F E R N S I C H T

• Born the 19.08.1975 in Plattling/Bavaria/Germany I grew up close to Deggendorf at the edge of the Bavarian Forest. Already as small childs my brother and me were taken to long hikes by our mountain loving parents. As soon as possible we also learned to ski. I was definitely influenced by my father who planed and took part in expeditions of our local alpine club to Uummannaq in Western Greenland and Mount Ararat in Kurdistan.
• In the age of 16 I became active member of the Bavarian Red Cross Mountain Guards and enjoyed my first training in first aid and mountain rescue. This was also the base for entering medical studies. Further training in mountaineering and climbing I got in the youth team of our alpine club in Deggendorf .
• After finishing highschool (Comenius Gymnasium Deggendorf) 1994 and one year of service in the German armed forces Africa was calling and I did a 6months medical internship in the little "bushhospital" of Samreboi/Western Region/Ghana. The "Africa-virus" would never leave me again.
• I started with medical studies at the University of Ulm in September 1996, the final examination I took in April 2003. Some like-minded fellow-students, rockclimbing areas close by and the mountains not far away from Ulm allowed us a good mixture between the challanging studies and time for activities in the mountains.  The fieldwork for my doctor thesis about acute mountain sickness was perfectly situated at the high altitute research station at the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland (3550m).
• During medical studies I did interships in Germany, Switzerland, Chile and Guinea. Backpacking trips and expeditions led me to Greenland, Alaska, Spitzbergen, North-, South and Centralamerica, Africa and the Middle East.
• Interested in conflict areas and humanitarian aid I took part in the three months tropical medicine course at the Bernhard-Nocht-Institut in Hamburg in 2003.
• After workexperience in surgery and gynecology/obstetrics I joined my first 4months-mission with doctors without borders (MSF) in Darfour/Sudan starting November 2006. Further mission with MSF were following: Central African Republic  (armed conflict), Haiti (Cholera) and Liberia (Ebola). Between these missions I followed medical training in Germany in Internal Medicine and Anesthesia.
• Trained in emergency medical aid I also served in two missions with the German armed forces in Afghanistan (ISAF) and one mission in Kosovo (KFOR).
• My special interest in conflict regions resulted in taking part in the postgraduate master studies in Peace and Securitiy Studies M.P.S. at the IFSH in Hamburg from autumn 2007 to autumn 2008. A three months internship at the German Embassy in Khartoum/Sudan allowed me to do my field studies for my master thesis about civil-military coordination in UN peacekeeping missions.
• In 2011 I entered my first employment in Switzerland at the nice little hospital of Frutigen. End of 2012 I got my diploma in General Medicine. In Winter 2013 I could work as helicopter based emergency medical aid at Air-Glaciers for the first time - a challanging task, which I follow since then in part-time employment. After one year at the hospital in Frutigen my wish for further training let me switch to the department of anesthesia at the hospital in Interlaken and later to the intensive care unit at the hospital in Thun.
• From mid November 2016 until mid February 2017 I was more than lucky to join an research expediton of the Alfred-Wegener-Institute (www.awi.de) in Antarctica. Our team drove about 1600km with Pistenbully snow groomers  from the German Antarctic Station Neumayer III  via the little Kohnen-Station to the crossing point of 79° southern latitude with 30° longitude. There at an altitude of 3470m we set up a camp for an 200m icecore-drilling and to host the polar research plane POLAR 6 for radar-flight to examine the icecover (partly 4000m thick).
• After working again in emergency medicine for Air-Galciers and as mountain guide and private trips to Kyrgystan and Tajikistan in summer 2017  I was employed by the Alfred-Wegener-Insitute for a second time. An 1300km excursion with three Pistenbullys was performed in Dronning Maud Land to support the Finnish Antarctic Station Aboa and to perform some scientific work (setting up seismometers, measuring snow increase)
• After three expeditions to Antarctica with the AWI I started to work for the International Polar Foundation at the Princess Elisabeth Station also as mountain guide/doctor. So far I could serve three seasons at this Zero-Emission-Station and its beautiful mountainous surrounding. 

Photos about my missions and journey you will find under PICTURES FROM FAR AWAY.

Countries visited:

• Africa: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mosambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Ruanda, Sudan, Southafrica/Swaziland, Central African Republic
• Middle East/Asia: Afghanistan, Egypt, Georgia, Iran, Israel/Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Kyrgystan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates
• America: Alaska/USA, Argentinia, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Guadeloupe, Peru, Uruguay
• Polar Regions: Greenland, Northern Norway, Spitzbergen, Antarctica

A life in a continuous change between Europe and foreign countries and even more some hard experiences during my humanitarian missions left some traces in heard and soul and led me step by step to revise my plans for the future. 

In the beginning a career in the humanitarian sector was my ultimate goal but after some time (like other collegues as well)  I asked myself if a life like this is good for the inner balance in a term-view. Too often you look into the abyss of mankind - especially in conflict areas.

Mountains were always the destination for my time-off but also refuge at the same time. But during my medical studies I thought concerning a mountain-guide-training: "better not to make your hobby to your job". But later on - encouraged by an austrian collegue and friend  but also sobered by the health care machinery in Germany - I changed my opinion and asked myself: "why not making your hobby to your job?"

Togehter with my austrian collegue we trained for the entrance tests for the Austrian mountain guide training, which I could enter in autumn 2013. After intensive and instructive courses in rock, ice and snow  I could pass the final exams in Chamonix in summer 2015.

Since then it is my pleasure to share my love and enthusiasm for mountains with guests and clients and offer them a save approach to this magnificent part of nature and landscape. The combination between doctor and mountain guide shouldn´ t be a disadvantage.

Impressions from different tours - maybe also to stimulate your planing - you can find under WHAT IS WAITING FOR YOU.