Simon Gietl completes first winter solo traverse of Geislerspitzen in Dolomites

A year after his first solo winter traverse of all the main peaks of the famous Rosengarten skyline, Simon Gietl has now completed another little coup with the first solo winter traverse of the Geislerspitzen. Those extraordinary needles that tower above the Villnöß valley and that have made this skyline one of the most famous and photographed in the Dolomites

Taking advantage of the unprecedented high pressure system that has held Central Europe in its grip for the last fortnight, the 38-year-old South Tyrolean alpinist set off at 5:00am on Tuesday from his car at Campil and climbed until 17:00, stopping to bivouac at the base of the via ferrata between Furchetta and Sass Rigais. The next day he continued his solo climb and bivied between Grande Fermeda and Piccola Fermeda. On Thursday, after having summited 12 peaks and completed the skyline crossing, he descended to Seceda where he was welcomed by the only person who knew about his project, fellow mountain guide Andrea Oberbacher. Gietl had taken with him an 18kg rucksack, including a small tent, a lightweight sleeping bag, a stove and a 60m rope.

As mentioned, Gietl's traverse is a small masterpiece, easily one of the best climbs this winter, not only in the Dolomites. Reached by phone, Gietl told planetmountain that his traverse was "a unique experience. An experiment, too, since apart from Grande Cir I didn't know any of the peaks. Of course I'd done some research on the internet before setting off, but I soon realised that I'd underestimated the overall distance and complexity. When I got out of bed this morning, my first thought wasn't 'I've done the traverse' but 'I am knackered!'"

Start Campill 1620m
Torre S. Zenòn 2599m
Sasso S. Zenòn 2610m
Sass da l‘Ega 2924m
Odla di Valdussa 2942m
Furchetta 3030m
Sass Rigàis 3025m
Grande Odla 2832m
Camp. di Fùnes 2834m
Grande Fermeda 2814m
Piccola Fermeda 2640m
Cima di Brògles 2590m
Seceda 2518m
Finish Baita Pramulin Hütte St.Christna 1590m

Simon Gietl thanks: Salewa, Edelrid, Neolit, Komperdell, Keaxl-Board, Hotel Schwarzenstein, Lyo-Foot,  Südtirol, Lowa, Gloryfy

Links: FB Simon Gietl, www.simongietl.it

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