As of: January 28, 2024, 5:00 p.m
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New election of the board: (from left) Christian Rester (1st chairman), Manfred Kastlmeier (2nd chairman), Martin Steinleitner (treasurer), Felix Wenner and Urs Phillip (youth representatives), Katrin Kell, Martin Keeser (climbing section) and Willi Forster (Canoe section).
© Lehmann
The Freising section of the German Alpine Club shows how climate protection can be done by clubs and spends a lot of money on it.
Freising
- When Christian Rester, chairman of the German Alpine Association (DAV), Freising section, read out the association's current membership figures at the most recent annual general meeting in the Hofbrauhauskeller, his joy was clearly visible: "We have 6,519 members - and that's huge!" The largest club in the city of Freising, as well as the district, has been able to recover well from the aftereffects of the pandemic, as the dazzling numbers in climbing hall usage show.
In addition to an extensive program, the Freising section has planned something completely different for this year, namely moving towards climate neutrality for the club.
The climate in view
The DAV wants to be climate neutral by 2030, which is why the individual sections also want to take action now.
The plan: Install a PV system on the climbing hall plus purchase two new heat pumps.
“Of course that costs money,” explained second chairman Manfred Kastlmeier, who had hoped for a subsidy from the city of Freising.
That probably won't happen, but the association still wants to move forward.
Because one thing is clear: the club wants to preserve the beauty and originality of the mountains, which is why its own CO2 emissions should now be examined more closely.
For this purpose, a climate protection team was recently formed in Freising that will examine options for avoidance or reduction.
The step into the future will cost the Freising section around 180,000 euros, which will not be the only expenditure this year.
Another cost point: The floor of the Setzberghütte, one of the two huts in the section, urgently needs to be renewed.
There is a cooperation with the alpine cooperative, which will take over the repairs to the substructure of the hut.
Because of the work, the hut will be closed for a few months.
Well positioned
Despite the expenses, the Freising section does not have to worry financially, as the club is in a very good financial position - with a total balance of around 720,000 euros.
“We have to save money because we still want to expand: we also have this pressure because of the high number of visitors,” explained Rester.
And: The climbing hall has got a new and experienced operations manager in Sebastian Brunner.
His good news: The number of visitors to the hall is constantly climbing - and was around 46,000 in 2023. For comparison: around 24,000 guests came in the Corona year 2021.
“Now we are back where we were before, with record sales,” says Brunner.
A highlight in 2023: The open day in the climbing hall for people with and without disabilities, which needed a lot of helping hands but was a complete success.
The new election
The election of a new board of directors was also on the agenda.
But since the members were extremely satisfied with the old board, this went quickly.
The result: The current board members will continue to direct the club's fortunes in the future.
The special thing about it: Rester has been shaping the section as its first chairman for 26 years now - with commitment and passion.
“For me, the question arose in advance as to whether I could still give the club something,” explained Rester, who was of course pleased that they had placed their trust in him again.
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The surprise
Finally, there was another surprise when the “Golden Hackl” challenge cup was awarded, which went to the slackliner Lukas Irmler in 2022.
This year the Soby Cup team from the Freising section took home the trophy.
Here, too, it became very clear what role Rester plays for the club: the young climbers stormed forward and hugged their section boss.