Our Athletes Stories

HIKE-FLY-INDIA HIKE-FLY-INDIA

Beyond Comparison

“Hey, Tamara, how do you say “Have you got any paneer?” “Don’t worry Aaron… we’ll be able to make people understand us.” Aaron Durogati and Tamara Lunger are looking for paneer, a typical cheese found in India and Pakistan. It’s made by curdling fresh milk with vinegar, lemon juice, or yoghurt and is one of the best sources of protein...

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Aaron Durogati

HERITAGE HERITAGE

Heritage of our Fathers

It’s quiet. Midweek at the end of June. Perfect for a visit to the Tre Cime. It’s the kind of day you see only choughs and beams of bright sunlight that reveal the Dolomites for what they really are. From the north face of the Cima Grande, a distant sound of clinking can be heard. Then the sound of a hammer. Just a few precise, effective strikes.

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Simon Gietl

DOLOMITI-SPEEDFLYING DOLOMITI-SPEEDFLYING

Dolomiti Speedflying

If Autumn in itself is a beautiful season, in the Dolomites it simply becomes exceptional. It’s as if from September onwards somebody turns a knob a couple of shades at a time to change the landscape’s tonality. The beech trees lower down are quick to turn. Going from green they turn yellow, from yellow to red...

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Aaron Durogati

ALASKA ALASKA

Alaska

The sky is blue, with no clouds. The sun lies low on the horizon, and lightens the primordial landscape. There is no sign of human presence. The last frontier’s meadows are still partially covered in ice and the majestic rivers meander snake like, woods of white birch trees like old bones sticking out into the sky, and further north, thousands...

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Paul Guschlbauer

OBLIVION OBLIVION

Oblivion

Simon Gietl and Andrea Oberbacher establish impressive new route on previously unclimbed Dolomite face. May 2017: Simon Gietl and Andrea Oberbacher are on a mission. They’ve come to the Piz d’Ander (La Dorada ) in the beautiful Edelweiß Valley above Kolfuschg/Colfosco, Alta Badia in the Dolomites. Simon first came to the...

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Simon Gietl

CHAUKI CHAUKI

THE CHAUKI DOLOMITES

Imagine someone told you that there was somewhere in the world with mountains similar to your local mountains, only a bit different? Maybe you’d ask them what they meant by “similar”, and what they meant by “a bit different”. Maybe you’d be curious to go there, to see those similarities and differences yourself. You’d probably be just as curious...

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Aaron Durogati

STIGMATA STIGMATA

Stigmata

Val Badia: you’ll never forget the first time you see it. It’s one of those landscapes that when you talk about it to someone who’s never been there they’ll think you’re making it up. If you’ve never been, you’ll be amazed by the meadows that are so green, the farmhouses that are so well looked after, and the row of spruce trees that seem to hide...

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Simon Gietl

SHIVA-ICE SHIVA-ICE

Shiva's Ice

Climbing up snow and ice has its own sound, its own rhythm. You swing your tool, feeling the pick bite into the ice, swing again, and breathe. Kick in your first crampon, points scrape against rock, kick in your second crampon, breathe. And repeat. Climbing up snow and ice has a mantra all of its own. You climb a mountain, while your mind....

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Simon Gietl

RESILIENCE RESILIENCE

Resilience

Imagine having a dream. A great, big, amazing dream. Imagine working hard to chase that dream, but without skipping any of the hard work. Imagine that feeling and hold it there for a moment. Night has not yet fallen, but with the clouds and rain in the woods south of Salzburg it is practically dark. Aaron is still walking, at a steady pace...

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Aaron Durogati

GIRLS-STORY GIRLS-STORY

WHAT WE DO HERE

The alarm clock rings in three different rooms. It is six am. The noise that usually shakes you up from your dreams and reminds you that you are about to start another work day, today is something different though it is Saturday, the weekend is here. Today there are no excuses to put off waking up to turn over in bed, stealing a few more...

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Overview Overview

Why Not

There was a time in which snow was fundamental, here. It was a dream: if there was no snow, everything was missing. Throughout the November nights, which became increasingly longer, children huddled up in the stables, enjoying old tales and the heat coming from the animals.

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Arnaud Cottet

MNT-PROJECT-NORTH3 MNT-PROJECT-NORTH3

North3 Story

Sometimes it happens that exceptional things start in a simple, almost trivial way. With a question that you could listen to at the playground, for example.

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Simon Gietl

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KAMCHATSKI ADVENTURES

“Guys, where we heading next spring?” Arnaud is the connection between Vincent and me. We’re at the Diablerets glacier on a snowy day in January. Racing downhill, between the descents, we throw out ideas: “Russia could be good, we don’t know it that well.”

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Arnaud Cottet

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Orca

SIMON AND MANUEL GIETL’S TRAD PROJECT ON DURRERSPITZE: THE STORY OF A BROTHERLY RELATIONSHIP, WHICH HAS GROWN ON THE ROCKS.

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Simon Gietl

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Short Roping

FRANÇOIS CAZZANELLI, FRANCESCO RATTI AND THEIR LONG WINTER TRAVERSE IN VALTOURNENCHE.

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Francois Cazzanelli

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Winter Traverse - Simon Gietl

Whenever a new idea or project gets into my head, I feel this overwhelming rush of enthusiasm, a mix of elation and motivation – I’m on a mission. For a few years, I had been planning a solo winter link-up of the Tre Cime.

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Simon Gietl

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Coming to the Dolomites - Eline Le Menestrel

I feel at home when I can just be myself: when I’m climbing, when I’m playing music, with family and friends, when I’m in nature, when I’m in the mountains.

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Eline Le Menestrel

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CLOSING A CHAPTER

Simon Gietl climbed the 21 pitches of “Can you hear me?” with his partner Andrea Oberbacher on the west face of Cima Scotoni on 15 August 2020. In climbing it, he was keeping a promise to a friend. The route brought out many different emotions, both happy and sad.

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Simon Gietl

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First ascent of Muztagh tower's Black Tooth

Martin and I were sitting in the snow, exhausted from the seemingly endless tracking through difficult snow conditions combined with very bad sight. We were just sitting - for the very first time on this day - at an altitude of about 6.500 m.

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Simon Messner

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Sella - Antonia's Diary

When I came skiing for the first time in the Dolomites , I wondered if it was possible to actually ski through these rocks. During winter time the Dolomites offer an impressive view. Rough. Massive. Almost hostile. Not even the vast amounts of snow can hide this.

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Antonia Stoeger