get to know
your guides
Esther
Horvath
Esther is a renowned photographer for National Geographic and GEO Magazine, amongst others.
The wreck of Shackleton’s ship was found in March 2022 at the bottom of the Weddel Sea, Antarctica. Esther was a photographer on that expedition.
She will show us breathtaking pictures and will tell us her personal story of Shackleton.
Stefan
Gatt
Stefan has been working as a leadership coach for more than 30 years.
He is also a trained mountainguide, and as an extreme alpinist he is famous to be the first man to decend Mount Everest with a snowboard without using artificial oxygen.
Stefan will be your lead guide, responsible for all safety and mountaineering aspects during this challenge.
Martin
Sailer
Martin has been working within top management postions in the pharmaceutical and automotive industry for many years. He loves being a hobby mountaineer, and having done similar challenges with his teams in the past, will bring his knowledge and experience to the table.
→ Martin Sailer
(soon)
More about
the guides
Stefan and Martin
will guide your self-reflection in a way which will deepen your understanding of your patterns, your emotional strengths and challenges and your very personal steps of growth.
They use a proven communication method that helps you facilitates your individual process of getting to know yourself, your strengths and weaknesses.
You will return from the challenge with a clearer understanding of your limitations and your power to push your limits.
Stefan draws on 35 years of extreme mountaineering and guiding: dealing with strong emotions, such as fear, taking risks, uniting a team behind an inspiring vision and goal, communicating and explaining clear decisions.
This is why mountaineering is such a great model for leadership and growth.
Shackleton has a very special place in Esther’s life and heart: on March 5th 2022 the wreck of the Endurance – Shackleton’s ship which was crashed by sea-ice in 1915 in Antarctica – was found, lying at a depth of 3000 meter, in an amazingly good condition. Esther was the photographer on that expedition and took the very first pictures of the newfound Endurance. These pictures and the story behind the discovery will be published in National Geographic.
Esther’s pictures are connecting us to the event 108 years ago and the incredible two-year struggle for survival which ensued for the 28 men. Rarely a picture can stir up such strong emotions. Shackelton’s Endurance has become a symbol of the “Heroic Age”, when the last white spots on our planet were discovered without any of the technologies we dispose of today.
Esther will be the photographer on our SLC as well. She will share her story of this discovery and her very special relationship with Shackleton. She will document our Leadership Challenge and you will take home Esther’s pictures, including personal portraits.
Martin has about 30 years of experience as a business leader and manager. Inspired by his own experiences as a hobby mountaineer he took his leadership team to similar outdoor trainings. Shackleton’s leadership principles served as a guideline for his teams as they had to master challenging and at times also exhausting situations.
Martin believes in the strong impact of such outdoor experiences: “It is amazing how genuine leadership skills are revealed when you are exposed to an unknown, challenging situation which you can only handle by using your authentic competencies as a leader. Our SLC provides for an authentic adventure and real challenges in a harsh but fascinating environment – it is for real, and this makes all the difference for a lasting learning experience.”
