Mountopia - The Adventure

 

 

 

 

The pain, the fear, the panic, the cold, the heat, the emotions.... but the biggest feeling during these days was the trust and love!

 

We trusted the guides with our lives and they performed with passion, excellence and love for the sport!

 

This Mountopia was EPIC for me! I LOVED it each and every day!

 

I'm still dreaming this! What was this adventure for me? Yes, we climbed, we ran a little, we enjoyed lovely views, met amazing people, we got inspired, motivated, we shared love, adventure, fear, challenge and much more......

 

But there was something else happening inside us.... something much deeper and very difficult to describe in words.

 

I will try to describe what I felt and my feelings about the whole adventure in a few words.

 

What was this adventure for me?

 

You gave me something much more than I ever could expect! I felt something new.... I met the mountains and the "mountain people". You showed us the best parts of the sport, and the commitment, the respect for the mountains and the beauty of the Alps. You performed with amazing skills and inspired us. More than that.... you shared a part of your passion with us and I loved it!

 

This awesome adventure will always remain in my heart. Thanx to you I love the mountains even more, I pushed myself beyond my "comfort zone". I had to fight my fears while making those small steps to the top. But each and every step was worth the effort! I know now that I can push myself much more than I ever believed and that I can trust my mind and my body much more than I ever did before!

 

Mountopia was mind blowing in each aspect but for me was a game changer - a mind opener!

 

Thank you Dynafit for this amazing adventure and opportunity! I really hope to see you all soon!

 

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3:57 AM on Friday, September 14th, 2018
Großglockner 3798m - The first peak of Mountopia

 

 

It's always a challenge for me just to wake up in the morning. To wake up around 3 a.m. is tough. Well, Mountopia and all I was expecting in front of us during these three days was good enough as a motivation! My curiosity was huge and I was ready to start this adventure. Still, I had huge respect for the challenge and those amazing mountains around us! :)

 

The climb, those first kilometers where you still ask yourself like: "What am I doing here?!", "Why am I not in bed!?", "Why am I doing this!??" ... and so on. You have a lot of time to ask as many questions your mind can produce.... and it will..... up until the limit of your patience! And you will reach your limits!...

 

The first stop, power refill, a little bit of friendly chatting and the climb continues.... The night hike up the mountain was nice. Actually I like very much hiking in the dark like this in a group. Those steep trails were sometimes challenging and our chatting was often interrupted by silence and tough breathing. Still quite lovely and the tempo was acceptable for everyone. We decided from the first step that the group should move together no matter what.

 

We passed the Stüdlhütte (2801 m) quite fast after ca. 1h and 30 min. We moved easily in our Dynafit Alpine Pro trail running shoes. After approx 3h and 50min we arrived at the Erzherzog Johann Hütte (3454m). A quick check to the toilet, energy refill, gear change and we were ready to continue the climb. We had to use our boots now. This was the very first time where I had such boots on my feet. The Salewa Raven 2 GTX were huge, the protection great but stiff like hell and I hated the lack of feeling that all my trail shoes provide. But I knew that we would use crampons on those and that the terrain would get very demanding and technical. And indeed, the technical part came almost instantly after the Erzherzog Johann Hütte. We needed to put on our crampons and connect each participant to another with a rope. Our guides were skilled and helped us in everything! Great people indeed!
This was the first time that I climbed on a glacier for me. Yes, I've seen one before, even climbed on one but never walked on it.....to the top!
We had to take off the crampons quite often and put them back on when the terrain demanded better grip. The worse part for me was the climbing with those crampons! I needed practice! Well, it's a good thing that I like the "learning by doing" processes! :)

 

It took us approx. 5h and 50min to the very top of the Grossglockner and the last part got really demanding, technical and quite exposed.
On our way back the weather was not our friend it started snowing, the temperature dropped fast and it was really cold. My hands were freezing and holding a strong grip to the ferrata was not an easy task. Once below the very top things got better and we started easily and safely descend the mountain.

 

We were a little bit slow and there was no time to change our outfit on our way back so we needed to descend the whole thing with our boots on! My feet were sore and my ankles were killing me. Tiny blisters all over! It's a good thing that I know how to cope with the pain, blisters and foot issues. The ultra-running gives you skills that comes very useful even in the mountains!

 

We reached the starting point after 10h. Everybody was very happy with the first day. Everything went well, no injuries no issues and many happy faces! :)

 

We were ready to drive approx 5h to the bottom of the Otles mountain in Italy. We needed to reach Solda/Sulden in time. No time to rest or shower. We got a little bit of food there in the parking and we were ready to go. Well, all that food was sooo tasty after 10h in the mountains! :)

 

The drive went well. It was a lovely drive on local mountain roads. Amazing scenery and stunning nature.... a vacation for my eyes! I loved it! We were tired but we were all ready to eat our dinner, rest and rock the 2nd day! The Ortler/Ortles was there waiting for us! After the first day we had better confidence and even if we knew that the Ortler is a much tougher mission we were thrilled to start the climb! :)

 

