a 53km and 3.000mt of difference of level team race from Cervinia to Gresoney with 2 peaks above 4.200mt, Castore and Lyskam, and more than 30km above 3.600mt of height. My team reached 188^th place in 9h44’.  This is the oldest and more demanding ski mountaineering competition and it is world wide well known for the tough track that runs along a unique and severe surrounding.

Herbert Hausmann - Germany

Ultra xtreme marathon runner & Mountaineer

My Curriculum Vitae of Sport and Diabetes so Far

When I got diabetes in 1964 at the age of sixteen years, ICT and self-testing were unknown words. But the doctor, who treated me in the hospital, supported my ambitions to continue with my moderate bodily exercises like hiking, biking, swimming and skiing in winter as I was used to do before.

With only one injection per day I tried to keep up with my regular exercises and because of the period of residual insulin, it was not too difficult to adjust my conventional treatment to sports and diabetes. I really didn’t know very much what happened in my body physiologically at that time, but I never had severe problems with hypoglycaemia. Since my childhood I loved to spend as much time as possible hiking outdoors and so it was a natural development to begin with rock climbing one day in spite of the diabetes. For more than fifteen years I spent almost every weekend in the Alps in summer and I could accomplish some very difficult routes up to degree IV+. In addition to downhill skiing on ski-runs I began to climb the remote glaciers in the Alps with skies in winter and to ski down the untraced slopes of the mountains.

I got a lot of experiences of mountain climbing in summer as well as in winter and after some years I was up for teaching my experiences to other people. Besides my normal job as a mathematician and database administrator at the university of Würzburg I took part in an instruction course for the degree of a non-professional mountain guide, which allowed me to organise tours in the Alps and to lead climbs up to degree III for members of the Alpine Club of Würzburg. I took responsibility for the young members from 12 to 25. For more than ten years I was organising climbing courses every year, where I sometimes had the responsibility for more than 30 boys and girls. In numerous climbing and hiking trips to the Alps in summer, as well as ski-climbing tours in winter I provided for unforgettable adventures for these young people. In instruction courses I tried to teach them the most important rules and skills, which are necessary to go mountain-climbing on their own responsibility. Almost every free weekend I spent with them in the Alps or on small rocks near Würzburg for training.

Unfortunately in 1985 I had a bad accident independent of the diabetes while I was climbing a very difficult face in the German Alps. A grip broke out and I fell about fifteen meters until I was caught by the rope. I spent four weeks in the hospital with a broken pelvis and afterwards I had to learn walking for a second time in my life. But now I was very anxious at the beginning of a climb and after a few meters I became so nervous and started trembling that I often had to go back. I didn’t feel safe and so I sadly decided to give up rock climbing. But more and more I took up running and the goal to finish a marathon once replaced my ambitions for climbing. This goal helped me to overcome the psychological problems which resulted from giving up my beloved sport of mountain-climbing, but the problem of managing diabetes and sports became more and more difficult, because my period of residual insulin came to an end definitely. The intensity of two hours running is much higher than hiking all the day, where I could manage my blood-sugar during my “honey-moon” by eating some extra carbohydrates. I had to learn to manage my blood sugar in my own responsibility. With the help of my doctor I learned to handle it with the ICT and got the first experiences how to reduce the insulin according to the expected intensity of my running. In 1987 I ran my first marathon in Berlin and impressed by the atmosphere of this event I kept running in similar competitions. My best result in a marathon I had in Munich 1989 at the age of 41 where I finished in 3:20 hours. I am the typical runner in the middle of the field who likes to take part in many different events enjoying the atmosphere and meeting and making friends, meanwhile from all over the world.

After this success I knew I couldn’t run faster and concentrated on longer distances and on more challenging routes. More and more I was looking for trail-runs to combine my former sport of mountain-climbing with running. The longest race I could finish so far was the South Downs Way Trail Run over 80 miles in Southern England in 1995. My hottest race was the ‘Marathon des Sables’ in the desert of Southern Morocco in 1996, which I probably finished as the first diabetic runner. My most difficult race was ‘La Diagonale des Fous’ across the French island La Réunion in the Indian Ocean over 128 km and 8100 meters elevation in 1999. Meanwhile I took part in 282 competitions and finished 93 marathons and 80 ultramarathons longer than 42.2 km.

Because I normally practise a daily training in the evening, my daily insulin treatment is adjusted to sports. Readjustment is only necessary on weekends, when I want to run immediately after breakfast. But with a reduction of about 50 % of my basal insulin it very seldom happens, that I get severe problems with hypoglycaemia. In a normal marathon I don’t take my meter with me, because I trust in my experiences of my daily training. Problems occur during the longer ultramarathons, if it takes me more than eight hours to the finish-line. Here I have to take my syringes with me for another injection of basal insulin during the competition. Since 1987 until now I only had to drop out in three marathons or ultramarathons because of problems with my diabetes by finishing 173 at all.

Of course I took part in the bicycle tour along the river Rhine over 220 km for an appropriate founding of the German section of the IDAA and to a great deal I worked out the articles for the constitutional meeting. From the very beginning I am board-member as protocol-keeper.

My engagement within the German section of the IDAA consists of organising the participation of members of the IDAA in German running events. So in 1996 three relay teams and three single runners of IDAA-members took part in the 12 hours-race of Brühl and meanwhile more than 30 runners of the IDAA meet annually in Würzburg to take part in a 10 k race with a sightseeing tour through the city and a traditional wine-tasting party the evening before, two social events, which were liked by the participants so much, that most of them join us every year. Because of my positive example there are now four IDAA-members also members of the German Association of Ultrarunning.

I can say that practising sports helped me to accept my diabetes and to live with it for 39 years now without having any complications. But the most important aspect of practising sport is achieving a physical wellness and meet friends all over Germany and meanwhile all over the world.

Dr Conxita Leal - Institude Estudis des Muntanya www.iemm.org