May | Isabel Gutierrez Comorera & Katia Muench Zamora
We have already experienced several "Forums of Youth" - but this one was something very special. On Tuesday, May 13, 2025, we had the pleasure of welcoming Stefan Glowacz to Schule Schloss Stein .
Stefan Glowacz, born in 1965 and raised near Traunstein and in Garmisch, is a German extreme and professional climber. Among other things, he won the silver medal at the 1993 World Climbing Championships - just one of his many sporting successes.
During his visit, he told us about an expedition he undertook in 2019 that lasted a total of three months: he planned to cross Greenland together with his team.
To do this, he put together a team of four experts. One of them was an experienced Swiss man who specializes in snow and ice and is also a real organizational talent. The second was a very young participant whom Stefan Glowacz has known since childhood - an enthusiastic, highly motivated sportsman with great physical stamina. The third was a sailing professional and skipper of the 14-metre "Santa Maria", which they chartered for the trip.
The expedition consisted of three phases: First, the team sailed from Scotland to the west coast of Greenland. This was followed by the crossing of the Greenland ice sheet. The third part was to be the climbing.
The days on the ice began at 8 o'clock in the morning. They marched until around 6 p.m., after which it took up to two hours to set up the tent. Ice was then melted in order to obtain drinking water - every evening there was a bar of Swiss chocolate for refreshment, among other things. The energy was urgently needed: the sledges with the luggage weighed around 80 kilograms and had to be pulled by themselves.
To cover the daily calorie requirement of around 5,500 kcal, each day began with a huge portion of muesli. In addition to physical fitness, mental strength and stamina were particularly important - because every day was a challenge.
They successfully completed two of the three phases: sailing and crossing Greenland. They initially had to postpone the last stage, the climbing, as the mountains were already snowed in - but they returned later to complete this part too.
This experience showed them (and us): You should never give up - if you work consistently towards your goals, you can achieve them. Team spirit was crucial for this. Their motto was: "What we start, we finish."
Stefan Glowacz also emphasized the importance of careful planning for such undertakings - and that he was not the sole leader of the team. Rather, it was an equal collaboration in which everyone recognized that no one can be an expert in everything. Trust, mutual respect and putting one's own ego aside were essential - especially in temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees, icy winds and enormous strain.
The most important message that Stefan Glowacz gave us: In extreme situations, it's not just your own survival that counts - you have to learn to put others first. You can only overcome such challenges as a team.
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