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4:39 AM on Saturday, September 15th, 2018
Ortler/Ortles 3905 m - The second peak of Mountopia

 

 

We started the climb a little bit later than the first day. The later start means also less hours in the dark. Still, hiking uphill directly from the hotel in the humid woods was something I liked. That first section reminded me on the soft trails we have here in Sweden. Quite technical trails, many roots and nice stones. A lovely hike. We chatted and the first hours passed really fast. It seemed like 5 minutes and we passed the Tabaretta Hut. The goal was to reach as fast as possible for all of us the Payer mountain hut where other mountain guides were waiting for us with the gear needed to climb to the top of the mountain. It was quite humid, misty and it started raining a little on our way up to the hut. After approx. 2h and 10 minutes we reached the hut. It was a chilly morning but the view from the hut was stunning, amazing, incredible!
I was quite pleased with that part and if someone told me that we had to go back I wouldn't mind at all! :)
After 20-ish minutes we were ready. Boots on and moving fast forward. The Salewa boots felt better. much better than the day before. No issues at all. I guess I trained my feet to the effort.

 

The trail/climb from that point was something I will never forget! Those super-exposed "trails".... that was nothing I usually do. I was waaaaay outside my comfort zone!!! It's a good thing that I have no issues with hight, but moving on those paths is a challenge. You dance between life and death sometimes and rely 101% on what the guide says! Those words are not an "if" it's a "no comment" .... you just listen carefully and do things as instructed! Simple as that!
And I thought that we were exposed while climbing the Grossglockner the day before!? Well, this was in my opinion much, much tougher! Around 8 a.m. things started to look better for me. The trail was much easier and not as "impossible" as before. Actually I managed to relax and enjoy a lot. Well, I enjoyed the tough part too.... went often from an "almost panic" mode, to a "whatever" mode and sliding into a "I'll die now" mode and so on.... When I look at that part of the climb now I remember that I was not afraid of the climb.... I was horrified of the descent waiting for us! We would do the same path the other way around!!! I was ready to take a 100-mile detour around the mountain... seriously! :)
Crampons on! A little bit before 9 a.m. we had our crampons on. we were climbing on the glacier. What a majestic view! Amazing! The beauty of this mountain from that point is something very difficult to describe and when you ad the effort to the equation, the emotions, the adrenaline.... well, you get something unique as a result. This newby-climber was actually enjoying this! Yes, I enjoyed the climbing! There is something very special in this sport. The trail running is great and I love it. But when you combine that with all the emotions and feelings that mountaineering gives you... well, that is something everybody should try! Life is too short! Maybe this was an extreme way to appreciate life. But I was already near dying several times, and this time was the only time where I had control over my body, my actions and reactions. I could determine everything and just a horrible mistake could alter that! I was lucky that I had great guides that helped us all with the mission. Still, the emotions, all we have gone through during these 3 days is something that we will never forget! Dynafit gave us much more than just the opportunity to win and be a part of an amazing adventure! :)

 

 

The glacier was really amazing! Huge.... so pure and white.... so silent and gracious! The purity of mother nature yet so dangerous and intimidating. We hiked connected in two groups slowly and with necessary caution. There is no mistake allowed on a glacier! Our guides knew what to do, where to go, so we were happy to climb and just enjoy the whole experience. Still, we listened all the information we received, the advice and the mountain adventures and mistakes people usually do! Unfortunately mistakes in the mountains are tough and sometimes lethal! You need to respect the mountain! The mountain sets all the rules. You are a tiny human that has the chance to enjoy the beauty of it.... if the mountain allows it! :)

 

We reached the top of Ortles after 6h and 40 minutes of climbing! I was not tired.... my mind was! So much to see, to absorb... the amazing views.... It's a huge privilege to have a chance to be there and be able to take it all in! Amazing!!!

 

The weather during the glacier climb was just perfect. Sunny and wonderful! We were lucky. The weather up there can change in a matter of minutes making a living hell for all of the people on the top. We had the perfect conditions!

 

The downhill started easily and with a lot of patience. Like the climb, the descent on a glacier is delicate. It takes patience and technique. All went well, in perfect order. And there we were, crampons off..... ready for the massacre! Yes, that "Mordor" part of the course! But I proved to be wrong! Once again! I had almost no issues on the downhill. Yes, I took the steps with caution, nice and slowly without rushing, but it seemed easier than the climb..... I was getting better in this and I started to enjoy it very much! Of course I coudn't make it without the guides. Sometimes I could not even see where I was putting my feet, Other times I was literally holding my whole body weight with just one arm, and sometimes we were balancing on a 20cm big stone in the middle of a lovely drop.... or something like that! It's quite amazing how the body and mind adapts to all conditions. The only thing that is really dangerous up there is I guess the panic and the lack of respect. If you do the right things you minimize the chance of failure and even if you fail you have to be safe, use your gear in a proper way and do the things right! We learned a lot! Thank you very much for that! Now, after just 3 days of climbing I'm able to notice huge mistakes people do while watching clips on YouTube! Like a pro! Eehehehhe :)

