Vreni vom Berg

John Muir once wrote: “The mountains are calling and I must follow.“ The mountains aren’t calling, they are screaming! Vreni is the Arlberg’s very own action woman. If she’s not climbing, she’s skiing. If she’s not skiing, she’s biking or hiking or swimming or finding some other adventurous activity. Vreni is all about the outdoor lifestyle and is always chasing the next challenge.

She received her first pair of skis at only six months old as a Christmas gift from her father and although once proclaiming that skiing is ‘too slippery’, she has never looked back. Following on from her father’s excitement on that Christmas Day, Vreni’s love for skiing has grown ever since. More recently Vreni has ventured into the world of ski mountaineering, trekking up mountains, in order to ski the untouched powder below.

In May 2019, Vreni conquered the climb of the Denali mountain in Alaska which entailed a 7 day trek to base camp and a 3 day ice climb. We took on the challenge to get her in peak condition for this challenge, and she did not disappoint us. The summit sits at 6,190m high, and measured from base to the summit, Denali is taller than Mount Everest. Ice climbing refers to roped and protected climbing of features such as icefalls, frozen waterfalls, and cliffs or rock slabs covered with ice frozen from flows of water. Vreni climbed the Denali using crampons and ice axes. Our therapists Kirsty and Nathan teamed up with Vreni to overcome a recurrent hip injury and work on her full body strength and cardiovascular fitness to prepare her for the extreme Alaskan environment, which allowed her to achieve this once in a lifetime challenge.

‘In the mountains I feel the most comfortable. They are my roots. My happy place!’
– Vreni vom Berg.