Alpine project "SextenDoloExtrem"

Photos: Daniel Hug/ Lukas Kusstatscher

SEPTEMBER 1874The two brothers Michl and Hans Innerkofler from Sesto shake hands on the 3094-metre-high summit of the Zwölferkofel: the first ascent of the most prominent peak of the Sesto Sundial is successfully behind them.

AUGUST 2024: 150 years later, the Zwölfer is once again the focus of an alpine project, this time by the two extreme climbers Simon Gietl (ITA) and Dani Arnold (SUI).

The north faces in the Alps have long held a special fascination for Simon Gietl from Ahrntal. In his "SextenDoloExtrem" project, Gietl wants to climb the north face of the Einserkofel (2698m), the north face of the Zwölfer (3096m) and the north face of the Große Zinne (2999m) in the Sesto Dolomites together with Swiss climber Dani Arnold in under 24 hours, with the routes to and between the individual ascents being covered on foot.

"It's an ingenious alpine project right on my doorstep in the Sesto Dolomites, which my mountain guide colleague Toni Obojes made tasty to me and which I'm now really looking forward to actually trying together with Dani," emphasizes Simon shortly before the start of the project.

Recently, Gietl and Arnold started their ambitious project at 4 a.m. right at the start of the north face of the Einserkofel. It took them 3 hours and 38 minutes to complete the 800-metre line through the "Way of Youth".

After descending via the normal route and walking to the start of the north face on the Zwölfer, the two alpinists complete the ascent via the 700-meter-high Schranzhofer route in a record-breaking 2 hours and 58 minutes.

Back on the normal route and on foot to the start of the Grosse Zinne, Gietl and Arnold reach the summit of the Grosse Zinne after 2 hours and 54 minutes via the 550-meter-high Comici route and thus the intended goal of the action.

It is "only" 7 pm. It is therefore clear that Gietl and Arnold have beaten their planned time for the project.

Without further ado, the tour continues via the normal route to the foot of the Große Zinne, over the Paternsattel to the Drei-Zinnen-Hütte and to the end of the valley in Sexten, where - after another 10.5 kilometers and 2 hours and 56 minutes - friends are already waiting for the two extreme athletes with a warm welcome. In total, the route covered almost 30 kilometers, around 4700 vertical meters in ascent and descent, as well as 75 pitches up to the 7th degree of difficulty.

"This project was absolutely cool for me too, because I was climbing with Simon for the first time and I love discovering new routes, mountains and regions," explains a happy Dani Arnold.