Quirin Herterich has broken a world record: In Sweden, the man from Altenau crossed a slackline between two peaks.
2.1 kilometers wide, 600 meters high, for three hours.
Everything was well thought out - right up to the toilet.
Altenau / Stockholm
- The scream echoes far through the deserted trough valley in Lapporten.
It's actually calm here in Swedish Lapland.
But Quirin Herterich roars at the top of his throat.
For a moment, the outcry causes horror: The Altenauer only stands on a two and a half centimeter wide slackline, on which he has been balancing for exactly three hours.
Something happened?
“Not at all,” says Herterich.
"I don't really know why I did that either." It must have been the great mix of emotions that overcame him at that moment.
Herterich has broken a world record.
He only ran on a synthetic fiber tape between the two peaks Tjuonatjåkka and Nissuntjårro.
2.1 kilometers, 600 meters high, three hours long.
The grand finale after more than nine months of preparation.
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Done!
The joy is written on (from left) Herterich, Trygve Bruntland and Julian Caleau.
© Onetotwo
Quirin Herterich comes from Altenau and is an extreme athlete.
For years he has been fascinating and inspiring with spectacular slackline campaigns (we reported).
It was only in September of last year that he hiked across the sea to the Sardinian Sugar Loaf, 490 meters at a height of 130 meters.
But that wasn't enough for him.
He didn't want to allow himself a breather either.
A few days after his success in Sardinia, he began to devote himself to his largest company to date.
And without exaggeration, the project in Swedish Lapland should not only break a world record - it represents a milestone in the history of the exotic sport.
For nine months, 14 members around Herterich prepare for the almost unbelievable event.
The two peaks Tjuonatjåkka (1554 meters) and Nissuntjårro (1738 meters) in Abisko National Park are separated by a huge gorge.
How should a slackline be stretched?
Special equipment and custom-made products are required.
It takes just two days to span the 2.1 kilometers as the crow flies with a rope.
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Food comes by helicopter: Martin Gravdal is part of the 14-person slackline team and brings food.
© Onetotwo
Not the only challenge.
The adventurers only give themselves eleven days as a time window.
Sleep is rare, and not just because of all the work.
In Lapland the sun doesn't set at the moment, it shines 24 hours a day.
The group sets up two camps on both peaks.
“We have a nice side and a shit hole,” says Herterich with a laugh.
Most of the crew members are accommodated on the beautiful.
“They even have a cook.” Herterich is on the other side - with instant noodles and ready meals.
A helicopter has to bring food for the nearly two weeks.
The next town is a six-hour walk away.
Hertrich has difficulties starting - the slackline is slippery
On the day of the record attempt, Herterich meditates shortly before the start, doing simple warm-up exercises. Then he takes the first step - and has problems. “The slackline was very slippery. It took a while to find my rhythm, ”he says later. He has nothing, except for a muesli bar, "if I should run out of strength". But he doesn’t run out of it. Can't run out of him at all. Because he can't hope for help on the slackline. “The middle is a death zone.” Fear is his greatest opponent. "I put a lot of pressure on myself, had mixed feelings." Sometimes it seems as if he is stuck. “That can turn into fear very quickly.” And fear is his greatest opponent. If he falls and can no longer get on the rope, "I have real difficulties". A helicopter doesn't fly.“He's not approaching a slackline.” But it wasn't for nothing that Herterich trained weeks, months, years for this moment. "The only thing that can stop me is a heart attack or a storm." Even very mundane things like the toilet are an issue on the three hours of uninterrupted first ascent. “But the body is then in hunting mode. You don't even think of something like that. ”Then he does it - with a cry of joy.