Alix von Melle (September 1, 1971 in Hamburg) is a German mountaineer and alpinist who is considered one of Germany's most successful high altitude mountaineers, summitting seven eight-thousanders peaks without the use of supplemental oxygen.[1][2]
Biography
Alix von Melle was the third of four children born to a school teacher and businessman in Ahrensburg.[3] After high school, she studied geography in Hamburg and in 1992 transferred to the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.[4] It was while studying in Munich when she fell in love with the mountains and discovered her passion for climbing and ski mountaineering.[5]
In Munich, she also met Luis Stitzinger, who would become her partner in ski mountaineering and in life.[6][7]
In 2001, she joined her partner on an expedition to Aconcagua that he was leading as a mountain guide.[8] On that trip, she would become the first German woman to climb Aconcagua when she reached the summit via the south face.[9] The experience led her to want to climb more. She climbed Muztagata the next year.
Ama Dablam, Himalayas, where von Melle was the first German woman to summit
After university, she spent a decade managing the Bavarian regional office of the German Alpine Club while Stitzinger was a mountain guide.[10] Over twenty-five years together, the two became Germany's most high profile mountaineering couples, and would climb many of the world's highest peaks together.[11][12]
In 2004, von Melle climbed Ama Dablam via the southwest ridge, as well as Huascaran Norte. In 2005, she reached the summit of Denali. In 2006, alongside Luis, von Melle summitted her first eight-thousander, Gasherbrum II. The next year, she reached the summit of Lenin Peak.[4]
Later she managed the press and public relations department of Globetrotter, a German sporting goods retailer[14] before becoming a self-employed PR consultant.[15] In 2014, after an unsuccessful summit of Makalu, due to altitude sickness, she climbed Kilimanjaro to recover.[16]
In 2023, her husband and climbing partner Luis Stizinger died while climbing Kangchenjunga in Nepal.[23] Despite her loss, she has continued to climb and return to the mountains.[24]
