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Being the first person to conquer a summit, achieving the impossible. Man against rock. It must have been an intoxicating feeling of power and invincibility that tempted countless summit chasers to the Sexten Dolomites after the first ascents of the Punta dei Tre Scarperi and Cima Grande in summer 1869. To conquer one pale giant after another and open up ever more difficult routes to the top. Each spectacular first climb told of courage, great ambition, mental strength and technical ability. And perhaps a certain madness. Today we look back on 150 years of Sexten alpinism and tourism history – and at their single-minded fathers: the summit pioneers and legendary mountaineers.
Whenever mountain climbing is mentioned in Sexten, sooner or later the name Innerkofler is bound to come up. It’s still the same today. Not least because if you look at the list of first ascents and first attempts on the mountains of the Sexten Dolomites, it is striking that among the foreign names, “Innerkofler” appears many times. Franz Innerkofler, the father of the mountaineering fraternity, Michl, the “King of the Dolomites”, and his brother, Hans. Josef Innerkofler, who throughout his life was considered to be one of the boldest and safest mountain guides, the brothers Veit and Johann Innerkofler, and lastly the legend Sepp Innerkofler – for his part a tourism pioneer and hutkeeper, respected mountain guide and war hero.