From seeking a dream to finding it

March 2016! That’s when Simon Gietl climbed the attractive traverse as a classic rope team with mountain guide and climber Michi Wohlleben. Over the course of the tour, the thought took root in Simon’s head to climb the traverse totally on his own.

But at that point it was just a first thought, a vague plan. He had to mature the idea and, to do that, he needed time. So many different factors were a part of it – among others, his own devel­opment, both phys­ically and mentally. But when is the spirit ready for such a bold solo traverse of the Drei Zinnen? Simon can name the precise point in time. After the successful solo first ascent of the route “Can you hear me” on Cima Scotoni, which Simon dedicated to his best friend Gerry who had lost his life. That’s when it was clear to him: To climb along this edge, my self-confidence grew so much that I felt ready for this solo project on the Zinnen.”

On Saturday, Feb. 22, four years later, the dream was within reach. Simon trans­ported to the base all of the carefully selected gear that seemed to be best-suited for him. The winds forecast with gusts up to 80 kph troubled Simon’s confidence about the otherwise relatively mild weather forecast. In order to get a better look at the current conditions and to better estimate the strong northwest winds, the LOWA PRO Team athlete climbed a few metres up the wall. “Climbing itself was pretty easy, and the feeling in my gut gave me surprisingly positive feedback. It was this pretty clear to me that the moment for this solo project had arrived, ” the alpinist said about his start.

The actual starting gun went off for his solo tour the next morning. With every pitch that was behind him, the dream was becoming a reality: “I felt nearly like a musician who was finally playing on a large stage a piece that had been practiced endlessly. In contrast, however, I was neither in a large concert hall nor climbing in front of an audience. Totally alone, climbing along the impressive edge, I enjoyed the solitude and the flow of the movement that seemed to be nearly invol­untary.” In the back of his head, the dangers of a solo adventure always lurked for the exper­ienced alpinist. Mistakes in climbing are basically dangerous, but when alone, they can have grave results. Never­theless, the exper­ienced alpinist didn’t let this fluster him, and he concen­trated on fulfilling his dream. Despite the strong northwest wind, which had worried Simon a bit prior, it went very well, and in fact a bit faster than he had originally thought. He reached the highest point on the western “Zinne” in daylight. In order to take best advantage of the daylight, he climbed up the first few metres of the Dülfer Dihedral and secured his rope for the next day. Then, he abseiled back to his bivy spot and set himself up for the night. That’s when he decided that the tour could be accom­plished with just one bivy instead of the two he originally had planned.

On Monday morning about 7 a.m. he finished his uneasy, windy night’s rest and started out with a light pack from his bivy toward the “Grosser Zinne”, or Big Peak. By 9:20, he had already reached the peak, in sunshine and waning winds.

From there, he was able to look out over the route that lie before him: the gorge between the “Grosser Zinne” (Big Peak) and the Kleiner Zinne (Small Peak), the peak of the Kleine, the sharp ridge to the Punta di Frida, and the climb down from this peak across the gorge of nerves to the Preuss Tower. His first well-deserved break – much needed with his fast pace – came at the base of the face of the Kleine Zinne.

At noontime, he crossed the peak of the Kleine Zinne, took on the saddle of the Punta di Frida and then stood at exactly 2 p.m. on the last peak – the Preuss Tower.

West Zinne (2,973 m), Big Zinne (2,999 m), Small Zinne (2,857 m), Punta di Frida (2,792 m) and Preuss Tower (2,700 m) – As the first alpinist ever, LOWA Pro Team athlete Simon Gietl completed a solo traverse of the peaks of the Drei Zinnen in this order, thus fulfilling his long-held dream.