#16 Johanna Schindler

For Johanna Schindler it all started with a harness and a broken hand. The prologue to her climbing took place in Chamonix; and no, she didn’t go there for a summer course that would teach her the knots and how to belay.

It was winter, a bit more than 10 years ago. Johanna and her then-boyfriend went snowboarding to the French Alps. Before the holiday, Henric had bought a harness; he wanted to ride down a glacier in the Mont Blanc range and she mocked him for having to buy extra equipment specifically for it. On the second day of their trip, Henric had the inexperienced Johanna ride over a snow mound. She broke her hand in the attempt and the snowboard holiday turned a valley station and lumumba (a drink of hot cocoa and rum or brandy) one. What lasted beyond the trip and hand rehab was the harness.

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