A male-dominated mountain

How a women’s rope team scaled a 4000 meter peak

Climbed the Gran Paradiso (4061 m altitude): Silvia Sarcletti, Gundula Tackner, Elisabeth Zienitzer, Edith Perschler and Barbara Schiefer (from left)

(Bild: Weges)

Even for experienced hikers like Silvia Sarcletti and Elisabeth Zienitzer, a summit over 4000 meters is a challenge. Together with three other women, they climbed the highest mountain in Italy - and stood out.

The path to the summit of Gran Paradiso began in a restaurant. Restaurateur Edith Perschler asked the "Krone" hiking experts Silvia Sarcletti and Elisabeth Zienitzer for a tour of the Grossglockner for her 50th birthday. No sooner said than done, the women hired a mountain guide and climbed Austria's highest mountain. This was followed by the Wildspitze. "And then I said: we're ready for a 4,000-meter peak," recalls Zienitzer. 

Last week, the time had come: together with Barbara Schiefer and mountain guide Gundula Tackner, the women's rope team set off. "In this male domain, five women really stand out. In the evening at the hut, perhaps a fifth of the guests were female, but almost all of them were with men," says Zienitzer. "We were also the only female rope team on the Glockner." 

The view at 4000 meters impresses even experienced mountaineers

(Bild: Weges)

The route to the Gran Paradiso in Italy led over glaciers

(Bild: Weges)

Completely different alpine terrain
"A few years ago, I would never have imagined that I would be able to do this," says Zienitzer - although the geographer explores the local mountains every week for the "Steirerkrone" magazine, among others. "Hiking and mountaineering are two different pairs of shoes," she recalls. "You walk with crampons, with an ice axe, on a rope, looking down into crevasses. It's simply a completely different alpine terrain."

It was fantastic weather, blue skies. You look up at Mont Blanc, see the Matterhorn, below you lies a huge glacier. There, just below 4000 meters altitude, we snacked on sausages and cheese.

Elisabeth Zienitzer

After two days of acclimatization, the group set off at 4.30 a.m. to cover 1200 metres of altitude. "It was really, really freezing cold - it was hard and challenging," says Sarcletti. "And when it's steep and fast - you simply breathe more." Especially as the air becomes thinner at 4000 meters. There is a lot of traffic at the summit of the Gran Paradiso, says Zienitzer. "You can't imagine what's going on - hundreds of people go up there. There is a one-way system at the summit. The plateau is a few meters wide, and it's whistling down to the left and right."

The Marein statue at the summit of the Gran Paradiso

(Bild: Weges)

The women had hired mountain guide Gundula Tackner to ensure their own safety. "You hear a lot about mountaineers who fall. We know our limits," says Sarcletti. "She instructed us on the difficult parts."

Why do the women want to share their experiences? "Above all, I want to motivate other women," says Zienitzer. "With training and help, you can do things that you wouldn't have dared to do at first." Next up, by the way, is Piz Buin. And even after that, the women are sure to find a new challenge.