STEFAN GLOWACZ

Three major first ascents in remote mountains in Turkey, Iran and Tajikistan. They visited a total of 14 different countries and covered 18,000 kilometers.

Many people had advised the professional adventurer Stefan Glowacz and his team, consisting of Christian Schlesener, Josef Pfnürr and the filmmaker and Stefan’s son Tim Glowacz, against this trip beforehand. Before they embarked on the plan to make a first ascent of the Suntower in the region around the Alam Kuh in Iran with local climbers, even Iranian climbers living in exile abroad strongly advised against this project due to the political situation. “It was a difficult decision to travel to countries that are in part pure dictatorships and where the Foreign Office strongly advises against travel. In the end, as is so often the case, curiosity won out. ‘We want to see and experience the situation with our own eyes. In the end, the decision was the right one,” says Stefan Glowacz.

The motto of the “Walls on Silkroad” expedition was “United by Climbing”. Stefan Glowacz says: “There are always elements and shared passions that unite us humans, regardless of origin, religion, skin color or the conflicts that prevail in the world. In our case, climbing is our passion. In every country where we climbed our first ascents, we met wonderful people and learned a lot about their country and their situation. We now understand the context of events much better and can understand the wishes and needs of the people even more clearly. “Great friendships were made, which are of great value, especially for the people in Iran. Stefan Glowacz says: “We were stopped by complete strangers in the middle of the street in Tehran. They thanked us for having the courage to travel to their country and for not forgetting them as a result.”

The plan to climb a difficult first ascent in each country – in Turkey, Iran and Tajikistan – was ambitious. The team was constantly under time pressure, and the imponderables on the way through the unknown countries sometimes frayed their nerves. In the Turkish Aladaglar Mountains, the team had to contend with bad weather for a long time and the consistently high climbing difficulties, which threw the schedule into disarray. In Iran, the Suntower lies at over 4,000 meters above sea level. Climbing at this altitude in the 10th degree of difficulty demanded a lot from the team.
The Pamir-Alai Mountains in Tajikistan presented the team with its third and final major challenge. In the end, the team achieved three great first ascents in the 10th degree of difficulty. The routes are now among the most difficult free climbing routes in the respective countries.