Searching for and finding a dream

But it was still just an initial thought, a plan. It first had to mature into an idea and that took time. So many different factors were involved - including his own development, both physically and mentally. But when is the mind ready for a bold solo traverse on the Three Peaks? Simon was able to pinpoint the exact moment! After the successful first solo ascent of the "Can you hear me" route on the Cima Scotoni, which Simon had dedicated to his best friend Gerry who had died in an accident, it was clear to him: "Climbing along this boundary line boosted my self-confidence to such an extent that I felt ready for the solo project on the peaks."

On Saturday 22 February, after four years, the dream was now within reach. Simon transported the carefully selected material that was best suited to him to the start. The forecast winds of up to 80 km/h dampened Simon's confidence about the otherwise relatively mild weather forecast. In order to get a better overview of the current conditions and to better assess the strong north-westerly wind, the LOWA-PRO team athlete climbed a few metres into the wall. "Climbing was pretty easy for me and my gut feeling gave me amazingly positive feedback. Now I realised that the moment had come for the solo project," says the alpinist, describing the beginning.

The actual starting signal for the solo tour was given the next morning. With every rope length that passed, Simon's dream became a reality: "I almost felt like a musician who was finally able to present the piece he had practised extensively in front of a large audience. In contrast, I was neither in a large concert hall nor climbing in front of an audience. All alone, clinging to the impressive edge, I secretly enjoyed the solitude and the flow of movement that seemed to have become automatic." The experienced alpinist always had the dangers of going it alone in the back of his mind. Mistakes are always dangerous when climbing, but alone they can have even more serious consequences. Nevertheless, the experienced alpinist remained unperturbed and concentrated on the fulfilment of his dream. Despite the strong north-westerly wind, which had caused Simon a few headaches beforehand, things went well and progress was quicker than originally thought. He reached the highest point of the West Pinnacle in daylight. To make the most of the light hours, he climbed the first few metres of the Dülfer Verschneidung and fixed his climbing rope for the next day. Simon then abseiled back to the bivouac site and settled in for the night - that's when he decided that the tour would now work with just one bivouac instead of two as originally planned.

At around 7.00 a.m. on Monday morning, Simon ended his restless and windy night's sleep and set off from the bivouac site towards the Grosser Zinne with a light pack. He reached the summit at 9.20 a.m. in the sunshine and with the wind dying down.

From here he could see the route that still lay ahead of him: the gorge between the Grosser Zinne and Kleiner Zinne, the summit of the Kleiner Zinne, the sharp ridge to Punta di Frida, the descent from this summit via the Nervenschlucht gorge to the Preußturm tower. He took a first break at the foot of the wall of the Kleine Zinne, which was necessary due to the high speed.