Anna Truntschnig

Anna Trutschnig,

How did you get into mountain sports and why exactly did you choose it?

During my Master's degree in Health Economics, which took me to Rotterdam and Bologna, I was able to meet three Italians who showed me a world (mountain sports) that was completely unknown to me until then: mountains, nature, climbing, freedom. After my first weekend in the Dolomites with my Italian climbing buddies, I realised that this enthusiasm is a constant.

Do you have a role model?

I never really have or have had role models, as I don't want to follow or copy someone else's path, but would rather go my own way. However, there are people who have inspired and continue to inspire me. Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner is the first person I think of when I ask this question. Even as a teenager, I was very fascinated when I read about her early mountain adventures with the priest in her village, or when I heard that she cycled to work at the hospital very, very early so that she could cover a few kilometres on her bike before starting work. I was impressed and it inspired me to realise that nothing is impossible if you really want it.

When I was still very young and inexperienced, I dreamed of one day climbing the Grossglockner - for me at the time it was a distant dream and a great challenge. When I went to Valencia, Spain, for a semester abroad at that time, I suddenly had few opportunities to prepare for my secret little dream. So every day, before university started, I simply walked to the 9th floor of our apartment building 20-30 times. Up and down, and up and down. Day after day. I often thought about Gerlinde's bike rides to work and her enthusiasm and will. I never told her that until today, so she will probably smile when she reads this... In any case, I was all the more pleased to meet Gerlinde in person years later. Her personality and her approach to life and the mountains still inspire and enthuse me.

How has sport changed your life?

Very, very, very much. I would describe myself as a radical career changer, as I switched from 0 sport to daily sport. I can remember the first time I tried to run a few kilometres at the age of 19 and actually threw up at kilometre 5... I knew that things would be different from now on.

No sooner said than done. I would never have thought that in addition to sport, I could discover something for myself (mountaineering) that I am SO passionate about. Since then, I can no longer imagine a life without exercise in nature. Exercise can have many facets and is not just about climbing. I love variety and can be enthusiastic about many things, even if mountaineering still arouses my greatest enthusiasm.

Do you have any advice for people who want to take up mountaineering?

Yes, don't compare yourself with others. Stay enthusiastic. And never forget that at the end of the day, all of this should only give you one thing: Joy.

How do you overcome your inner bastard when training?

It's hard to say, as I have to overcome my inner bastard more for doing nothing than for exercising. Perhaps by not looking at the big picture (e.g. not the 21 km in a half marathon), but dividing the goal into small intermediate steps (e.g. concentrating only on the next kilometre).

How do you prepare for your runs? Is there a special ritual?

Preparation is always different depending on the tour. Once the rucksack is packed, the "most annoying" part is done.

My only "ritual" before longer tours is to let my sister know roughly where we are and when we'll be back. That's actually the only thing I always do as soon as I've arrived back at the car: I call my sister. I even make the TAB (end-of-trip beer) wait 5 minutes for that.

What do you always have with you on your expeditions or tours? What could you never do without? Perhaps something very unusual?

On expeditions I like to have my old MP3 player with me with my favourite songs. Some are for preparing for the tour, and others sweeten the way back if it's really long... It's always magical how the way to a tour can be so much shorter than the way back 😉

I love having sour tongues with me on day trips and expeditions. These are sour "gummy bears" that you can only buy in France. On every trip to France, I stock up on a huge supply and now, thank goodness, my friends also supply me with them when they return home from France. No journey is too far with sour tongues in my luggage!

What's the first thing you do when you arrive at a destination?

Be happy!

What was your favourite tour? And why?

The Walkerpfeiler on the Grand Jorasse with my "longest-standing" climbing friend Claudio from Bologna, Italy. It was a special tour for both of us. Claudio showed me all the beautiful facets of alpinism back then and I learnt a lot from him. When we met, I had just started climbing and I can still remember the exact moment when we were in Morocco, he handed me a "friend" (mobile belay device) and said in Italian: "This is how you open a friend. This is how you place it on the rock. And here's your line (pointing upwards). Let's go Anna, you can do it, I know it!". And so I started climbing and learnt what trad climbing was all about.

Just three years later, Claudio and I climbed the Walkerpfeiler on the Grand Jorasse together - alternating routes, in one day, as a team that understood each other blindly.

When we reached the summit together, we were both incredibly proud and overjoyed to have experienced and learnt so much together over the years, and now to have climbed this tour as a team.

What were your greatest sporting successes?

as I've never taken part in competitions or played competitive sport, this is a difficult question for me. The first thing that comes to mind is a drytooling climbing route that I really wanted to redpoint for someone who had passed away and was fortunately able to do in the end. The second thing that comes to mind is our expedition and our first ascents with the NF Alpine Squad in Kyrgyzstan.

Which place should everyone have seen at least once?

Elmo - a bivouac site on the Ragni Route on Cerro Torre. The most beautiful place I've ever seen in my life.

What does your perfect day look like?

People I love with all my heart, sunshine and a tour together that inspires us all.

What does happiness mean to you?

For me, happiness means that the people I love are doing well; and that my body and mind give me the freedom to do what makes me beam from ear to ear.

What are you particularly grateful for?

Definitely my circle of friends and my family. Definitely.

Secondly, I'm grateful that my body has forgiven me so much so far.

In what way do you perhaps enjoy life more than others?

An accident allowed me to learn and feel how important it is to savour every day and live it to the full. It's often easier to say than it is to do, but I think I've become very good at it. I don't put off anything I dream about, but try to turn wishes into reality as quickly as possible and live in the here and now.

What is your most important life lesson?

The mountain can give you a lot, but it can also take everything away - a saying from Robert, my former boyfriend. He used to say this to me all the time and although I understood what he was trying to tell me, I have been able to feel what he meant for two years now. Since then, his sentence has become one of my most important pieces of wisdom.

What other hobbies do you pursue apart from mountain sports?

I took singing lessons for a while, I like to dance, but I also enjoy being creative and building furniture out of wood - as is so often the case, it's the variety that counts.

What does outdoor mean to you?

Freedom! The sounds of nature! Minimising yourself to the essentials! Lots of exercise! Lots of fresh air! And the best sleep is still in the open air.

Which day trip can you recommend? And why?

The east ridge on the Mittagskogel in Carinthia. My grandad used to help carry the summit cross up and has done this easy climbing ridge countless times. Every time I visit my parents in Carinthia, I try to go up the Mittagskogel to enjoy the view of the deep blue Faakersee and send my grandad my regards.

What is your favourite LOWA shoe?

AMPLUX Ws - once you put them on, you never want to take them off again. For running, for everyday wear, for approaches... the shoe has become my all-rounder.

Three things that every hiker/alpinist should have in their rucksack:

Water. Down jacket. First aid.