XLETIX Challenge in Kühtai: The obstacle course for high alpine heroes

Heroes don't just fall from the sky, real heroism is really hard work. This is what happened again recently in Kühtai, 2,000 meters above sea level, which stretches deep into the wildly beautiful Stubai Alps between two mighty mountain flanks. However, the last Saturday in June turned the otherwise peaceful natural idyll of the ski-free summer upside down: almost 4,000 daredevils took part in the XLETIX Challenge presented by MaxiNutrition - probably the highest and toughest obstacle course in the world. And I was one of them.

Even after almost ten years, nothing has changed in terms of the motivationally shouted motto. And in fact, I'm at the start line with my noble iron brother Stefan, just like I was back then, on my first run. Although the sporting icon next to me is six years younger than me, we are both now nine years older. We completed our first heroic baptism here in the year of our Lord 2015, when the thing was still called „Krassfit“. The high alpine tour of hell now goes by the illustrious name XLETIX Challenge presented by MaxiNutrition - the first obstacle is a tongue twister. The up to 35 "challenges" along the way also demand plenty of heroism: Freak Froster, Muddy Maniacs, Rotten River, Barbwire Battle I + II, Double Trouble, Triple Trauma, to name just a few. However, there is a small workaround: you can skip any obstacle along the way - for a fair friendship price of 15 burpees.

Sportsmanship, courage and skill define the three central themes of the XLETIX Legends Forge, but the aim is definitely to push participants "to their physical and mental limits" over a distance of either six, twelve or 18 kilometers. The fact that the high alpine adventure between snow and mud is nevertheless "ideally suited to beginners and sports novices" is questionable. Where basic skills (reflexes, balance, surefootedness, basic endurance) are lacking, exceptional alpine situations quickly become a risk - and there are actually quite a few of these in Kühtai: With spontaneous changes in the weather, hard old snow fields, loose gravel sections, wild roots, muddy slippery sections and sometimes extreme differences in temperature and altitude, the mountains are simply no joke. Case in point: In 2015, we were surprised by storms and hail halfway along the route - extreme situations like this can happen. The locals know this - and come prepared accordingly.

Everything goes very quickly in the starting area, because the organizers also flex their muscles: Less than five minutes and we are checked in and have our start wristbands. When I ask how the allocation of the route photos works this time (in 2015 there were still numbered forehead wristbands), I am quickly informed: facial recognition, very simple! And despite the mud mask? I'm impressed, excited and pack my smartphone anyway, just to be on the safe side.

After a dynamic warm-up in the starting area, it's off to the first water obstacle. Instead of jumping into the ice pool, we opt for the burpees - after all, the course is still ahead of us. We then take the 100-metre-long steep slope quickly, but at a leisurely pace - you should manage your resources well here. We march past breathless lone fighters puffing on their shoulders, the air is getting noticeably thinner up here. Then the sun catches us, a refreshingly cool gust of wind, and the first mighty reservoir sparkles below our muddy hiking trail. A climb and a refreshment stop later, we reach the long stretch of shoreline, then a six-metre-high cliff. I heave the long man up using the robber's ladder, a warm hand lends a hand and we're on our way again. My body finally switches to anaerobic metabolism and I am hit by a man-sized wave of happiness. "Weren't we slower last time?" I grin.

Motivated, we master the next obstacles, quickly find spontaneous teammates for team tasks and reach the next water obstacle after a barbed wire crawl. Continue running wet or do 15 burpees again? We opt for the burpees, turn the corner and find the next four water obstacles. A brief crisis meeting - but 60 burpees are too expensive for us after all: we bravely throw ourselves into the waves, dive under, come up again and emerge from the ice pool feeling extremely refreshed. Our shoes smack and slide through the "Lettn" (mud, dirt) but it doesn't matter now, we're almost there. Adrenaline is pumping through our bloodstream, the pain is forgotten, the last steps and we are done.

The finisher feeling is absolutely indescribable, and even the finisher shirt feels like a superhero. We are euphoric and happy, laughing in each other's arms and looking up the mountain we have just conquered. The last starting blocks are fighting their way through the terrain and it is getting cooler and cooler in Kühtai. Between delicious Kasspatzln and unbound coffee, we meet Managing Director Frank Fritzsche at the rescue tent - everything is going very well today. Although the Tyrolean edition of the XLETIX Challenge in Kühtai only covers costs at best, it is his favorite event: "The people are just great, the location is absolutely unique and the feeling up here is amazing. Two events were already set up and ready to go and then had to be canceled due to the weather, which rarely happens to us elsewhere," recalls the expert. But precisely because the challenge in Kühtai is so challenging, XLETIX will be back again in 2025, he promises.

If you don't want to wait a year, you can get a taste of the heroic air in the neighboring lowlands: on August 10 at the German amusement park Mammut, on August 31 in NRW, on September 21 and 22 in the Baltic resort of Grömitz and on May 25, 2025 in Berlin. Tickets and details for all events can be found here.

On June 28, we will finally meet again in Kühtai - for the next XLETIX Challenge Tirol edition. High alpine heroes' word of honor!