TV tip: The Zillertal – mountains and legends

As an arena for athletes and nature lovers, the Zillertal is well known. 40 kilometers long, the mighty side valley of the Inntal extends over Fugen, Zell am Ziller and Mayrhofen to the Schlegeis reservoir and the Hintertux glacier. ServusTV is dedicating a Bergwelten documentary to the area, which will be broadcast on 16. August 2021 will be aired.

Even before the day begins, Markus Kroll has already been on the road for hours. The trail runner and extreme athlete has his sights firmly set on his goal: The sunrise on the Berlin peak. The way to the 3.254-meter summit is long, but the first rays of sun that kiss the summit compensate for the effort.

Nearby, a Tyrolean primeval rock makes its trail through the high alpine snow. Mountaineering legend Peter Habeler is a native of the Zillertal and has had many adventures around the world, but he is always drawn back to his roots. The mighty towering Olperer was the first 3.000er, which Habeler climbed as a young boy. A view down from the summit to the Schlegeis reservoir makes even this man, who has already seen so much, humbly marvel.

Environmental conditions of the extremes

Thanks to the unique possibility of year-round use of the Hintertux Glacier, the two Olympic champions Leonhard Stock and Stephan Eberharter can pursue their favorite sport on two boards 365 days a year. But the glacier has other attractions to offer, such as the system of ice caves discovered by chance in 2007 directly under the ski slope. Roman Erler, the discoverer of the Natureispalast, leads the two ski legends through his realm.

In the lake located in the middle of the glacier cave, they meet apnea diver Christian Redl. His goal is to be the first to dive through the 23-meter-deep ice shaft without any oxygen equipment – a world record attempt.

It is not only the thin air that poses a challenge, but also the water itself: Due to the special environmental conditions in the eternal ice, it has a temperature of less than 0 degrees – but without freezing.

A climbing paradise like no other

In the mountaineering village of Ginzling lies one of the most spectacular areas for sport climbers, the mighty rocks of the "Ewige Jagdgrunde". These colossi of granite and gneiss offer more than 130 routes of all levels of difficulty on the banks of the Zemmbach all summer long. But one of them, the "Love 2.0", is reserved for the best. Mountain guide world champion and world cup climber Matthias Schiestl wants to let off steam on it.

So many times he has tried to climb this rock face and again and again it has thrown him off. However, now he wants to finally conquer his love-hate relationship in the eleventh degree.

TV Tip

ServusTV shows the Bergwelten documentary "The Zillertal – Mountains and Legends" on Monday, the 16. August, at 8:15 p.m. in Austria and 9:10 p.m. in Germany.