Extreme Ski Climbing: Seven Four-thousander Peaks in less than 24 hours!

On midnight of May 10th, the endurance specialists set out for their speed ascent at the Jungfrau Saddle. The route took them first across the Mönch (4108m) and Jungfrau (4156m) via the Jungfrau Firn and on to Greater Grünhorn (4051m) as well as the Fiescherhorn peaks (4032m/4051m). Finally, they had to climb the highest peak of the Bernese Alps, the Finsteraarhorn (4270m), to eventually end their route via the Grünhorn gap with the region's second-highest peak, the Aletschhorn (4210m).

For "normal" ski mountaineers, every single one of these mountains constitutes a good day's tour.

Tony and Beni conquered a total of 7000 altitude meters in only 20 hours on their touring skis, while crossing a distance of approx. 65 km.

Beni and Tony had planned their record skiing tour for a long time. They had done some intense mental preparation for it, too. Even with precise plans, however, things that require intuition and judgment tend to happen in such projects. The greatest challenge, according to the two endurance specialists, was passing the many ridges as efficiently and safely as possible in spite of increasing exhaustion.

"One particularly critical point was the Hasler Ridge at the Aletschhorn, since the upper part turned out to be badly snowed in. We had to bypass it on the crest full of gravel, where we couldn't always find a good tread," says Beni. Tony had to fight cramps and a drop in his performance after the Finsteraarhorn.

The two pros were all the happier when they finally reached the last summit together after all. Staying focused and alert for this long distance demanded a lot from the athletes. The Aletsch region cast its spell on Beni when he was a teen. The project with the seven four-thousander peaks has headed off his wish list for a decade.

The Bernese loves to work towards putting great dreams and targets into practice: "When I compete or train outdoors, my body and mind are fully focused and work hard and very intensely. It's a great feeling!"

Tony was convinced by Beni's enthusiasm for the speed project at once. There are no completely unconquered mountains left on Swiss ground. The combination of a complex route and the speed style, however, is not only trendy, but also new, offering a challenge that athletes such as Beni and Tony find fascinating.

Beni considers the original of ski climbing at extreme speeds and efficiencies in the performance of mountaineers like Beat Kammerlander, who achieved incredible results on skis in the Himalaya many years ago. The Alps also still pose innumerable challenges that have never been tackled before like this. We may well hear of Beni and Tony again in future…

Beni Hug and Tony Sbalbi – A strong team

It's not surprising that the two cross-country runners set speed records on touring skis as well.

Beni Hug is a competitive sports trainer for Swiss Olympic. He has been an outdoors enthusiast since he was a child. In 2012, he joined the Trail Running Team of mountain sports specialist Mammut. The 42-year-old ultra-trail runner from Berne already has various sports successes in different endurance disciplines, from trail running to the Gigathlon and Adventure Racing (multisports racing with expedition character) to ski tour races. His most recent success is the second place in the ski tour race Patrouille des Glacier 2014. In 2013, he won the Swiss Irontrail (48km / 2930 altitude meters); in the same year, he secured third place in the Adventure Racing world championship. In the legendary Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (approx. 168 km, more than 9000 altitude meters), he twice made the top twenty. In addition to this, he made the podium in many national and international endurance competitions.

Beni’s team colleague Tony Sbalbi is a mountain guide and trainer of the elite national team in the area of ski tour races of the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC). The two athletes met through their shared passion for multi sports races, such as the Adventure Races. Tony celebrated various podium places during his active time in high-performance competitions, among others in the European and World Cups in ski climbing and the Vertical Race Swiss Championships. A former runner on the French national team, and with his international experience in the area of ski tour racing, the 46-year-old Frenchman has all the prerequisites for the demanding Speed Ski touring project.

Zobrazit místo Mountains - hory - skály - rocks na větší mapě