The Brocken in the Harz Mountains in Saxony-Anhalt attracts thousands of hikers every year. Benno Schmidt, the experienced mountain guide, now dares to set a very special record.
- The well-known mountain guide Benno Schmidt has climbed the Brocken in the Harz Mountains in Saxony-Anhalt many times
- Now he has set a new record for his 88th birthday
- “ Brocken-Benno ” has been walking to Brocken almost every day for 30 years
Harz - the Brocken in the Harz Mountains in Saxony-Anhalt is 1141 meters high . Benno Schmidt, also called “Brocken-Benno”, has climbed it several thousand times - and has made it into the Guinness Book of Records several times.
Over the past 30 years, the hiking guide, known throughout Germany, has run up the Brocken almost every day in all weather conditions. With fascination for nature and discipline for the matter, he has overcome hundreds of meters in altitude with each ascent and descent.
Brocken in the Harz Mountains in Saxony-Anhalt: Birthday record
In keeping with his 88th birthday, the mountain guide wants to climb the Brocken for the 8888th time on May 22nd. The big party that was planned after the climb had to be canceled due to cancer and corona.
However, this does not discourage the 88-year-old. "I'll be upstairs, booted up exceptionally," he says. He complied with the distance and contact rules regarding Corona. "I can't allow myself to be infected," he says. After all, she had three surgeries and chemotherapy.
The experienced mountain guide is currently doing his rounds around Wernigerode (Harz district) in Saxony-Anhalt, instead of climbing the twelve kilometers to the Brocken as usual. He does sports at home with his wife Helga and Blick auf den Brocken, says Schmidt.
Brocken in the Harz Mountains in Saxony-Anhalt: Formerly a military restricted area
The Brocken used to be a restricted military area until the fall of the wall between East and West Germany. Today the mountain, which flows into a valley in Saxony-Anhalt and one in Lower Saxony, attracts hikers from all over the world. "Brocken-Benno", as his friends call him, will never forget what happened on December 3rd, 1989. "It was a feeling of happiness without equal that we were allowed to go up on the rocks again," he says. The mountain has been closed to hikers since 1961. "I could see him, I wasn't allowed to go up for 28 years, that was bad," says the former administrative employee, who originally comes from Bochum.
Cancer and #Corona prevent # Brocken- # Benno from a big celebration on his 88th #birthday. But he doesn't get discouraged. On his birthday, he does not climb himself, but is driven: A trip with birthday serenades: https://t.co/6IRFsevRGp pic.twitter.com/bVZFUXrWDi
- MDR (@mdrde) May 22, 2020The now 88-year-old collected his experiences in books. With lectures and guided tours, he let other interested parties share his experiences. In 2018, Schmidt even received the country's medal for merit from Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) . Two new hiking trails were also planned based on his idea.
Brocken in the Harz Mountains in Saxony-Anhalt: Schmidt always wants to keep going
"You always have to have a goal," says Benno Schmidt. For him, the most important thing now is to get well again. In two years, on his 90th birthday, he wants to climb the Brocken for the 9000th time. "It never gets boring," says Schmidt.
By Luisa Ebbrecht (with dpa)
Hiking and festivals in the Harz Mountains in Saxony-Anhalt
Last year there was a campaign where hiking enthusiasts could walk from Göttingen to Brocken in the Harz Mountains.
Because of Corona, the witch dance on Walpurgis night in the Harz was canceled.
