Courage and Confidence: Lukas Wörle comes to Weinheim

Description

What does it take to do the right thing in extreme situations – and to face the future with hope? This evening combines two powerful formats: Extreme mountaineer Lukas Wörle reads from his experience report "Gratwanderung" – a gripping story about a rescue operation at over 8,000 meters that almost cost him his life, and about responsibility in an increasingly commercialized mountain world.
Subsequently, the authors Andrea Grill, Theresa Hannig, Mario Giordano, and Lucas Fassnacht present the results of the literary future lab: for three days, they discussed with residents of Weinheim the question – is the future dystopia or opportunity? The evening is musically accompanied by guitarist and composer Claus Boesser-Ferrari. When a life matters more than the summit. Lukas Wörle has a dream: to conquer an eight-thousander without artificial oxygen and without the support of a high-altitude porter, and then fly from the summit with a paraglider into the valley. More freedom is not possible! In summer 2023, he sets out with this ambitious goal for Broad Peak, the neighboring mountain of the notorious K2. But just before the summit, at over 8,000 meters, he encounters a fallen Pakistani high-altitude porter abandoned by his own expedition. Exposed to the elements, he fights a hopeless battle for survival. Without hesitation, Lukas abandons his own goal and tries to bring the fallen man back to the camp. Alone, this is an almost unsolvable task that will put his own life in danger. The extreme physical and mental challenges Lukas faces make him question the excesses of commercial mountain tourism once again. What happens to mountain sports when reaching the summit becomes more important than human life and remains without consequences? A dramatic account of an extreme mountaineer who questions modern high-altitude tourism and demands more responsibility towards locals and nature.
Lukas Wörle, born on October 14, 1993, is a passionate extreme mountaineer and paraglider pilot. The native of Munich grew up in Tyrol, where he developed a deep and natural connection to the mountains through his father, a former mountain guide. In 2023, his extraordinary rescue operation on Broad Peak made him world-famous. He received numerous honors, including the Tamgha-i-Pakistan, one of the highest civilian awards in Pakistan, and the lifesaver medal of the Republic of Austria. He was also named Sports Personality of the Year in his home region. Since then, he has been a sought-after interview partner on responsible behavior and humanity in the mountains. Together with his brother Vincent Wörle, he founded the agency w8less consulting OG and lives in the Reutte Nature Park region in Austria.
Literary Future Lab: The Future is a Beautiful Story
For three days, authors Andrea Grill and Theresa Hannig, along with authors Mario Giordano and Lucas Fassnacht, discussed the future with young residents of Weinheim and other interested parties from the city. Is it really a horror scenario, a dystopia? Or can we look forward to the future? Together with Lukas Wörle, the four discuss and present the results of the literary future lab.
Andrea Grill studied biology, Italian, Spanish, and linguistics in Salzburg, Thessaloniki, and Tirana. She lived several years in Cagliari on Sardinia and earned her doctorate in 2003 from the University of Amsterdam with a thesis on Sardinian butterflies. Besides her literary work, she was involved in scientific research and translated from Albanian. In 2007, she participated in the Ingeborg Bachmann Competition in Klagenfurt. After stays in Amsterdam, Neuchâtel, Bologna, Tirana, and Bern, she now lives in Vienna. She was a fellow at the Literary Colloquium Berlin, Schloss Wiepersdorf, and the German House of NYU in New York. In 2019, her novel Cherubino was longlisted for the German Book Prize.
Theresa Hannig was born in Munich in 1984. During her school years, she founded her own company for media design and IT consulting, which included projects such as the development of the mobile/online game D2-Zoing for Vodafone and the programming of the Umweltpakt Bayern planner for the Bavarian Ministry of the Environment. From 2003 to 2008, she studied political science with philosophy and economics as minors at LMU Munich, and in the winter semester 2006/07, she studied at Venice International University. Since 2016, Theresa Hannig has been dedicated to writing full-time. Since October 2021, she has been a city councilor and commissioner for equality and anti-discrimination, and since May 2026, a district councilor of Fürstenfeldbruck. Since March 2025, Theresa Hannig has been an associate member of the German Society Club of Rome.
Lucas Fassnacht was born in Hesse and grew up in Tanzania. He studied ancient Greek, German studies, and linguistics in Erlangen. He now lives in Nuremberg and Leipzig and writes about everything he finds exciting: world politics, robots, nuclear power plants, buffet lines. His second passion is literary mediation. Whether at university, school, adult education centers, or on public stages: literature can make you cry and laugh, can give you goosebumps and sweaty fingers – but the most captivating story is the one we tell together.
Mario Giordano, born in 1963 in Munich, is a writer and screenwriter. His novels have been translated into over 15 languages, and with his "Tante Poldi" crime series, he regularly appeared on bestseller lists in Germany and the USA. His young adult novel "Der aus den Docks" has been a reading staple in Hamburg secondary schools for 20 years. He has written animated series, for various "Tatorte," and fairy tale films for ARD. He also authored the novel and screenplay for "Das Experiment" as well as picture books and youth books. His latest novels "Terra di Sicilia" and "Die Frauen der Familie Carbonaro" tell an Italian-German family saga. He briefly led the digital story development department at Bastei-Lübbe Verlag. Mario Giordano lives in Berlin.
With music by Claus Boesser-Ferrari:
Claus Boesser-Ferrari is a stylistic German guitarist, composer, and lecturer with an international reputation. He has expanded the sound aesthetics of the acoustic guitar with sound painterly distortion and sophisticated rhythmic-percussive techniques.

Highlights

• Reading by extreme mountaineer Lukas Wörle
• Presentation of the results of the literary future lab
• Musical accompaniment by Claus Boesser-Ferrari

General Information

The evening at the Ulner Kapelle in Weinheim combines a reading by Lukas Wörle with the presentation of literary results. Wörle reports on his rescue operation at over 8,000 meters, while local authors discuss the future.

Location

Hauptstraße 119, 69469 Weinheim, Germany

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