 

Once we reached the Payer hut we changed our boots with running shoes. I went to the toilet, got ready and noticed that my group had a slight advantage on me. Should i take it easy and go with the second group? No way! I went for a run! What an amazing feeling! I love soooo much running in the Alps. Since my Lavaredo race in Italy in 2017 I loved it! I took the phone out and I filmed a few clips while running. Feel free to view my YouTube clip of that. I enjoyed that part very much!
Once the group got together the descent went nicely. We ran/hiked quite fast and we enjoyed it a lot! After 12hrs we came back to the staring point and we were ready to drive towards Zugspitze - the last day/the last climb to conquer! :)

 

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6:40 AM on Saturday, September 16th, 2018
Zugspitze 2962m - The third peak of Mountopia

 

 

Zugspitze was our last top to climb. The highest in Germany. At 6:41 a.m. we started the climb just outside Ehrwald near the famous Ehrwalder Almbahn. The first part was an easy steel asphalt section that changed later on into a gravel road. That was so nice! We could enjoy the nature around us, the fantastic surroundings without the need to watch our steps. That was a good way to wake up too! We all had a sleeping disorder during the Mountopia I guess! :)

 

The singletrack trail later on was amazing and delivered amazing scenarios to us. We were all quite busy taking all that beauty in! Amazing! The trail was easy, and we hiked quite fast. After two hour we reached the German border and we took some pictures. The trails were really nice with a little bit of sticky mud here and there. I'm quite used to the muddy trails in Sweden. But this was something else. The trails are quite steep here and the stones are all all over the place - nobody cleaned the trails from those stones! Crazy ha!? Ehehehehe.
We were moving nicely and that sticky mud was not an issue for nobody...... well, not until 2h and 15min. We had a muddy wall in front of us. Like goats we tried to avoid the muddy trails and climbed a little bit on that steep side of the hill. Bad idea! We started sliding and the grip was just not enough! Our Dynafit Alpine Pro are amazing, but there we needed hard core lugs! I managed to hike through that section by using my poles as breaking spots. The stones were nothing good to use at that point, you might end up rolling down the hill - not a good idea. So we took it slowly.

 

After that part things got quite easy again. The whole course is actually very runable and I would be really happy to run it sometimes in the near future. It's not that exposed so a family hike may be something to consider as well! :)
We stopped a little bit on the Knorrhütte after 2h and 45min. This course was really lovely. We hiked fast and I jogged a little bit as well. Many sections are really fast and hiking/running light with trail running shoes on in the summer might be a great idea!

 

The climbs starts from the Knorrhütte. The trail is not an usual trail.... you are walking on stones. Not huge stones, or sharp stones.... just stones. I felt like a Flinstone back there! Stones all over the place! If it's sunny do TAKE a proper pair of sunglasses with you! Those white stones reflect the sunlight that hurts!
We were enjoying the climb and the views and one of the photographers involved in the project Harald Wisthaler waited for us with a drone. What a skilly photographer he is! Great skills to work with a drone on that high and controlling the winds bowing quite a lot. He chased us too with the photo camera and made great shots too! Great job! :)

 

 

The real climb started after approx. 4hrs. The guides were waiting for us. We changed the outfit a little bit due to the cold wind and low temperatures on the top. The via ferrata in great to the top of the mountain. Really secure and easy to follow. This climb was the one I liked the most when it comes to the athletic enjoyment. Nothing to be compared to the Grossklockner or the majestic Ortler though. Still, the Zugspitze has its advantages. You may hike it, you may choose another route if you need to challenge yourself or just use the services of the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn to reach the very top of Zugspitze with your family.

 

Once on the top we needed to reach the "real" top of the mountain of course. There are many tourists there so we needed to proceed with patience.

 

 

The top of the 3rd and last peak of Mountopia 2018 was a memorable moment for all of us! The crew managed to get a bottle of champagne to the top to to celebrate the success of the adventure. What a joy for everybody! What a amazing group of people.... it felt like being a part of a family in just 3 days! That is a moment I will cherish for life!

 

I loved each and every moment of Mountopia - even the scary or uncomfortable ones!

 

 

Thank you Dynafit for this!

 

This Mountopia was EPIC for me!
I LOVED it each and every day!

 

 

Special thanx to the winners - Sharing this adventure with you guys was a privilege!
- Iga Lugowska
- Lucija Odar
- Christoph Leimbeck

 

the organizers:
- Bettina Winkler
- Lena Wittmann
- Alessandra Glatzmaier
- Dennis Forte

 

the photographers:
- Andreas Vigl
- Harald Wisthaler

 

Thank you "mountain goat" Javier Martín De Villa! Your skills, patience and love for the sport is an example for all of us!
A special thanx goes to Benedikt and Patrick on Grossglockner and each and every mountain guide from the Hindelanger Bergfuehrerbuero! Great skills guys!
A major kudos to each and every of you! You supported us and we learned a LOT during these three days from you! :)

 

You people are amazing! :)

 

 

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My images from Mountopia:

http://photo.sasinka.se

 

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